Fly Tying for Beginners - the Easy Yellerhammer Nymph (with emu)

In all its incarnations, the Yellerhammer has been a staple of Smoky Mountain fly fishers for generations. While this easy version it tied with emu hackle and isn't technically THE original Yellerhammer nymph, it's a close enough approximation. And a pretty fun one to tie.
Hook: #10-16 nymph
Weight: 0.015-0.020 (optional)
Thread: Black
Tail: Golden pheasant tippets
Body: Yellow floss
Hackle: Emu
** Some of the popular books used on this channel: **
Fly Pattern Encyclopedia: amzn.to/34U0rUe
Mike Valla's "Tying the Founding Flies," 2015, amzn.to/354oSir
Valla's "Tying and Fishing Bucktails..." 2016, amzn.to/3Jg2Mys
Valla's "Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies," 2020, amzn.to/3DmYOjJ
Valla's "Classic Streamer Fly Box," 2020, amzn.to/3n3Vakf
Dave Hughes, "Essential Trout Flies," 2017, amzn.to/3lbCZYX
Hughes, "Nymphs for Streams and Stillwaters," amzn.to/3HC2jpc
Hughes, "Wet Flies," 2015, amzn.to/33ac3lQ
David Klausmeyer's "Favorite Flies," 2020, amzn.to/3oeSNMa
Randle Scott Stetzer's "Flies, the Best One Thousand," amzn.to/34Q15mp
Terry Hellekson's "Popular Fly Patterns," 1976, amzn.to/2L4IyvS
Dick Stewart's, "Flies for Bass and Panfish," 1992, amzn.to/3aGpFs1
Savage Flies is a project with the mission of encouraging and teaching fly tying to as many people as possible. The channel is named after one of my western Maryland homewaters, the Savage River. Thanks for stopping by.

[@FlyTyer1948]

What a great name and what an interesting fly. Based on drawings of the originals and more recent photographs of Yaller Hammers I found online using dove, duck or other substitute materials, the emu provides a silhouette pretty close to the original and probably has better action in the water than some of the flight feather choices. Although the consensus of commenters leaned toward it being an attractor fly, quite a few said they used it as a yellow stonefly. Interesting indeed.

[@JCS_72]

That's got bluegill written all over it! Great video as always!

[@JammyErwin]

Yellerhammer, Yallerhammer, a great fly by any name. Love the Smoky Mountain flies. Thanks Matt!

[@joeduca8582]

Cool and successful experiment I'd say, well done Matt. I look forward to seeing Northern Flickers in my backyard when summer rolls around, beautiful and wary birds. They fly away at the slightest sign of danger, probably because they're head down poking holes in the ground for food. I've seen a few videos on tying a "yallerhammer"', including your videos. That nymph reminds me of two other patterns, the Tellico and Breadcrust. Also the yellow Wooly Worm, after reading the Orvis News piece on the Yellow Hammer. Excellent read of an excerpt from the book The Last Wild Road by T. Edward Nickens. On the alpharetta outfitter site they tied that nymph with emu too. They had a previous post on how to prepare the emu but I couldn't find it. Yeah, I tried to peel the stem of a wing quill to tie Ted Niemeyer's stonefly nymph when I got Leiser's "Complete" tying book. The peel part was easy but it broke when I wrapped it for the abdomen :0( Still, it looked real, but you have to soak those quills more than I did. Great video Matt, had a lot of fun looking for info on some cool patterns and who Don Kirk is :o)

[@kenb4685]

Gidday Matt. Beaut job. You nailed the Emu pronunciation. 😆

[@tompeterson559]

I think the Emu is a fantastic substitute! Well done!

[@darrellward7121]

Good to see our good old Aussie bird 🐦 been used by you Matt been using them for native fish 🐟 flies here in Australia for a good while now

[@edwardmlotkiewicz2343]

Great classic fly. I didn't have emu so I tied one using ostrich. Not a bad substitute. Makes a good trout or pandish fly. Thanks for another great video.

[@DarrellOlson]

Last year for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing for their fly tying competition, I tied the Yeller Hammer. I attempted to split yellow dyed Starling. Boy, that was tough. The pattern that I followed used some of the feather fibers for the tail, and I used yellow dubbing for the body. I did learn a lot. I just might tie a few like your twist. Thanks for sharing.

[@bigdaddy99929]

Nice looking fish catcher. Thx Matt 😊

[@Wyamike734]

The emu makes a unique looking fly. Thank you for the video Matt.

[@richardjones2129]

Hello Matt. Thank you for another great tie. I'm partial to flies of the past The emu is a cool twist to this pattern! One that I believe will be proactive for trout n panfish. Thanks again n keep the good videos coming. God Bless n Fish on!

[@edwardchavez5627]

Good Morning Sir Matt, first off I hope all is well with you and the family, this weather is crazy all over. This fly is really good looking, it will be a fun tie. Thank you Sir Matt.

[@allenaviation5746]

Good morning Matt. Thanks for the content. I've heard that the Yellerhammer is great fish catcher so I'll have to try one soon!

[@glenndotter5065]

Another classic!. Matt, always enjoy your history of each fly you tye. Have a great day

[@hirkojs]

Morning Matt. Mega Thx again for another stupendous video & some Great History. Keep up the Outstanding Work !!!!

[@denismcmahon8053]

would it not look better palmering emu feather back and using a fine copper wire to make it a wee bit stronger,but other than that a very good tie.

[@jeffreystone7327]

Good looking fun tie. Thank you Matt.

[@TheCopperVillageAngler]

You make it look easy, Matt. Well done! Thanks!

[@jimholland1592]

Done, good morning ☕️☕️ I can see you are getting ready 😉 nice bug👍

[@ybarrajc]

Thank you for the lesson, appreciate it have a blessed day my friend.

[@ZacharyBobbie1611]

Awesome pattern, Matt! Always pulling through with the history. Tight lines! 😎🎣

[@slickydicky]

EMU! Ive been driving myself insane for nearly the whole time ive been tying to find a substitute for the original material. I cant believe i never thought of using Emu.... now i can try some on my next trip to the smokies in the next few months.

[@markfritch3168]

Looks like a great pattern. I have many times substituted materials for one reason or another. Funny thing is sometimes they seem to work better than the original. Go figure. Hope your week is great. Starting to warm up here in Idaho. Fish are pretty hungry as well. Thanks Matt.

[@Hunter711pa]

Nice job Matt

[@brianferguson9483]

Realy like the tieing, gives me ideas tieing flys ty

[@Jd-yc3gw]

Good morning Matt. ☕️time. I have to agree that the Emu isn’t the prettiest bird. I prefer the green version over the first one. Not sure if it’s the color or if the green feather appeared to have better fibres. I like to see these flies tied with different feathers. Have a great week Matt. It’s ☕️reload time.

[@deankrueger7178]

Thanks again. Great video.

[@Flies_the_limit]

Hello Matt, ive learned so much from your channel over the last year. I aspire to make fly tying videos and the gear is a bit daunting starting out. Was hoping you could recommend a decent budget camera. Thank you for labor of love 🙂

[@jimgollach6202]

Emues might be ugly, but not only do they help catch fish, but the oil from the bird sure does wonders for my shoulder.lol. nice tie Matt! Enjoyed watching. 👍

[@davehall2160]

Cool looking fly, Matt That emu looks like cdc. Does it flow like cdc in the water Thanks for the video

[@Barnabweel]

Hi. Trying to tie my first fly! That olive feather you tied in - is that just called a feather? I don’t have anything that says “feather” on it - but it days hearse - but it doesn’t look like a full feather like yours. Should I be buying material that says “feathers”; I guess hearle serves some other purpose? Thanks for these videos!

[@SavageFlies]

Don't worry, we use so many feathers it really is confusing! A herl, whether peacock, ostrich or emu is really just one fuzzy barb from a larger feather. Hackles are also just feathers, but kind of a special one that make good flies. Do a search for "hackle primer" and you'll find a video I did talking about a lot of the differences. Good luck my friend and welcome to the sport!!

[@burtonbrocious171]

Matt that fly should hammer the trout tks 😊

[@Barnabweel]

Bad - typing - my package says “herle”. Thanks

[@SavageFlies]

Haha! My spell check doesn't think herl is a word either. 🤣