Thunderhead Dry Fly - Fly Tying Appalachian/Great Smoky Mountain Trout Patterns

This Smoky Mountain original is attributed to Fred Hall of Bryson City, North Carolina. Jesse Jamerson may have brought the fly back from Wyoming but the exact origin is a bit hazy. This easy-to-tie pattern is a decent mayfly dun imitation or a generic attractor pattern.
Hook: #10-18 dry fly
Thread: Black
Tail: Deer hair
Body: Gray dubbing (medium)
Wing: White calf tail
Hackle: Brown cock
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. I've been uploading at least three new videos a week (usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday).
Thanks for stopping by. Please let me know in the comments if you have any tips or tricks that could help me or anyone else watching.

[@SavageFlies]

More history on the fly, including how it may or may not have gotten such a cool name can be found on the Savage Flies website: savageflies.com/thunderhead-dry-fly-appalachian-great-smoky-mountain-trout-pattern/

[@marshallbaldwin8960]

I think this looks like a great fish catching fly. Thank you Sir Matt for the easy to follow tutorial.

[@user-xy8is7yy7k]

Been having great success with these in the smokies!

[@jeffreystone7327]

I’m getting to the point I need to get a hatch chart for my area. I’d like to be tying flies in order that I’ll need them. The history in this series is very interesting. I need to check into getting a copy of this book. Great video and tying. Thank you Matt, very educational and enjoyable.

[@richardjones2129]

Nice Adam's looking fly. That's what caught my attention as the Adam's n various colors is my favorite dry along w/the royal coachman my last resort go 2 fly. Thanks again for another great video. God Bless n fish on Matt!

[@chipblanton753]

Nice job . This has always been one of my favorite Smoky Mountain patters. This has become my favorite channel !

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Chip; I really appreciate that! And you know what... I had never tied or fished this fly until this summer, but I can now say that the Thunderhead has quickly become one of my favorites. This thing did amazing for me out west, and it's a killer through fast and riffled water. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@chipblanton753]

@@SavageFlies Walter Babb told more in a class once that Smoky mountain Candy is really just a take off of the Thunder Head. Keep up the great work ,I watch almost every day.

[@SavageFlies]

@@chipblanton753 -Yes! I should have mentioned the Smoky Mountain Candy too. I've done great with that one this year as well. I still like the Thunderhead a bit more, if for nothing else it's got that awesome name.

[@ericrollins4607]

Grew up fishing the Smokies, this fly is perfect for visibility on the water and effectiveness in catching fish.

[@SavageFlies]

Eric- you're not kidding! I had a lot of luck with this thing up here in Virginia this summer, and it was killer out in Idaho on the North Fork of the Salmon River. Just something about those Adams colors that make a fly successful. Thanks for watching my friend. Cheers. -Matt

[@donaldburleyson3099]

I don't know how you don't have more subscribes to your channel? I look forward to Smoky Mountain flies you've been doing. I was just fishing Wilson creek here in NC. Today. Keep the flies coming my friend!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Donald. I'd like to grow it faster too! But it's a pretty new channel so I'm not disappointed at the pace. I'm just having fun and learning this KZbin thing as I go. And by the way, I've got about 52 flies in the GSM series I plan to do (and I'm only on number 17) so this will go on for a while. Cheers, Matt

[@donaldburleyson3099]

I've been tieing flies for about two years now and I've come to enjoy the art of tieing almost as much as fishing. There's nothing like catching a wild trout on something you've tied yourself! N.C. has so much rich history in trout fishing. Anyways keep it up and Im sure your channel will continue to grow. I do want to say I watch alot of videos on fly tieing and your skills are right up there with the best of them! I look forward to more videos! Take care!

[@SavageFlies]

Donald, thanks so much for the positive comments and encouragement! And yes, tying can definitely be rewarding when you're able to fool a wild trout on something you created yourself. It's a pretty cool feeling. Thanks again my friend.

[@1212streamer]

Matt...I'm sure you know that the Thunderhead is traditionally a split wing dry like the Wulff creations. But I tied one your way, and found that it balances better with the single calf tail post. Faster, simpler. A real improvement. Old dog new tricks. Thanks!

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Jule! I did not know that. I just looked at the picture in Don Kirk's book again and still couldn't tell. But I agree with you, a single post is certainly one less step and may not make too much of a difference to what the fish see anyway. Thanks for the note!

[@mikeney5113]

Another good looking tie matt.thanks for sharing!!.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks MIke! It does look like hundreds of other Adams imitations out there, but somehow this one has become popular enough to make it into a lot of the literature.

[@bisleykid]

Awesome fly, really effective. My cousin's favorite pattern.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks! I imagine with this deer hair tail and thick hackle up top this thing will probably float like a cork. And good for our old eyes to see. :-)

[@davehall2160]

Great looking fly matt

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Dave! Next up is a Royal Coachman dry. Trying to wrap up the "classic" series as I've got about 40 more in the GSM series to do. :-)

[@imethan-youtubetips7141]

8:08 great job and camera quality

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Ethan! Appreciate you watching my friend.

[@flyrodhiker8326]

I love to fish the Thunderhead prong in the Smokies. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the name of this fly, but I like to think that it does, it certainly works there. Thanks for sharing and great job!

[@SavageFlies]

That's cool to hear and you may be right. Check out the link in the pinned comment. At least a couple other folks think that too...

[@iamtony8634]

Hi new friend. I like your channel. I subscribe . I like

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you my friend. I appreciate you watching!

[@comesahorseman]

👍👍

[@OttoJulian_]

Hey Matt, this is interesting as usual!! I was browsing through your channel for some extra information about where I would buy the materials that you use as a noob on this subject. Not sure if it is on the description now that I think about it. So, just a couple of ideas, (just my opinion), maybe making a video of the tools you use or the materials (I'm sure you don't buy them at Walmart) and similar videos to get noobs like me started?

[@SavageFlies]

Otto- I definitely plan to do that. I'm just having fun tying right now so I haven't taken a break to do a series of videos on materials and tools. That will require a little more thinking, and some different setups and camera angles. But I'll have something up in the next couple of months. There are plenty of "tools to get started" videos out there if you're really thinking about it. But you're right, most materials are from specialty stores. But I do occasionally get stuff from Walmart or craft stores like Michael's. Take a quick look at jsflyfishing.com for an idea of the thousands of products fly tiers use. :-)

[@OttoJulian_]

@@SavageFlies hey Matt thanks for your reply. I don't think I'm starting any time soon, I have way too many things on my hands right now, but I'm thinking as someone who potentially could be interested on starting out. Oh and I know you are having fun making them, I think on the other video you were very excited about "going to make hundreds" of them. Or something along the lines lol. It's good all around that you are thinking about making those kind of videos.

[@jamesvatter5729]

I'm curious. Did they explain the name, Matt?

[@SavageFlies]

Jim- it's mostly unknown how it got its name, but there are two theories. It could be from Thunderhead Mountain (on the Tennessee side) or because the white calf tail looks like a cloud. I wrote a bit of history on the blog at: savageflies.com/thunderhead-dry-fly-appalachian-great-smoky-mountain-trout-pattern/.

[@PreppingWithSarge]

Always a hook gap. Got it. 👍 (i actually knew what that meant! I think your channel knowledge is starting to sink in a bit)

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! The funny thing is, I usually just wing it. You eventually get a feel for what looks right and just go with it. Of course, some of my early flies are so out of proportion it's embarrassing now. Thanks for watching my friend. :-)

[@williamzachary3838]

I applaud the attempt to replicate the Thunderhead pattern. While what you have tied is a reasonable facsimile of Fred and Allene Hall’s Thunderhead fly, there are many aspects of it that are so incorrect that I believe the name “Thunderhead” should not be applied to it.

[@SavageFlies]

Hi William. I appreciate the feedback. Other than not splitting the calftail wing, what are the many other aspects of it that are incorrect? There are three versions of it in Don Kirk's "Hatches and Fly Patterns of the Great Smoky Mountains," but only two pictures. And neither of the pictures look like he has tied the wing spent. I would appreciate any insight that you could share that might help me become a better tier.

[@williamzachary3838]

@@SavageFlies the difference is almost entirely in the materials, though your construction is slightly flawed. Some of the Halls' materials are vastly different to the supplies people use to attempt the pattern nowadays. My father got me a thousand Hall-tied Thunderheads for graduation. I still have a good proportion of them as well as enough of the Halls' original materials to tie many thousands more. I have mostly succeeded in duplicating theirs, with the exception of the wings. My wings look almost like Mrs. Hall's and they are fully functional, but there is a quality to the appearance of her wings that I have not quite been able to capture. Regarding your particular construction, you have the wing material right but you should at least double the amount and make sure that the wings are well bifurcated.

[@SavageFlies]

@@williamzachary3838 Thanks for the note.