Royal Trude

The Royal Trude may be a classic, but its effectiveness and high visibility still make it a must-have in any angler’s fly box. Plus, it’s easy to tie. First introduced in 1901, this dry fly is a variation of the Royal Coachman, featuring a hair wing for added buoyancy. It excels in small streams, especially for high-mountain trout—cutthroat in particular—thanks to its peacock body, red band, and highly visible white wing, which make it irresistible to fish.

This version is tied by J. Stockard Pro Tyer: Paul Shurtleff, Springville UT, You can find Paul on Instagram and Facebook. It appeared on the cover of our 2023 Catalog.

Materials

Hook: Partridge G3A-LY (or any standard dry fly hook).
Thread: Semperfli 18/0 Nano Silk (black).
Tail: Golden pheasant tippet fibers.
Body: Peacock.
Body band: Floss (red).
Rib: small wire (silver) - use extra small or brassie if smaller fly
Wing: Calf body hair or you can substitute Calf Tail.
Hackle: Whiting coachman brown saddle or cape.
Coating: Loon water-based head cement.

Step 1

Set your hook in the vise and start the thread approximately 1/4 of the hook shank behind the hook eye.

Step 2

Select a few golden pheasant fibers for the tail. Measure the length to be roughly the same as the hook length. Trim (if required) and tie in. Bring the thread to the beginning of the hook bend keeping the fibers on top of the hook.

Step 3

Select 2 or 3 strands of peacock for the rear body bump. Align the butts of the peacock strands, trim off the very tips and tie them in by the evened-out tips. Spin the peacock around the thread to form a peacock rope. Then, wrap a few turns of the peacock rope to form the rear bump and tie off. Remove the excess but save the remaining strands for the forward bump.

Step 4

Advance the thread up –– moving the same distance as the rear peacock bump from the rear bump –– to give an even section for the red band. Tie in the wire (optional) and the red floss for the band. Wrap the floss up to the start of the second peacock bump, then wrap it back, and then forward again creating a 3-layered band of red floss for the center bump. Wrap the wire over the floss in even-spaced turns (2 to 3 max) and tie it off.

Step 5

Tie in the same 2 to 3 strands of peacock used for the rear bump, spin it around the thread again to form a peacock rope. Wrap 2 to 4 turns for the forward peacock bump, tie off and remove the excess.

Step 6

Select a small clump of calf body hair (can be substituted with calf tail) for the wing. After cleaning out the clump of hair, use a hair stacker to even the hair tips. Measure the wing to be the hook shank in length. Trim off the butts and tie in the calf body hair wing at the end of the forward peacock bump. Tie in the remaining wing butts and make a clean thread ramp for the hackle.

Step 7

Select a hackle and tie it in on top of the hair wing ensuring that the 'shiny side' faces forward. Bring the thread to just behind the hook eye.

Step 8

Wrap the hackle in close touching turns, preening the fibers back after every turn to slightly compress the hackle turns and not trap any hackle fibers. Wrap the hackle to the hook eye, tie off the hackle, pull the remaining hackle back and whip finish behind the hook eye and in front of the hackle. Remove the thread and hackle and treat the thread head with head cement.