Black Gnat Soft Hackle
From my own vise. Another use for starling. Look for an iridescent feather to suit the size of the hook. Black Gnats in all their incarnations have been decent flies for me on many small creeks. Soft hackles are great to fish as emerging bugs, floating just under the surface, hackle swept back trapping tiny pockets of air around the body of the fly. The trapped air can represent trapped gases on the natural insect. I’ve also tied this on a curved scud / wet fly hook.
Hook: Standard curved scud hook 12-18
Thread: Red 8/0
Hackle: Irredescent Starling
Body: black dubbing dubbed onto the thread finely
Ribbing: Pearl Crystal Flash
