How to tie the Professor Traditional Wet Fly with Davie McPhail

Today we are checking out the Professor Wet  Fly, tied by Davie McPhail. The Professor is a fly that was invented by a highly acclaimed Scottish Professor and Angler, John Wilson. The story behind the Professor is that John fell short of flies whilst out fishing and to make up for this, he took the petals of a buttercup and fastened them to a hook along with leaves and grass to imitate wings and legs. This arrangement was so successful that it led John to tie the real thing and create the widely popular fly, The Professor. A little trivia: John Wilson tied the first Professor and Blue Professor whilst his Brother, James Wilson a Zoologist, created the first Grizzly King and Queen of the water.

All of the materials needed to tie this fly are available from Glasgow Angling Centre as listed below, but as always, if you need any help finding materials or substitutes then we'll be happy to help. Time to tie the Professor Traditional Wet Fly, with the guidance of Davie McPhail.




Materials Used:

Hook: Fulling Mill All-Purpose Medium size 12

Thread: Start with Yellow and finish with Black Uni 8/0 

Tail: Dyed Red Duck 

Rib: Small Silver Tinsel

Body: Yellow Floss

Hackle: Natural Brown/Ginger Hen

Wing: Mallard Flank

Head: Black Thread

Additional materials: Additionally, Davie made use of Varnish, which he applied to the thread after completing the fly.

Davie's preferred type of whip finish tool can be found HERE!