Wet Fly - Alexandra

 As they usually do on the clickbait headlines; "This fly is banned!!". And to be fair, it was apparently, because it caught so many trout. It is a lough pattern, but is also used for sea trout on the rivers. Bit of history:

It is a Scottish pattern that was originally called the "Lady of the lake" and was later renamed after Queen Alexandra. It was apparently so successful in the mid 1800's that is was banned on some waters.

The picture below is of a variant of the Alexandra as tied by Davie McPhail. I will link to his video below.

I have to say, though, that it is a beauty. 

The Alexandra pattern is as follows:

Hook: Size 8-12 Wet Fly Hook

Tying silk: Black 

Tail: Red ibis substitute or slip of swan, dyed scarlet. Davie McPhail's variant uses red Marabou.

Body: Flat silver tinsel 

Rib: Oval silver tinsel. Davie's variant uses thin silver wire

Hackle: Black cock or hen hackle 

Wing: A pinch of green peacock sword fibres with slips of red ibis substitute or scarlet swan tied on either side. Red tinsel in Davie's variant. 

I like the variant tied by Davie McPhail. I like his videos in general.