Black Pennell: How to tie 2 versions of this great fly

The Black Pennell is another one of those versatile wet fly patterns that is an essential addition to your fly box for fishing on rivers and stillwaters.

This classic wet fly pattern, developed by Henry Cholmondeley Pennell, has been catching trout on rivers and stillwaters for over 100 years.

The ones in my fly box have accounted for some lovely trout, grayling, sea trout, and even…

the surprise salmon.

This salmon was caught by mistake while fishing a #12 tungsten bead Black Pennell for trout on the River Ribble.

On stillwaters (lakes, lochs, reservoirs), it is good early in the season when midges are hatching.

So, let’s take a look at this classic fly pattern…

How to tie the Black Pennell fly

It’s a relatively simple fly to tie with a golden pheasant tippet tail, a silver ribbed black body, and a hackle. Therefore, a great fly for beginners to tie.

Tying material list:

• Hook – Kamasan B170 or 175 (sizes 16 to 12)
• Thread – Black 8/0
• Tail – Golden Pheasant tippet feather
• Body – Black floss
• Rib – Fine silver wire
• Hackle – Black Hen

Step-by-step tying instructions:

Step 1. Place the hook firmly in the vice and start the thread 1mm behind the eye. Wind the thread in touching turns down the hook shank, catching in a length of fine silver wire as you go

Step 2. Take 3 golden pheasant tippet fibres and tie them in before the hook bend. Make the tail length equivalent to that of the body.

Step 3. Tie a short length of floss at the end of the body and then wind the thread towards the eye.

Step 4. Wind the floss up the hook shank to form a neat body. Then wind the silver wire up the body to form the rib.

Step 5. Take a small black hen feather and tie it in by its tip.

Step 6. Wind the feather around the hook to form the hackle (ca. 2 turns). Finally, form the head with the thread, whip finish, and apply a drop of varnish.

If you are new to fly tying, you will find this instructional video by Davie very helpful.

In addition to the original Black Pennel pattern, I tie versions sporting a tungsten bead for fishing deeper in the water column. This is a neat way of adding weight to the fly while maintaining its slim profile.

The tungsten bead can be placed in front of the hackle to form the head of the fly. Alternatively, it can be positioned behind the hackle in the thorax area.

I’ve fished both versions of this weighted fly, which are equally effective, as far as I can tell.

How to fish the Black Pennell fly

On the Welsh Dee and River Ribble, I’ve found this classic wet fly works well on cold days when there’s no evidence of fly life activity.

My preference for the unweighted pattern (size 14 or 16) is to fish it on the top dropper of a team of wet flies. In this case, it’s probably taken for a midge, terrestrial flies, or pin-fry.

The other effective approach is to fish one of the tungsten bead versions on the point of a team of three wet flies. Especially when fishing wet flies across and downstream. In that situation, this weighted fly causes the other flies to fish deeper.

When wet fly fishing, I use a 9ft 5# rod, a floating line, and a 7ft 6X copolymer leader, which has been cut back to 5ft from the butt end. At the end of the leader, I tie on two 3ft lengths of 3 lb copolymer to form 2 droppers.

When fishing a single wet fly a simple 9ft 6X copolymer is a good choice.

On stillwaters (lakes, reservoirs, and lochs), the Black Pennell family of wet flies are often fished as a team from the bank or a drifting boat. The heavier flies are fished on the point or bottom dropper, while the unweighted pattern is fished on the top dropper.

It’s often advantageous to tie a fly with a bushy hackle for the top dropper to cause a wake when retrieved and to get the trout’s attention.

For those anglers who fish for salmon and sea trout, try fishing BP flies that have been tied on larger hooks because I have caught salmon and sea trout using these flies. It’s probably a great alternative to fishing a stoat’s tail.

Finally, I hope this article stimulates you to tie the Black Pennell and test it on your local river or take a trip to fish the Welsh Dee at Llangollen, where the fly catches fish when other flies fail.