Fly Pattern: Madam X
							
                   Tyer's Name: Rosemary Deane
                   Date: February 7, 2011
	 
	 
    Fly Originator and History: The "MADAM X"  uses 4 materials and is completed 
    in 8 tying steps. Doug Swisher created the "MADAM X" in the early 1980`s as a 
    general attractor or searching fly for fishing  the Bitterroot River in Montana. 
    It is a multi-purpose fly which is especially productive during a stonefly hatch 
    and grasshopper or other terrestrials season. It can also be quite effective 
    during a caddis fly hatch. The originator says it is the best dry fly attractor 
    pattern he has ever used. The deer hair body coupled with the incredible action 
    of the round rubber legs make the fly irresistible to trout.
    
                                  How the Fly is Fished
    Suggested line and leader: Your favorite dry fly line and 9-10 ft leader with 
    appropriate tippet for fly sizes #6-#12.
    Depth range:  Surface.    
    Suggested retrieve: Drift through different water types. Faster riffles and 
    shallower water near the banks of a river with moderate to slow currents are 
    the most productive. It also works effectively in pools near rocks or logs
    Comments: Adding several twitches to the fly during the drift can be quite effective.
    
                                  Fly Material
    Hook make /size / length: Dry Fly (Mustad 94840, TMC 100) sizes #6-#12. 
    Thread: size / color / type: 3/0 or 6/0 UNI thread.
    Weighted? y/n: No.
    Tail material / size / color: Deer hair 1/3 the hook gap in thickness and 1/3 
    of a shank length long.
    Body material / color: Yellow tying thread.
    Thorax size / color: Yellow tying thread same as body. 
    Wing size / color: Bundle of Deer hair about 1/2 the hook gap in thickness 
    and  about as  long as the hook shank and tail combined.
    Head size / color: Semi bullet head deer hair tied down at front 1/3 of the 
    hook shank.
    Other: Legs: Round rubber leg material no larger in diameter than the hook wire, 
    side lashed to each side of the hook shank. Trim the rear legs even with the 
    end of the tail, the front legs slightly shorter. 

                                  Tying Steps
    1. Tie on a thread base, starting  at the bend, then wrap 2/3 of the way up 
    the shank. 

    2. Stack a small bunch of deer hair. Bind the hair by its butts at the spot 
    where the thread is hanging. The tips of the hair should extend beyond the rear 
    of the shank a distance roughly equal to the hook's gap. Do not let the hair 
    spin around the hook-hold it in place as you bind it.

    3. Trim the butts closely. Hold the hair down around the shank as you wind back 
    to the bend in open spirals. Make a couple of wraps at the bend, and then spiral 
    the thread back up to the front of the hair. At the front of the body, make a 
    couple of tight wraps to lock the spirals in place. The body should now have 
    a pattern of crosses along it. 

    4. Comb and stack another small bunch of deer hair (or elk) for the head and 
    wing. Hold the hair so that its tips are even with the tips of the tail, and 
    cut the butts straight across about 1/4-inch beyond the hook's eye. This 
    establishes the correct length for the clump.
    
    5. Turn the clump around so that the butts point toward the bend of the hook. 
    Bind the hair, by the butts, from the eye to the front of the body. Try to 
    keep the hair atop the shank; hold it firmly in place as you wrap.

    6. With the thread hanging at the front of the body, stroke the wing-and-head 
    hair up, and then pull it back and down. Keep the hair on top of the shank. 
    Bind the hair in place with a few tight wraps of thread. You now have a wing 
    and a half-bullet head. Ideally, the wing's tips should be even with the tail's 
    tips.

    7. Bind a strand of white rubber along each side of the head. Whip-finish the 
    thread at the front of the legs. Clip the thread. Trim the legs long; when the 
    rear legs are pressed against the sides of the fly, they should reach to the 
    tips of the tail. 

    8. Cement the head and  whip-finish.


        Bibliography: 
        1. "The Benchside Introduction to Flytying"  Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer.
        2."Flies of the Northwest" an Inland Empire Fishing Club publication.     
        3.Fly Tyer Magazine. "The Madam X"  by Skip Morris.
        4. Various Internet sources.

                Rosemary Deane (Rick Shadforth) 02/28/11