White Ghost
A while back, I had a request for a tute on the grey ghost. The pattern originates from Carrie Stevens and goes back quite a way. To quote from the Global Flyfisher:
"No page featuring New England Streamers would be complete without a portion dedicated to Carrie G. Stevens, of Madison, Maine. Mrs. Stevens is the originator or the Grey Ghost, one of the most well-known and effective New England Streamer patterns to have been tied, and still a popular choice as a trolling and casting streamer today.
The story behind the origination of the Grey Ghost is well known. Carrie, the wife of Maine Guide Wallace Stevens, took a break from her camp chores and tied a streamer which would resemble a small baitfish. She tied a bunch of white bucktail under the hook, and two olive-grey saddle hackles on top of the hook, then took her creation to the Upper Dam pool, where she promptly hooked a 6 lb, 13 oz brook trout. She entered this fish into a contest which was being held by Field And Stream, winning second prize, and receiving a flood or orders for her new pattern. She found herself in the flytying business.
The Grey Ghost evolved a bit from the simple pattern which she caught the prize-winning brookie on, and she continued to create other patterns...some of which caught fish, others of which caught fishermen!"
I didn't have any of the grey hackle that the pattern calls for so here I'm using white which is actually OK since Mrs. Stevens went on to create the White and also the Black Ghost. So here it goes:
1. Using a Mustad 9572, long shank - size 2 hook, lay a thread base with flat wraps from the eye to just in front of the hook point and tie in the tinsel with the gold side facing out. The first wrap of tinsel will turn this over to the silver side. 
2. Return the thread to the hook eye and tie in orange floss. Using surgical gloves so the floss doesn't fray and get caught on your rough fingers and also so the oil on your hands doesn't discolor it - wrap the floss to the rear. Start your return to the front about 1/2 inch away from where you tied in the tinsel. 
3. Wrap the tinsel in tight wraps - side by side till you reach the floss. Then rib the floss with the tinsel evenly to the eye. 
4. Tie in 6 strands of peacock herl on the underside of the hook. Easier if you turn the hook over to do this. Then tie in a small bunch of white bucktail. When you tie in the bucktail - it will flair out if you make the first couple of wraps tight. Make them slightly snug, then tighter for the remaining wraps to secure it. 
5. Using golden pheasant crest - tie in one short crest for the throat and one long crest on the top, leaving the barbs draped over the sides. A note on crests - many times when you pluck one off - it can be twisted. It helps if you put the crests on a piece of glass with a few drops of water. With a needle or bodkin - you can then shape them however you want them - let them dry and they will be straight and shaped nicely. 
6. Take four hackles of the same length and size, strip off the fluff, even the tips and match them up. Prior to tying them in, you can put a very small amount of super glue just in front of the stripped stem to hold them all together. I found though - if you pinch them tightly enough when you tie them in, I never had any problem with them separating. 
7. For the cheeks - take two silver pheasant feathers and two jungle****eyes and pair them up for length. Take a very small amount of super glue and swipe the back of the jc. Then quickly match up the two feathers and glue them together as shown. 
8. After you make a pair of cheeks - tie them in on the sides, form the head and varnish. 
Finished White Ghost: Note that the head is a tad long - I should have advanced the floss forward a bit more towards the eye as this is the point everything else is tied in. It would have crreated a smaller head...
..... It's good enough for fishin though.
