How To Tie Joe Cordeiro's Flat Mack

Join us for another fly tying tutorial. This time, we have New England legend Joe Cordeiro in the house to demonstrate how to tie his Flat Mack pattern.

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As the striper run here in Maine is starting to heat up, we have another great fly tying tutorial for you to make sure that you make the most out of your season. This time, we are joined by none other than Joe Cordeiro. Joe is a long time angler, guide, and fly tyer who resides on the Massachusetts coast. He has helped revolutionize tying with flatwing feathers and has created many great flies that work well for stripers anywhere during the run. This Flat Mack being one of them. If you want to catch more stripers this summer, be sure to have some of Joe's patterns in your box!

We want to send our deepest thanks to Joe and his son Greg for joining us for an afternoon of tying and hanging around the shop! You can find them both on social media and at flat-wing.com.

We've put together a kit that contains all the materials you need to tie this exact fly pattern.

Click the button below to shop the selection.

Materials:

Hook: Ahrex SA270 (3/0)

Thread: UNI 3/0 (White)

Bucktail: Hareline Large Northern Bucktail (White, Lavender, Olive)

Flash: Hedron Flashabou (Gold, Red, Blue)

Feathers: Cordeiro Flat Wing Saddle (White), Hareline Flat Wing Saddles (Yellow, Olive), Hareline Grizzly Half Saddles (Chartreuse, Olive, Teal Blue), Hareline Half Rooster Cape (Cream)

Body: Hareline Flat Diamond Braid (Purple)

Eyes: Jungle Cock Feathers

NOTE: We do not currently have any of the pink saddle feathers, or authentic Jungle cock. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Step 1

Start by laying down a tidy thread base until you are even with the hook point.

Step 2

Cut a pinch of bucktail that is around 2x the hook shank length, making sure it has enough stiffness to support the material. Using your left hand, grab the tips of the bucktail and use your right hand to pull out any shorter fibers that are unnecessary.

Step 3

Tie the clump of bucktail on top of the hook shank. Use your thumb and forefinger to pinch and hold the material in place while using tight thread wraps to lock in the bucktail.

Step 4

Using your thumb and forefinger, pinch the bucktail flat to create a platform for the feathers to rest on. Use tight thread wraps to lock in the shape of the bucktail.

Step 5

Select a single feather from a Hairline Half Rooster Cape that is around the same length as the bucktail tips. Strip away the fluffy fibers from the stem, leaving the fine fibers. Tie this in on top of the hook shank so that the feather tip angles upward to add support for the next steps.

Step 6

Using the fluffy fibers you stripped from the feather stem, create a dubbing noodle and slide it down your thread onto the top of the hook shank to form a "pillow" for the next feather.

Step 7

Select one Cordeiro Flat Wing Feather that is around 2x the length of the last feather. Strip back the fluffy fibers, leaving the fine fibers. Lay this feather flat and use your thumb and forefinger to hold it in place while tying it to the top of the hook shank.

Tip: Leave the stem attached to make tying this feather in easier.

Step 8

Tie in 2–3 strands of Hedron Flashabou in gold. Flash fibers should extend just past the tip of your last feather.

Step 9

Select a single Hairline Flat Wing Feather the same size as your last one. Use the same technique to pull out the fluffy fibers and tie it in on top of the hook shank so it lies completely flat.

Step 10

Select a single pink Hairline Flat Wing Saddle feather. This feather should be longer than the last. Use the same technique to pull out the fluffy fibers and lay it flat. Tie this in on top of the hook shank.

Step 11

Tie in 2–3 strands of pink Flashabou that extend just past the tip of your last feather.

Tip: Pay attention to where the thread sits on the hook shank. Limit your thread wraps to ensure there is plenty of room on the hook shank for future materials.

Step 12

Tie in another white Flat Wing Feather using the same technique — strip the fluffy fibers and lay it completely flat on top of the hook shank. This feather should be slightly longer than the last.

Step 13

Tie in a single blue Hairline Grizzly feather using the same technique — strip the fluffy fibers and lay it flat on top of the hook shank. This feather should be the same length as the last. Tie it in with 1–2 loose thread wraps, then tighten to lock it in place. Tie in 2–3 strands of blue Flashabou the same length as the feather.

Step 14

Select a green/chartreuse Grizzly feather that extends to the tips of the last few feathers and tie it in using the same technique, so it lies completely flat on top of the hook shank. Tie in 2–3 strands of purple Flashabou on top of the hook shank so they extend just past the feather tips.

Tip: Pay attention to where the thread sits on the hook shank. Limit your thread wraps to ensure there is plenty of room for future materials.

Step 15

Trim the feather stems sticking out in front of the thread and use tight thread wraps to lock in the last few steps, keeping all feathers on top of the hook shank and lying flat. Tie in a 10" strip of purple Bill's Body Braid on the bottom of the hook shank.

Tip: When wrapping tightly, keep the thread away from the hook point, as it will cut right through it.

Step 16

Wrap the Body Braid forward while keeping firm tension on it. Make sure to cover thread wraps completely and tie this off approximately one hook-eye length behind the eye of the hook.

Step 17

Grab another pinch of white bucktail. This clump should extend past the last tie-in point of bucktail. Use your left hand to hold the tips while using your right hand to pull out any unwanted shorter fibers.

Tip: Pulling out unwanted fibers reduces bulk and allows the fibers to move more naturally in the water.

Step 18

Tie this clump of white bucktail in on the bottom of the hook shank using tight thread wraps. Use your thumb to slightly roll the fibers up the sides of the hook shank to create a belly profile on the fly.

Step 19

Cut 2 thin clumps of purple bucktail that are 2–3" long and tie these in as shown, creating small shoulders to support future material.

Step 20

Tie in one thin clump of olive bucktail on top of the hook shank.

Step 21

Select a blue Grizzly feather that extends to match the tips of the last feathers. Use the same technique to strip and tie in this feather on top of the hook shank using a few tight thread wraps. Trim the excess stem to make room for more material.

Step 22

Select one green/chartreuse Grizzly feather that extends to the tips of the previous feathers. Use the same technique to strip and tie it in on top of the hook shank so it lies completely flat.

Step 23

Select a single olive Flat Wing Feather and use the same technique to strip and tie it in on top of the hook shank.

Step 24

Select 2 Jungle Cock feathers from the sides of the cape that do not have the yellow dot. Tie these in on each side of the hook shank using a few tight thread wraps to lock them in place. Trim the excess stems.

Step 25

Select 2 Jungle Cock feathers that have the yellow dot, imitating the eye of a mackerel. Stack and tie these on top of the previous Jungle Cock feathers on each side using a few tight thread wraps. Trim the excess stems.

Step 26

Trim all remaining excess stems and use tight thread wraps to lock everything in place.

Step 27

Add 3–4 whip finishes and apply a coat of Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails (or your preferred head cement) to finish the fly.

Your Flat Mac is Ready to fish!