FLYMPH FORUM

So I tried to get a better shot of the Devil's Crook pattern I sent in for the Forgotten Flies swap.

I had a couple references for the Devil's Crook:
Carl's excellent version http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... il+s+crook.
North Country Flies book by Mike Harding.
The North Country Fly by Robert L Smith.

Hook: Daiichi #12 1550
Tying thread: vintage Pearsall's silk in Ash. (thanks Martin)
Hackle: Partridge
Wing: Partridge wing quill. It's a paired cluster, matched but not matched in a duck quill wet fly manner. The partridge quill didn't want to match, but simply using a "rolled" wing wasn't quite right either. A trout tooth would alter any photogenic result anyway.
Body: Touched dubbed hare's ear on well waxed silk.

Excellent, w. Would you please describe (or SBS) how the "paired cluster" wing is constructed?

Bill, if I tried to SBS with pics I wouldn't get to it today. But, it's the same process as duck quill wings. Finding just the right feather on each wing that offers the suppleness and mottling to compliment the hackle. Choose the pair that mirror one another and remove the slips from the mirrored feathers as you would with duck quills. I cut out 7-8 barbs from each feather and lay one face down on the bench and align the other face up so the tips match. It will be evident that this is not going to produce the elegant matched wings as duck feathers will. I actually pull the barbs apart a bit once I am holding the matched pair for tie in. Holding the pair I trim the base square and tie in so there is no trimming after tying in.
A rolled wing, like a wood duck wing won't have an inside and outside face but these fibers do and I wanted the outside face showing when the fly is in profile. To me that describes a "paired cluster" more than a match quill wing. There will be someone who can make a beautifully paired wing from partridge, but it isn't me. I tied a half dozen trying (it was a swap set so I was doing my best) and realized the best effect was to highlight the mottling of the fibers by pairing them but be satisfied with the clustered result. If that's unclear I can try again.

Partridge isn't easy to work with when winging flies Imo. You've done a great job working the materials of this fly into something masterful, no surprise though. Looking forward to these.

Nice!

Great job William. I don't worry about the wings too much. I roll them. I generally pull 4x the width of the wing I want off of one feather. Align the tips. Fold the edge quarters to meet in the center then fold in half. If I am tying a smaller pattern #16 or smaller, I just pull off 2x the wing width I want, align the tips and fold in half. Like you, I make sure the most striking color is on the outside.

Man, that is such a nice pattern! Makes me want to go fishing. Great fly, William. I am looking forward to seeing the swap fly.

Fellow member Carl "Old Hat" Sanders was good enough to share with me a source for the Devil Crook pattern, "A Guide To North Country Flies and How To Tie Them" by Mark Harding. In his text, the author admits that he had no reference illustration for this pattern and therefore admits that he " ... guessed that the wing was a bunch of [partridge wing] fibers tied back along the hook." Being curious as to how the fly would look tied with matched slips from a partridge wing feather, I came up with this as an alternative:

I don't hate it, that's for sure.

Bill, your Bergman wings skills are top rate. It's something I still need to spend some time working on. I love this version. It's a nice alternative.