Thorax on flies

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raven4ns
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Thorax on flies

Post by raven4ns » Sat May 30, 2015 10:12 am

While looking up soft hackle patterns, I noticed the same pattern may be tied with a thorax and some are not. Is there a difference in effectiveness of one over the other or it it just the tyers preference? Thank you.

Tim
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Roadkill
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by Roadkill » Sat May 30, 2015 10:24 am

raven4ns wrote:While looking up soft hackle patterns, I noticed the same pattern may be tied with a thorax and some are not. Is there a difference in effectiveness of one over the other or it it just the tyers preference? Thank you. Tim
I think both are true. Sometimes one fly definitely works better than the other, all manner of things may make the difference selective feeding, different water conditions, fast or calm water, how the fly is manipulated. Fly fishers preference is another realm all its own. ;)
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Ruard
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by Ruard » Sat May 30, 2015 10:41 am

You can find much about thoraxes in the book of DC Townsend: Fly-Tying with Harold Howorth.


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William Anderson
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by William Anderson » Sat May 30, 2015 3:43 pm

Hey Tim. I would be skeptical of anyone declaring a significant difference, when the thorax is not substantial. A P&O with or without a small dubbed thorax behind the hackle fishes similarly. It's possible in theory, but seems unlikely. I fish spider patterns with and without and find them both effective. I do like a thorax that is a little wild offering additional action in the pattern. Two factors may be of minor interest. One, a small ball of hares ear behind the hackle will collect a bit of air and maintain a buoyancy that a spider without the dubbing would not. That would effect the behavior to some degree. Second the hackles of a very soft game hackle will sweep back under a strong current when held at the end of a drift and the profile of that fly would have a more tapered appearance. That might also be of interest, besides the general subtle change in profile created by the presence of the thorax. Unless a spider has weight added, spiders are going to hang fairly high anyway. I doubt the buoyancy is a real issue. Some might, but I wouldn't put my money on either style for effectiveness. If you find different, please let us know.
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by Mataura mayfly » Sat May 30, 2015 6:49 pm

Ruard wrote:You can find much about thoraxes in the book of DC Townsend: Fly-Tying with Harold Howorth.


greeting


Ruard
I second this recommendation, having just recently discovered this very enlightening volume.
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Old Hat
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by Old Hat » Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:11 pm

Honestly, the only difference I have found is a thorax for color purposes, not in any significant presentation or fly behavior. It is not a one over the other difference, just that a certain color added may be more attractive at a specific time. Furthermore, the only time it has made a noticeable difference is when the thorax has been a significant color either a hotspot or contrasting with the fly body, like a very dark hares ear on yellow spider.
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by raven4ns » Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:39 am

Thank you, guys, for your help. I'm tying up a few different recipes to see if it makes any difference. At the moment I am leaning more towards using a thorax to give the fly a little more bulk. I appreciate all the help everyone has given me since I joined.

Tim
All the best,

Tim
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Roadkill
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by Roadkill » Tue Jun 02, 2015 10:00 am

As a local flyshop owner responded to a new flyfisher when asked about all the different flies in stock...

"You want to know why there are so many flies in my shop? I'll tell you the truth. They all work sometimes!" ;)
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by ocsofthackle » Thu Jun 04, 2015 5:41 pm

I believe there is truth to all that has been said regarding the addition of a dubbed thorax on a spider. To me the addition depends on whether it pleases my eye. if I find it pleasing than I fish it with confidence---------and anytime a fish my fly with confidence I seem to catch more fish.
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Re: Thorax on flies

Post by Old Hat » Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:45 am

ocsofthackle wrote:I believe there is truth to all that has been said regarding the addition of a dubbed thorax on a spider. To me the addition depends on whether it pleases my eye. if I find it pleasing than I fish it with confidence---------and anytime a fish my fly with confidence I seem to catch more fish.

Yes, there is a lot to believing in the pattern.
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