Waterhen and Red Fox Flymph

[William Anderson]

Another from the wallet. This is a body of pale red fox dubbing prespun on white silk and wrapped in touching turns over a brown tying thread base. All of these tones really come together when it's wet. When I get back to the vise I need to spend more time with this white silk and I'll try to get some wet tank shots of these. There is also a sparse shuck of very fine snowshoe underfur fibers.


Waterhen and Red Fox Flymph:

[Old Hat]

Meticulous dubbing William. Doesn't get any better. I would like to know if the snowshoe out the back changes the natural orientation of the fly when underwater. i.e. Does the fly sink butt or head first?

[tie2fish]

Even dry, that really has the requisite "buggy" look that attracts fish, w. IMO the trailing shuck does not detract from its classification as a flymph. Given JL's purported attention to the details he observed in streamside nature, I am a bit puzzled by the seeming lack of trailing shucks on his flies; this characteristic is quite common and readily observable during the nymph-to-dun stage of several species. But In his defense (as though he needs it ), he did not have Z-lon or poly yarn to work with.

[letumgo]

Marvelous pattern William.

[NJpatbee]

Excellent looking fly - it looks alive dry, curious to see it wet.

[hankaye]

dub-ya, Howdy;

The amount of "neatness" that you display sometimes intimidates me. But that's a good thing.
Have you scrubbed one of them with a brush yet?
Looking forward to a wet photo or 3 or more...

hank

[William Anderson]

Meticulous dubbing William. Doesn't get any better. I would like to know if the snowshoe out the back changes the natural orientation of the fly when underwater. i.e. Does the fly sink butt or head first?

Carl, that's a fair question and I expect it wouldn't but I haven't dipped this in a glass with a leader to notice. It's a good idea. I can't imagine it would fish better or worse with some fluctuation, but I would like to know. Or will the shuck retain significant hydrofuge which would effect the pitch of the fly and its appearance. I suspect if any, not much, but it wouldn't be the first time I was surprised by a dunk test.

I've wet these to see the body's color change but it sounds like a few dunk tests are in order. Soon. I hope soon.

[William Anderson]

Even dry, that really has the requisite "buggy" look that attracts fish, w. IMO the trailing shuck does not detract from its classification as a flymph. Given JL's purported attention to the details he observed in streamside nature, I am a bit puzzled by the seeming lack of trailing shucks on his flies; this characteristic is quite common and readily observable during the nymph-to-dun stage of several species. But In his defense (as though he needs it ), he did not have Z-lon or poly yarn to work with.

Bill, I wouldn't disqualify it as a flymph either, based on Hidy's definition. Flymphs have tails and not. I know we look back at some wet fly patterns and spiders and sometimes impose an interpretation of their meeting the attributes of emergers, but as that term was not in use, the addition of a shuck would have been a surprise. I wonder when the first shucks were added?

[William Anderson]

dub-ya, Howdy;

The amount of "neatness" that you display sometimes intimidates me. But that's a good thing.
Have you scrubbed one of them with a brush yet?
Looking forward to a wet photo or 3 or more...

hank

Hank, of all the neat-nics on this board, I know my ranking is safely in double digits.

The question about the brushing is interesting. I hadn't planned on it. I do cut up the red fox for dubbing into ¼" or larger lengths, but it's such a fine, soft material, like mole but longer and finer so it binds to the silk and lacks that wily, spikey effect of many dubbings. I like this for a tan caddis. I'll have to fish these more this season and report back.

[Old Hat]

I was just curious because of the floating properties of snowshoe hare feet. But going back and reading your post you said underfur, I just glazed over that and stuck snowshoe hare foot in my mind. I wouldn't expect the underfur to effect it much either.

There are a lot of patterns that are very effective with the shucks. Shane Stalcup used a lot of shucks in his pattern designs. He had all kinds of different shucks that he used.