Old Hat wrote:At #18 I prefer using a wider gape.

Mr. Hat,
Maybe you just catch larger trout than me! The bigger the fish ... the bigger the hook needed for a good hook set.

"Shank length" and "hook gape" are pretty much interchangeable for me, because one is directly related to the other. I don't think the 1X-long, 2X-short, etc. descriptions make much difference until the flies get pretty small (about #20 and smaller). With small flies, the "s...

It looks like you and our friend William are cut from the same cloth. (compliment) Did you see his recent post about Killer Bugs? The yarn you've identified does look like a very good match for Chadwick's 477. Ray, Thanks for the tip on William's Killer Bug post. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn'...

A follow-up on the Chadwick's 477 yarn... Ever since snagging a card of Chadwick's 477, I've been searching for a commercially available substitute that is a good color match. After considerable effort, I finally found a good one! Better, I think, than any of the previously discussed substitutes. Ra...

Thanks for the kind words gents. I've seen some impressive flies in the brief time since I've joined the forum.

What size hook? Sizes #16 - #20 are best on my home waters. Larger in the early spring; smaller in the middle spring. The hook above is probably a #15, but with a fairly short shank length. Fall olives are much smaller. Here's another fly that works well for Spring olives (maybe even better than th...

With the first taste of warmth in months, the olives of Spring won't be far behind. Leisenring's Blue Dun Hackle works well in my neighborhood ... http://i.imgur.com/aIsbVCu.jpg Silk: Primrose yellow Hackle: Light blue-dun hen Tail: Blue-dun hen Rib: Very narrow flat gold tinsel Body: Mole fur spun ...

I was wondering what makes this Spanish. Doesn't matter but the question occurred to me. Thanks for saying this one. William, The Dark Spanish Needle (known also as a Needle Brown and Dark Needle) imitates small dark stoneflies (genus Leuctra ) of the North Country. "Needle" of the name r...

I've always liked the combination of peacock and orange silk. (Peacock and anything, for that matter.) A Dark Spanish Needle pattern of John Swarbrick, Wharfedale Flies (ms. 1807, published 1907). Offered by Swarbrick as a small stonefly nymph. http://i.imgur.com/gLslRNS.jpg Thread: Orange silk Wing...

Nice fly ... beautifully tied and very trouty. The pattern is quite similar to a classic Welsh fly, the Coch-y-Bonddu, whose roots date to the 1700s as the Shorn Fly. "Coch-y-bonddu" translates roughly to "red and black", which are colors both of the beetle the fly imitates and o...