Thanks for the nice comments. This old guy appreciates them. I'd love to tie a bunch more flies with bronze peacock herl bodies but I have two problems, as do most of you. Namely, finding "wide" peacock herl and secondly, "wide bronze-colored" peacock herl. Strung herl is out of ...

DUBBN

Great minds (well, yours at least) think alike. I tied these quite a few years ago on a whim. Had no idea what to call them.

Bob

Re: waxing threads whether it be silk or synthetic - during some fly tying sessions, I've often showed the difference of how waxed threads cling to the hook better than unwaxed threads. I simply take several "locked in" thread wraps of unwaxed thread and then pull on it as it slides off th...

DUBBN

Could you please post pics of your orange flies. They didn't show when I clicked on your link. THANKS.

Bob

With all the discussion of the correct dressings for various named flies, maybe Cutcliff (I think it was him) might have been on to something by just numbering his tyings. I might start doing the same in the future, but that would mean I'd have to start writing down all the materials for each fly th...

One of the MANY things I've enjoyed about this string of posts is that it "somewhat confirms" my own meager efforts as I tie flies that are over-hackled with fatter bodies (like me - body-wise, not hackle-wise!) and seldom exactly as shown in the old (or new) dressings, with only a few exc...

Andrew

This is the hackle I used on the above flies (my own name for this bird)....upclose it's a very nice reddish / brownish color:

Bob

When I first got into fly tying years ago; I learned that one of the mysteries of fly tying was; how did Rogan got the color for his Fiery Brown fly. The only clue, apparently, was that he used donkey urine. I did a huge amount of research, traveled hundreds of miles, did a number of dye experiment...

In going through some of the books next to my old recliner, I noticed the "Orange Otter" book and glanced at it again recently. A wonderful read and, of special interest to me (again), was that the Rev. Powell used many "soft hackle-type feathers" in his fly dressings with multip...

Every now and then, I get the urge to do a few of the Stewart's Black Spiders and break a few starling hackles! But, I seem to go back to tie (and fish) more "Black Magic Spiders" than Stewart's.