Iso's from the Den

Moderators: William Anderson, letumgo

DUBBN

Re: Iso's from the Den

Post by DUBBN » Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:48 pm

Doug, your photography is great! Back ground would be preference. I chose Blue because Hans uses it. There are not a lot of patterns with that color in it. The Blue is not liked by a lot of folks, but for me, it shows my patterns in the best way I know to present them.


Have fun,

Wayne
User avatar
Old Hat
Posts: 4204
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 12:24 am
Location: Where Deet is a Cologne
Contact:

Re: Iso's from the Den

Post by Old Hat » Mon Dec 29, 2014 11:10 pm

These are beautiful Doug. The attention to detail is wonderful. Yes, you must get this picture posting thing down to share these beauties.
I hate it when I think I'm buying organic vegetables, and when I get home I discover they are just regular donuts.
http://www.oldhatflytying.com
User avatar
tie2fish
Posts: 5072
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:11 am
Location: Harford County, MD

Re: Iso's from the Den

Post by tie2fish » Tue Dec 30, 2014 8:01 am

As you kno0w, Doug, I think these are spectacular. As for the format, the photos themselves are in jepg, which would normally work. I could be wrong, but my guess is that your e-mail provider compressed them into a zip file.
Some of the same morons who throw their trash around in National parks also vote. That alone would explain the state of American politics. ~ John Gierach, "Still Life with Brook Trout"
User avatar
Smuggler
Posts: 1707
Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2011 7:46 pm
Location: Pennsyltucky

Re: Iso's from the Den

Post by Smuggler » Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:00 am

Very nice Doug. I'm interested in the thorax and wing case design. Do you happen to know which species of Iso these imitate?
User avatar
redietz
Posts: 1726
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:21 pm
Location: Central Maryland

Re: Iso's from the Den

Post by redietz » Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:30 pm

Smuggler wrote: Do you happen to know which species of Iso these imitate?
According to the latest evidence, there is only one species of Isonychia in the east; sadleri and harperi are now considered synonyms for bicolor.

Since it's a Dette fly, I think we can assume it's for the east.
Bob
DOUGSDEN
Posts: 2506
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:57 pm
Location: Sardis, Ohio

Re: Iso's from the Den

Post by DOUGSDEN » Tue Dec 30, 2014 11:46 pm

Bob and Eric,
Wow! I couldn't have said it better! I have to admit that I am simply responding and tying and following a recipe from one of the greats, Walt Dette. One thing I have noticed is that the finished product, the nymph pattern itself, is extremely soft to the touch! All of the ingredients, sans the hook of course, have an extreme softness which goes a long way in having a trout hold on to the fly just that split second longer. Also, the general look of the nymph is rather buggy looking. Soak one in a glass or dish of water and this becomes even more apparent! As for the color....again, I am in the immitation stage of my tying career and I have already altered the color of the thorax to a darker gray than was pictured on my posting. Shame on me! Also, I racked my brain trying to come up with what I thought was the right color for the abdomen. I started out using the orig. recipe from Eric Leisers fabulous book, "The Dettes A Catskill Legend" and then I started doctoring the mixes quite a lot. It has occured to me that maybe I should go and find the natural nymph and closely look at it's features including the appx. shade of it's abdomen! Meanwhile, I settled on a dark maroon or sherry colored rabbit dubbing and it looks pretty neat even though the natural may look different! The pattern has worked on my speckled darlings (bluegill) before quite effectively and I plan on reintroducing them to Isonychia Bicolor as soon as the ice melts away and open water is a reality. I cannot speak for the trouts that are lucky enough to live where this "Slate Drake" makes it's home!
Thanks Friends,
Doug
Fish when you can, not when you should! Anything short of this is just a disaster.
User avatar
Eric Peper
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:28 pm
Location: Austin, TX and Island Park, ID

Re: Iso's from the Den

Post by Eric Peper » Wed Dec 31, 2014 8:12 am

Here's an Isonychia nymph that I worked out several (about 40) years ago after watching the naturals (bicolor harvested from the Beaverkill) swim around in a gallon mayonaise jar for a while. The features that were most prominent to my eye were the light colored stripe on the dorsal side and the very prominent gill structure as well as the flatness of the body. I'm relying heavily on memory here for the entire dressing. This has been an evolving design, and I have been using the dressing shown for probably the past ten years

Hook: Mustad 9671 #10
Thread: Black
Underbody: 2 strips of lead wire tied parallel to sides of hook shank, overwrapped with thread and lacquered
Tail: peacock herl
Abdomen: peacock herl
Rib #1: brown ostrich herl
Rib #2: fine copper wire
Thorax: peacock herl
Wing case: Turkey tail feather
Dorsal stripe: stripped ginger hackle quill
Hackle: grizzly hen

This fly is fished with a good deal of motion as the naturals can swim about as well as most minnows

Image

BTW, I have one of Walt Dette's Iso nymphs in a frame with a Bill Schaldach etching of Barnhart's Pool on the Beaverkill just to the left of where I am typing this. One of my most treasured pieces.

Eric
A mountain is a fact -- a trout is a moment of beauty known only to men who seek them.
Al McClane in his Introduction to The Practical Fly Fisherman . . . often erroneously attributed to Arnold Gingrich
Post Reply