FLYMPH FORUM

Karsten, Your point about preferring to keep the fly close to the surface is interesting, and has come up in the past. Bill, when you tie, are you thinking about how to keep the fly from sinking too fast? There have been past comments about the effect of our modern tendency to use detergent to strip natural oils from fur dubbing, thus reducing the hydrofuge, and the air bubbles.

It is entirely possible that one of the reasons I do not have a great deal of success fishing soft hackled flies is that I like to start them relatively far down in the water column. This approach is based on two things: 1) my understanding of how the Leisenring lift is supposed to work, with the fly being brought up from below to imitate an emerging insect, and 2) I generally use soft hackles as searching patterns when fish are not active near or at the surface.

For this reason I do not tie my soft hackles with the objective of keeping them close to the surface. As a matter of fact, an ideal pattern for me would sink fairly quickly yet carry some air bubbles with it for translucence and to suggest gas. Perhaps I should change my approach?

I like them both. I like the idea of fishing them both with the sparse one on the point and keeping the fuller one right at the surface. Another idea...this is a good example and and lines up with my philosophy of tying purposefully. I have patterns that would cover both these styles as well and yes even the same pattern in both styles like you have here Bill. They are used for different presentations. The second one I would fish more traditionally letting it sink and drift, raising and hitting that deadly point of the cast. I would also use it to cast to far banks with an escalator cast and allow it to drift along very close to the bank. The second one I would fish 3 ways because of it's more full body and hackle. I would fish it as the top fly in a two-fly rig right at the surface. I would grease it a little and fish it just like a dry fly. It is also the style I tie if I am going to swing a wet fly. I have found swinging a fuller bodied fly with a fuller hackle is much more productive for me. I feel a swung fly perfumes better keeping a full profile and pushing some water as it swings.

Here's compromise ... a little more dubbing and a little more hackle while maintaining the "Hidy look":

Mk III is just beautiful!

Karsten should be banned for two weeks for improper thoughts!

I have a friend who has fished his winged wet flies for decades in this manner; first cast floating until it becomes wet and fishes in the surface. For each successive cast it fishes somewhat deeper until it pleases a fish. Sometimes this happens first cast. Just a few years ago he started using flymphs, fished the same way. He also sometimes impregnates his flymphs to make them float on, in or just below the surface. Seems as if flymphs right now are his best dry flies. A lot of his fishing is done in Henry's Fork

One of Gunnar Johnson's friends made the same observation decades ago when they were fishing for very difficult trout that refused every offer, dry, nymph, flymph. When he treated a flymph with his own floating concoction and offered it to the trout it took first cast. The performance was repeated several times. The first trout weighed more than 6 lb. The treated flymph held a lot of small air bubbles. Maybe that was what was doing the trick, who knows.

dd

tie2fish, Howdy;

Mr. Bill, thanks for taking the time to develop this compromise fly.
A true beauty in it's own Right. Probably out fish the other 2 handsomely.

hank

Beautiful ties Bill, mk111 is my fav

Stefan, I’ll take my punishment in the sinbin for impure thoughts.
Sounds like some of the scandinavians also have similar thoughts. One thing that occurred to me regarding your thoughts on the success of the fly using their “own floatant concoction”. You may be right about the trapped air bubbles it could also have something to do with scenting the flies Wouldn’t put it past u lot

Karsten, 'scenting the flies' , please tell me about your favourite scent.

That clever scenter was producing an alternative to Permaflote. He also exchanged some letters with Pete Hidy, right in the end.

dd

Stefan the secret scent is an attention getter, Surströmming

Mmmm. Fermented Baltic Sea herring. My favorite!