Tongue-tied and twisted...

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CreationBear
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Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by CreationBear » Wed Jul 13, 2011 10:30 am

Still playing around with loops lately. Here's what you might consider a "yellow-jacket" softhackle (abdomen is black wire in an Antique Gold Pearsall's thread loop):
Image

But what I've been most intrigued by is working with a loop at the front of the fly to get a "twisted" effect to the hackle. I know the technique goes back to at least the Stewart's spider and that Hans, as far as I know, is the current master, but I've found that trying to twist what Hans uses for materials around the working thread would require me to grow another pair of hands and perhaps a prehensile tail. :) My quick-and dirty solution: I tied in a stripped hen hackle at the thorax, dropped a thread loop, and advanced the working thread to the eye. Back at the dubbing loop, I waxed one "leg" of the thread, inserted some dubbing and formed a "noodle" around the waxed portion of the loop before pulling the the hackle back through. At that point, I caught the loop and the stem of the feather in the crook of my dubbing twister and started to spin it all tight, being careful to free any hackle fibers from the dubbing brush as it formed. When everything was at a 90-degree angle, it was simply a matter of sweeping the fibers back and wrapping up toward the eye.
Image

At any rate, it's not an elegant solution but with the right thread (I'm loving the Griffith's 14/0) and a reasonably long feather, it gives me another option of getting feather fibers in a dubbed thorax rather than the "wind-and-bind" method I was using before. :)
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tie2fish
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by tie2fish » Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:12 am

It is real pleasure watching the evolution of a tying technique such as this.
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skunkaroo
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by skunkaroo » Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:16 pm

Neat technique. It would probably work best on almost "bodiless" spiders thereby avoiding the extra bulk of a heavier underbody.

Aaron
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willowhead
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by willowhead » Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:12 pm

This is good stuff..........great stuff. i agree with both Bill and Aaron completely. Beautiful flies and pics. Your very creative C.B. And thankx for the lesson. ;) btw, if you need some hooks, lemme know.....PM addy.
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letumgo
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by letumgo » Wed Jul 13, 2011 10:58 pm

My mouth is hanging open, in awe. Gorgeous!
Ray (letumgo)----<°))))))><
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CreationBear
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by CreationBear » Thu Jul 14, 2011 8:21 am

It would probably work best on almost "bodiless" spiders
Ha...thanks, guys. :) I think Aaron is on the money, though: the 14723's might work if you're fishing to caddis, but I think it's technique better suited to longer shanked hooks. (To my eyes there's nothing more elegant that the classic "Spey" profile--I envy those of y'all who have cause to fish 'em. :) )
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William Anderson
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by William Anderson » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:09 pm

CB, that's a cool technique. I would be hours trying to get it to look as nice as these. Those bodies are really nice and the hackle technique puts these into some new catagory. These are really nice.

w
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CreationBear
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by CreationBear » Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:21 pm

A couple of more using a little smaller hook:

Image

Image
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willowhead
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by willowhead » Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:51 pm

WOW!!!!! and the hits just keep commin'. ;)
Learn to see with your ears and hear with your eyes
CAUSE, it don't mean a thing, if it aint got that swing.....

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kanutripr
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Re: Tongue-tied and twisted...

Post by kanutripr » Sun Jul 17, 2011 1:10 am

Wow is right! What is the body on that last one, the white one?



Vicki
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