FLYMPH FORUM

On a recent visit to Powell's Bookstore in Portland, Ore., I was fortunate to find, among other things, an inexpensive copy of "A Book of Trout Flies," by Preston J. Jennings, first published in 1935. While the entire book is interesting, much of it is devoted to tying dry flies. I did, however, find this statement, which applies to the topic at hand:

"When flies with fur bodies are being tied, it is absolutely necessary to take due regard of the color of the tying silk, as furs are translucent when wet and the tying silk, which is not visible when the fly is dry, shows through when the fur is wet."

John - Thanks. That is an interesting quote.

JohnP wrote:On a recent visit to Powell's Bookstore in Portland, Ore., I was fortunate to find, among other things, an inexpensive copy of "A Book of Trout Flies," by Preston J. Jennings, first published in 1935. While the entire book is interesting, much of it is devoted to tying dry flies. I did, however, find this statement, which applies to the topic at hand:

"When flies with fur bodies are being tied, it is absolutely necessary to take due regard of the color of the tying silk, as furs are translucent when wet and the tying silk, which is not visible when the fly is dry, shows through when the fur is wet."

One has got to love absolute statements

Cheers,
Hans W

Hans Weilenmann wrote:

JohnP wrote:On a recent visit to Powell's Bookstore in Portland, Ore., I was fortunate to find, among other things, an inexpensive copy of "A Book of Trout Flies," by Preston J. Jennings, first published in 1935. While the entire book is interesting, much of it is devoted to tying dry flies. I did, however, find this statement, which applies to the topic at hand:

"When flies with fur bodies are being tied, it is absolutely necessary to take due regard of the color of the tying silk, as furs are translucent when wet and the tying silk, which is not visible when the fly is dry, shows through when the fur is wet."

One has got to love absolute statements

Cheers,
Hans W

Good post, Joe.

Howdy All;

Question bell went off again........

Went bac through a few threads to 'see' what has been used (thread),
with what (furs). From a quick looky-see I was able to determine that,
in 'general' thread and fur are close to each other in color.....
I'm sure, maybe not, that there are instances when a darker thread
might be used to give the impression of segmentation. Or ..... it may
go the other way 'round (?), to ??????? at this point I've confused myself.....
That's Okay though I'm used to the feeling .....

Any thoughts....????

hank

PS. This is something that I hadn't really thought about. Had I taken a class
it may have reared it's head, or at the least been mentioned...

John, there is an interesting point here about the guys who pontificate over dry fly triggers and fly design, who are occassionally the same guys who explore wet fly design. It has been a long time since I've entered a conversation regarding the various materials used in dry fly bodies, but I do remember a couple of opinions regarding the use of quills for bodies, which offer our perceived correct color and the segmentation that we see in the naturals and how they capture these qualities well, but lack the halo and translucency achieved with furs or even tubing, etc. I haven't found many exerienced anglers (or authors) who are such zealots that they cannot entertain the use of both methods, but there has been a gulf in the conversations where both fly dressing styles and body materials are discussed. If each is included in the same book, they are a best found in separate chapters. I suppose, and I know there are honestly hundreds of variables that go into play in a broad conversation of this nature, but before the film riding dries of the 60's/70's the bodies on dries were thought to ride above the surface, I guess presuming those bodies were not getting wet. I'm not sure, it's never been an interest of mine. But there must someone here who would venture an opinion or two.

I find the quote interesting because he is a fellow who is considering the organic qualities that we find in wet flies applied to his dry fly designs. Maybe there is a conversation to be had between those two worlds. For me, what most would consider an emerger counts as a dry fly for me. Klinkhammers and paraduns. In these cases the coordination of the dubbing and underbody take on a significance, depending on the body materials.

yep...two cups of coffee and twenty minutes of quiet time. I must be procrastinating something pretty important. Likey something my wife wanted me to do asap.

w

Thanks William. Thats the type of response that I was looking for after reading Johns post.

Thanks for the pertinent replies. I think he was talking about all flies, not just dry flies, when discussing thread color and fur bodies. That's why I thought it was relevant here. He fished the same streams as Leisenring; it would be interesting to know if the two ever met and discussed their theories of fly design.