Next lot of soft hackles

[fly_fischa]

Hi Guys,

Here's the next lot of softies after all your advice. Happy with most of them except for the last two, thought I'd include them anyway.
Thanks for all your help.

Dirty possum dubbing (one of my blends) olive grizzlyhen hackle.





Another dirty possum dubbing (one of my blends) Badger hen hackle.





Hareline plus dubbing, medium dun hen hackle.




Same again smaller hook




Hareline dubbing badger hen hackle




Yellow Pearsals, peacock herl and partridge hackle.

[fly_fischa]

Thanks Mike,
I am not that sold on the hooks myself, thought I'd try them anyway.
I am looking at ordering some of ken sawada wet fly hooks especially the old limerick model.

[tie2fish]

Nice ties, fly_fischa. Your hackles are pleasingly sparse and well-spaced, even though there appear to be more barbs on the near side than on the far side in a couple of the photos? Perhaps this is camera angle, but I doubt that the fish will mind at all. Also, I very much like the color combinations.

[Otter]

Lovely set of flies.


Mike,That sounds almost as bad as wearing jeans on a golf course

The first fly I ever tied was a shrimp pattern. I started tying because I could not afford to buy flies at the time - boy was that an error in financial judgement . All the salmon flies I had ever used were tied on doubles. My meagre savings extended to a magnificent badger cape, packet of hot orange hackles , black thread, orange floss, orange hackle and silver wire. Proper hooks would have to wait so existing supply of mustad treble hooks for spinners were called into action and a judicious snip of the pliers yielded a double hook. The first creation was tied and christened "Bloody orange shrimp" - the bloody bit being the result of tying on a double without the aid of a vice - not to be recommended , and so I ventured to the river with 3 bloody shrimps. I had no access to any information on tying flies, did not know anyone that did and as they say ignorance is bliss and necessity is the mother of invention.

An hour later one of the bloody shrimps was firmly attached to a nice fresh grilse about 4lbs, not bad from low water in blazing sunny conditions and so my interest in fly tying was firmly established. Needless to say I had no net and the local bishop who was fishing below me duly netted the fish. He then proceeded to give me and other angler a long sermon on not having a net, we could hardly afford a box of matches... a net would be in the luxury item bracket. After graciously accepting his help and promising to buy a net when the finances permitted such a purchase I explained that I had just tied the fly and that it was the first one I ever tied. I offered him one of the flies which at first he was going to accept but when he examined it he announced that he had never seen such an abominable hook and declined my offer. After landing a further 2 salmon for me he went off in disgust swearing loudly that some salmon were just plain suicidal.

I had a great affinity for claret in sea trout flies, and so the next purchase was a few size 12 single hooks, claret seals fur and a packet of claret hackles. All sea trout flies I had ever seen (and that wasnt too many, a fella with more than a collection of a half dozen flies was considered a god) had wings. My mother had a goose wing which she used to sweep ashes from the fire, this was duly attacked with the scissors and so my first sea trout flies of a claret body, sooty wing and claret hackle were born. It did not enter my mind that it would not work, and I was not disappointed, I rarely left the river without a half dozen sea trout on it.

My tying abililites improved, a vice and may tools and materials were accuired, a few lessons taught me proper skills and whilst I had many successes with many patterns I doubt that any flies I ever tied had the same magic as those first two patterns. If you believe in your flies they will catch fish.

[Otter]

Quote "If you believe in your flies they will catch fish.".

This often holds true for salmon and seatrout flies, a lot of lake flies, and for a lot of "general" flies as well. However, it does not hold true very often for specific insect imitations. If you use a blue zulu in a Large Dark Olive hatch, you will have to believe very very hard indeed for it to work!

I rather fear my capacity for belief is not equal to the task!

LOL - snip of the red wool and trim tighly the black body hackle, remove ribbing and grease the blue hackle I bet it would take a trout - theres a challenge for me , add blue zulu to rivers box for next april ...... okay maybe not...

Thats why I now fish for brown trout , things are a bit more predictable !!

[skunkaroo]

Nice flies, I particularly like #1 and 2, though I'm going to go with Mike on the hooks. I have had some bad experiences with the old TMC 206bl which looks a lot like the current Grip 14723BL profile. It might have been poor fish handling on my part, but I had a devil of a time keeping fish on those hooks.

BTW I like your novel image format with the profile inset--gives a good view of the fly.

Aaron

[fly_fischa]

Thanks for all the feedback
Mike - Sawada hooks might seem expensive but in the scheme of things I've blown a lot more on less important tying material.

[letumgo]

Your certainly a fast learner! These flies are all beautiful. The only thing I and suggest to improve the look of these, is to hang a fish off them.

I love your special dubbing blend in the first couple flies. Could you share the proportions and specifics with us?

[fly_fischa]

Thanks Ray glad you like them. The dubbing is a bit of an experimental mix no real science to it. If I had to hazard a guess to the quantities; roughly 40% Natural Brown, 30% Olive, 10% Gray, 10% Golden Stone 10% Orange, churned up in a Krupps coffee grinder. It’s a beautiful dubbing to use, ties the nicest little nymphs, oops I meant soft hackles. Here's a link I found with a pic of the dubbing http://www.baxterhouseflyshop.com/servl ... g,,/Detail


Mike & Otter – Thanks for sharing your amusing fishing stories. I had a similarly satisfying experience when I first got into tying and fly fishing.
On this day I fished up a small stream, unknowing that it had already been covered by an experienced angler.
A complete novice armed with an altoids tin full of scruffy brown nymphs (The limits of my ability). I came to a small pool, spotted a nice brown, took my time before lobbing out (couldn’t call it casting) my nymph. I hooked and landed a 3.5lb brown (A trophy for this small stream).
This was watched by the angler returning downstream. He came over with his Winston in hand and vest bulging with gear, gob smacked that I managed to catch the fish which he tried for earlier.
He asked if he could see the fly that did the trick, I felt embarrassed after seeing the beautiful up wing dry in his hook keeper. When I produced the fly knotted to my leader well chewed by all the fish I’d caught earlier I could see his disgust.
I have fished this stream for the last 15 years and to this day that fish is my most memorable and still the biggest I have caught there. Enough of my waffling on and getting off the topic.