Blue Bottle V. Soft Hackle

[Old Hat]

Hook: Daiichi Alec Jackson's Crystal North Country #15
Body: fine holographic blue tinsel
Hackle: dark dun hen

[crazy4oldcars]

Now, see! I have had a spool of this in my kit for while, with no real use for it. I never considered making a tinsel body on a soft hackle.
Pearl, Gold, Silver. Oh boy. Here I go again!
Thanks, Oldhat.

Kirk

[Johnno]

Nice.

We have a nice little blowfly type pattern down here "Black Gnat Silver Twist" that I made a varient of: "Black Gnat Blue Twist". I'll post a pic sometime...

[Old Hat]

Nice.

We have a nice little blowfly type pattern down here "Black Gnat Silver Twist" that I made a varient of: "Black Gnat Blue Twist". I'll post a pic sometime...

Would love to see it. We really don't have any "blue" insects or even close resemblances here but that doesn't seem to stop the fish. They like blue. There is even rumors here in the Pacific Northwest that "blue" is the new "purple".

[GlassJet]

We really don't have any "blue" insects or even close resemblances here but that doesn't seem to stop the fish. They like blue. There is even rumors here in the Pacific Northwest that "blue" is the new "purple".

Hmmm.... Snipe & Blue.... I sense rumblings in the club house....

andrew/.

[DNicolson]

I have been browsing in the back posts and
saw this - bluebottle is quite a useful pattern here.

Bluebottle & Greenbottle
Hook :- 18, 16, 14 or 12.
Tying Thread :- Black.
Hackle :- Black hen dressed conventionally or wound half way down body.
Body :- Metallic blue or green tinsel accordingly or pearlescent over black thread.(Blue holo tinsel used)


This one using Crow is a nice pattern that works well.

I tied others using various Kreniek coloured tinsels I had acquired.

Donald

[Old Hat]

I have seen those on your website Donald. Might have been where I got the idea to do this one originally. It has been a great producer. I have started playing with a lot of blue in my steelhead patterns as well.

[flyfishwithme]

I have two references to the Bluebottle.
The first is in Reid's book "Clyde Style Flies (p69) where an extensive description is given, the other is in a little know manuscript by Tom Forsyth of Lesmahgow in the Scottish borders.
In the former the dressing is:
Green Gossamer Silk
Green Lurex Tinsel Black Cock Hackle
Hackle whisks for tail.
The dressing for the latter is:
Wet fly -
Tie in a piece of green or blue lurex tinsel and closely wind this towards the neck of the hook. Then wind on several turns of black hen hackle. Hook sizes 12 to 16.
Dry fly -
Use a cock hackle.
Invented in the 1950's by David Murral of Hurlford in Ayshire.
He also was the inventor of another fly called 'Murray Firefly' (from Reid)
Whisks: Two or three black feather fibres
Body: Pinkish lurex (for one third of the body) and remainder of green lurex tinsel
Hackle: Black

[Johnno]

Heres the Black Gnat Blue Twist: A variation of mine of an old New Zealand Pattern: Dean's Black Gnat Silver twist.

Body is blue lurex twisted with osrich herl. Black hackle. Sizes 10 - 14. The high country blowfly down here is a fat thing with a very distinctive almost metallic blue body... Its a good still water pattern as well as occasion on streams too. There is also the green twist which has a darker green lurex in the body

[Old Hat]

There is also a couple in Bergman's Trout. Both are winged wets.

Blue Bottle
Tail: black
Rib: silver (optional)
Body: blue floss
Hackle: black
Wing: slate

and the Blue Blow
Tag: silver tinsel
Body: blue floss
Hackle: black palmered
Wing: slate