FLYMPH FORUM

So I received this little pack of muskrat in the mail (thanks Ray) and immediately had to tie up this little soft hackle just to try it out.



hook - Gamakatsu S12S-1F size 16 (compliments of Mark R, love the straight eyes)
Thread - Uni rust brown 8/0
hackle - small jungle cock feather (again Mark R)
rib and thorax - dubbing loop with muskrat (thanks Ray)
body - copper Uni tinsel

I attached the hackle, took the thread down the body and formed a loop at the tail that would later become the dubbing loop, tied in the tinsel, thread back up behind the hackle, wrapped the tinsel, added the muskrat to the loop, wrapped that as a rib up to the thorax area. When I got to the thorax with the loop I just added extra wraps close together to form the thorax, wrapped the hackle winding the thread through the hackle to secure it and then whip finished (double three turn whip since I never cement small fishing flies).

The picture isn't that great, not to mention I haven't tied any small flies in a couple of months but I had to give this a go. Now for some of Dubbn's muskrat flies.


Vicki

A very nice blend of materials with excellent proportions, Vicki; it looks as though it will be "just right" when it gets wet. No one would guess that you haven't been tying small soft hackles on a regular basis lately.

it looks as though it will be "just right" when it gets wet.

+1... I'll definitely be interested in how the rib-over-tinsel works after a few fish and whether or not the rib will stay seated or slip over the slick tinsel body. A killer fly in all regards, no doubt.

That fly is SWEET! Interesting step by step process.....very interesting. i love the color combination.

Vicki - great color combination. Those guard hairs make nice tailing material too. Have fun!

Vicki, Howdy;

Yea like the sbs.. Gives me more understanding of how ya got it to where it is..

thanks;

hank

Great fly Vicki! I can use that pattern any where in the water colomn! Excellent tie!

Thanks people.

CB I don't know how the rib will hold up. I never catch trout big enough to destroy a fly! Actually most of the trout I fish for are in the 4-14 inch range so they are still babies. Or maybe it's just my amazing tying skills, Yeah, that's it. There isn't a huge amount of the rib that's not supported and the thorax area has the added bonus of being wrapped through with the hackle and then THAT wrapped through with the thread so it should take a bit of a beating. If the rib should be cut by the teeth the thorax should hold up and still be fishable. I'll try it and let you know.



Vicki

Actually most of the trout I fish for are in the 4-14 inch range so they are still babies.

Ha...I'm very happy to catch a "foot-long" wild trout on my acidic freestoners... Thanks for the reply--again, it's a pattern that's really caught my eye.

Vicki, that's a great process for the dubbing and hackle. It looks great and I can imagine it would be very effective in lots of situations. The tinsel works nicely on this pattern and I'm looking forward to a report.

w