FLYMPH FORUM

Foxy Lady Flymph
Hook - Mustad R50 TDE Wet Fly Hook (Size 12)
Thread - Pearsall's Gossamer Silk (Salmonberry)
Hackle - Collins Hen Saddle Feather (Honey Dun) - Stripped on one side
Rib - Fine Stainless Steel wire (Silver)
Tail Whisps - Fibers from Collins Hen Saddle Feather (Honey Dun)
Body - Leisenring/Hidy style Silk Dubbing Brush (Fox Squirrel Body Fur on Salmonberry Pearsall's Gossamer Silk)
Head - Tying silk wrapped in a cone shape

I took the day off work today to go fishing. Unfortunately a storm system moved thru, bringing in high winds, making fly fishing difficult. I decided to relax and spend the day playing around fly tying. I got an idea for a flymph pattern, and set out to create the fly. I spent a couple hours making dubbing brushes with one of William's nifty dubbing blocks. If you look closely at the small rectangle at the top of the photo, you will see that I used up all the fur on the fox squirrel patch.


I played around with waxes from Bill Shuck and Christopher Lee. They both worked nicely. Bill's wax was a little softer in these winter conditions. Rodger, the tweezers you sent are perfect for manipulating the dubbing into position.

The idea for this fly started with the name (Foxy Lady). I was recently studying the Pink Lady soft hackle pattern, from Mark Libertone, and wanted to turn it into a buggy looking flymph. I decided to use fox squirrel underfur on a pink silk core. The "foxy" comes from the fox squirrel, and the "lady" comes from use of pink silk from the classic "pink lady" pattern. As I was making the dubbing brushes, I noticed that the squirrel underfur had a beautiful color shift (dun colored at the base and golden towards the tips). The colors reminded me of the colors of a honey dun hen saddle. I figured honey dun would harmonize nicely with the colors in the underfur dubbing brush.

Anyway, I hope you like this fly. It was fun playing around, creating a fly from a name.

Special Notes On Tying:

The hen hackle was stripped on one side, to create a more open hackle profile.

The dubbing brush was tyed in at the back, wound all the way to the front and then backwards to the midpoint of the shank. This resulted in a single layer at the back half and two layers in the front half of the fly. I did this to help taper the shape of the body. In order to do this, the dubbing brush needs to be sparcely dubbed. If the dubbing brush is too bulky, the body is likely to be lumpy.

The stainless steel rib was wrapped once around the bare hook shank, underneath the tail. This helps raise the tail fibers. The rib is then wound all the way forward, over the body and thru the hackle. The hackle is reinforced with tying silk and the metal rib, so the fly should be very durable.

Looks like a great design Ray. Perhaps you can give it a whirl on your next outing. Weather permitting.

Aptly named: she's prissy and prancing.

"prissy and prancing"

Thanks!!! Now that's a compliment. Exactly what I was going for in a fishing fly.

Here is a photo of the fox squirrel dubbing brushes. The ones on the top are made without guard hairs. If you look closely, you may be able to see the color difference in the underfur. The fur becomes more golden color, as it gets further away from the silk core. The brushes at the bottom of the photo were made using the underfur along with the guard hairs. The guard hairs make for a buggier appearance.

I like the pattern Ray. Fox Squirrel is one of my favorite dubbings for buggy bodies. It mixes well with hare as well. The pink (I think it is Salmonberry, but not sure, unless you are using the newest thread) looks really nice with the fox.

Carl - Right you are, the proper name for this color is "salmonberry". Thank you. I could not remember the color name, while I was typing my post.

Ray,
I see two very crafty and creative ways this pattern flows. First, is the pattern itself created to fit the name given it. That doesn't happen very often and you have made it work very well! Second, I am imagining this pattern thoroughly soaked and how the hackles and the tail fibers will meld together with the fox squirrel on pink silk glowing thru and making an absolutley killer pattern. I guess this would be considered flow and glow! Alive and kicking! Come and eat me type attractor fly....the list goes on!
Well designed and flawless in construction! Dang, you do good work!
Doug

Oh, and the pictures of the spun bodies....thank you for that! I am reaching for the fox squirrel pelts and searching my silks for pink....humm....that might be a tough one to locate. More later! D.

Nice neat tie Ray.
What is your expected target species..... Steelhead?
Do you think it will be a "deep fishing" fly to swing, or will it still be capable of resting just under the film if cast upstream?

Superb, Ray! The pattern is inspired and your execution of it is "spot on". To top it off, the backstory makes the overall post a real thing of beauty. One can only imagine what you will achieve after you are retired and can stay home every day.

Ray, Howdy;

Beautiful fly, as usual .
I found it interesting how, when you did the write-up,
you mentioned how you noticed this, that, and a few other 'things'.
Looking at the pix. I see the precision that your engineering background
has given you a feel for crispness and simplicity. EXCELLENT!

hank