Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

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Solitaryflyguy
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2022 11:09 pm

Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by Solitaryflyguy » Wed Nov 23, 2022 5:09 pm

Hi all,
New guy here to the forum, my name is Bob.
I’m in my 60’s and have been blessed/cursed with the tying affliction a bit over 50yrs. For those that remember their catalogue, I tied commercially for Kaufmann’s in Oregon back in the day. Having said all that, I consider myself a amateur at this game.
I’m wondering if anyone here has any experience with the above threads and may have any thoughts, observations, comments or made any comparisons of them to the old Pearsall silks. I welcome any comments.
Thanks for your time,
Bob

Here’s a size 14 “light” wet I came up with recently for trout swinging on the Deschutes

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Partsman
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Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by Partsman » Wed Nov 23, 2022 7:52 pm

Welcome solitaryflyguy, that is a very nice tie. I can’t really comment on the two threads you have inquired about as I only have the empherea. But I’m really looking at other options such as yli, which may have a wider range of colors. If you do a search here I’m sure you will get a huge amount of info silk threads and subs for persalls.
Mike.
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Roadkill
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Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by Roadkill » Wed Nov 23, 2022 8:04 pm

Welcome Bob!

Sorry I have never used those silks, but I love the fly. I have replaced my Persall's I have run out of with Kimono & YLI.

Back in the 80's as a born again flytyer, I cut up my Kaufman's catalogue and put the photos of flies I wanted to tie in 18 compartment Plano boxes. ;)
DOUGSDEN
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Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by DOUGSDEN » Wed Nov 23, 2022 11:09 pm

Geeze Bob! Nothing "ammetuerish" about this pattern or your tying skills! It's beautiful!
Please show us more!
Dougsden
Fish when you can, not when you should! Anything short of this is just a disaster.
DOUGSDEN
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Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by DOUGSDEN » Wed Nov 23, 2022 11:11 pm

Sorry about the mis-spelling above! Is there a spell check icon somewhere on this page? Obviously, I can use it!
D.
Fish when you can, not when you should! Anything short of this is just a disaster.
Solitaryflyguy
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2022 11:09 pm

Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by Solitaryflyguy » Wed Nov 23, 2022 11:36 pm

Thanks Partsman and Roadkill for the kind words. Partsman, how is the Ephemera working out for you ?
Roadkill, that’s an elegant solution to the age old problem of fly storage ;)
Curious if there is a YLI reference/color comparison chart numbers to Pearsalls hidy holed somewhere on the forum ?
Thanks again !
Solitaryflyguy
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2022 11:09 pm

Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by Solitaryflyguy » Wed Nov 23, 2022 11:46 pm

Dougsden,
Thank you so much for that ! and I will post more flies ;)
It appears that new members may need to wait until their replies and posts are viewed by a moderator for a while ? I understand the reasons why thanks to the keyboard commando’s of the world…… hopefully I can add something to the conversation and not detract from it
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Ron Eagle Elk
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Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by Ron Eagle Elk » Thu Nov 24, 2022 8:24 am

Hi Solitaryflyguy. Nice to see some younger folks, like yourself, joining in (just turned 76 myself). That's a good looking fly. Any chance of a materials list for someone to blatantly steal it.

I tried the ephemera silk and found it to be a bit to thick and didn't have the finish of Pearsall's. Seemed to be a bit rough. I wound up giving it all away to a young guy just starting to tie spiders and flymphs, along with a bit of cobblers wax.

Carl Sanders, AKA Old Hat, did a fine article on using Kimono 100 silk as a substitute for Pearsall's. I started using that and prefer it to any of the others I've tried. He also matched colors of Kimono to Pearsall's which is very helpful.

Here's a link to that post. viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8845

Welcome aboard. Pretty great bunch of tyers here, very friendly bunch. Fly swaps here are stellar, very well run and some outstanding flies are shared around. Hope to see more of your fine work.
"A man may smile and bid you hale yet curse you to the devil, but when a good dog wags his tail he is always on the level"
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hankaye
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Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by hankaye » Thu Nov 24, 2022 10:28 am

Solitaryflyguy, Howdy;

Welcome aboard, Nice intro.

As mentioned by Ron, there are some threads about the different 'threads'.
Materials/SBS/video demos. & Reference Materials are 2 good places to
start looking for conversations. So, settle in and have a good time.

hank
Striving for a less complicated life since 1949...
"Every day I beat my own previous record for number
of consecutive days I've stayed alive." George Carlin
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ronr
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Re: Ephemera and Semperfli silk threads

Post by ronr » Thu Nov 24, 2022 11:33 am

Great fly Bob... I too have used both YLI and Kimono and the color charts supplied by Old Hat have been great. The Semperfli I tried wasn't great, My wife had some in her quilting supplies, but it seems to be a little rough and thick for my tastes. Never bought any after using the wife's supply for a test.

Hope you enjoy the forum as much as I have since discovering it a few years ago. I am much more of an amateur than are you, and learn a lot from the great folks who share their work here.
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