Purple Smut (aka Fog Black)

[Izaak]

Hook: Mustad Signature R50, size 18
Thread: Pearsall's Gossamer silk, purple
Hackle: Starling
Rib: Peacock sword

[Hans Weilenmann]

You are on a roll, Tom. These look great.

Question - without a form or reinforcement, you believe the ribbing will survive the first trout?

Cheers,
Hans W

[DUBBN]

I like the way you are presenting the patterns in a group, not worrying about a shadow. I will play with the technique in the near future.

[tie2fish]

Tom ~ Your impeccable tying not withstanding, your eye for color combinations is amazing. IMO, these are wonderful.

[Kelly L.]

Are you kidding me? I hope you know I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Purple Gems maybe, but no smut.
I don't know how they will hold up, or if you reinforced them in some way. But they are outstanding looking to me.
Even one big fish would be worth the effort. I think these will bring one in, no doubt about it.

[Mataura mayfly]

I often tie a plain Starling & Purple that I have found to be a good fish taker over here in #16-18, taken as a small dark Mayfly nymph that can be quite prolific in some local streams.
I would never have thought of a sword rib though, now would I have come up with a wee wet Smut fly imitation- most I have seen have been small dry flies.
Exceptional tying skills as per your normal, but a bit like Hans I see the rib being a bit fragile when combined with trout teeth.

[letumgo]

Tom - You're going to need a bigger box! This dressing is just plain sexy. I will pull out my Fog book, to look up the history.

[Izaak]

Question - without a form or reinforcement, you believe the ribbing will survive the first trout?

Cheers,
Hans W

I think a better question may be, "will the trout survive the fly?"

As Hans pointed out, the sword rib is quite fragile and, admittedly, has a slim chance of surviving past the first fish or the first pair of forceps. One option would be to secure the sword ribbing with a fine wire, silver would be my preference here. Another option (thank you Hans!) one involving less steps while maintaining a very similar look, would be to wrap the thread to the bend, then wrap the sword to the bend in spiral form, then trap down the sword ribbing securely by winding the thread back towards the eye in open turns.

I guess its too late for either of these ideas! ...... On to the next flies!

[Izaak]

I like the way you are presenting the patterns in a group, not worrying about a shadow. I will play with the technique in the near future.

Hi DUBBN!

I like the shadow too. IMHO it gives the photo more interest, depth, and more context. If you look at the photo I took on my posting "Spider Infestation" you will see blurry reflections of the flies from the silver lamp base they were resting on. That was a pleasant surprise and I think it helped make an interesting photo.

Tom

[Izaak]