FLYMPH FORUM

gingerdun wrote:Bill,
Thanks for the suggestion to tie the wool in at the front of the hook. Duh!
You and Ray both said this has a vintage look. Could you explain?
Perhaps it is the cone-shaped, tapering head that I am trying to copy from the flies of Leisenring and Hidy? Or something else?
I'm not trying to make the flies look antique, but it wouldn't be surprising that my flies pick up some of that feeling because of all the time I spend looking at the old flies here. Probably doesn't matter to the trout at all.

Lance

Lance,

The 'normal' way is as Bill described. The principle of keeping underbodies level is one of the cornerstones of competent tying. There is an alternative method you can try for your specific pattern, courtesy of the flat tinsel tip. Use half the amount of wool, tie down and double back. Only those wraps, the section covered up by the tinsel, will have the thickening of the wool.

Cheers,
Hans W

Hans,

Your suggestion for tying the wisp of wool in with the tinsel only is ingenious. Thanks.

Leisenring and Hidy did not use the hot spots much, but I did find a few in Pete's wallet. It appears in the samples attached below that he made little effort to get the classic forward-tapering of the body. He seems to be breaking rules right and left, including starting the partridge so far back from the eye, especially in the bottom one. The tinsel has turned black.
I have been warned not to feature some of these flies because the tying is not very elegant, and may harm Pete's reputation.
To make matters worse, they don't look great smashed here on the felt as he left them. But they are authentic, in a working fly wallet.
Odd as they are, they may be of interest as experiments, and as evidence of variations in Pete's tying style. I am not 100% certain that these were tied by Pete, but the chances are good that they are his own work.

Lance - Thank you for sharing this photo. I find this sort of thing of great interest. In my opinion, the photo does no harm Pete's reputation. In fact, it goes a long way to proving he fished these flies and was not afraid to play around with a range of styles/patterns. Very cool!

gingerdun wrote:Your suggestion for tying the wisp of wool in with the tinsel only is ingenious.

Lance,

Just to make certain - wool tied down with thread as per normal, but only the section of shank which has the tinsel tip covering.

I enjoyed the wallet picture. Any hesitation including it is totally unfounded IMNSHO

Cheers,
Hans W

I loved the photo of the flies, I'd like to see more flies from that wallet!

Ray and Hans, (and Kelly, who just added a post)
Thanks for the comments about Pete's unorthodox flies. There is much more to be said about the contents of the wallet, but this is not the time or place.
And Hans, thanks for the clarification about the wool tag. Secure the middle of the wool strand with the thread at the tail, fold it back, wrap the tinsel over the folded end of the wool strand. Right?

Here is another beetle from the wallet. How do you suppose he built up the body? Don't you love the short hackle? This page of the wallet has a couple dozen terrestrials on it, including some fat ants.

gingerdun wrote:Secure the middle of the wool strand with the thread at the tail, fold it back, wrap the tinsel over the folded end of the wool strand. Right?

Correct.

Here is another beetle from the wallet. How do you suppose he built up the body? Don't you love the short hackle? This page of the wallet has a couple dozen terrestrials on it, including some fat ants.

The shape almost certainly suggests an underbody to make for the oval shape, then peacock herl over. Beetle patterns generally have a short hackle.

Cheers,
Hans W

Hans,

The reason I commented on the shortness of the hackle is that all of the other beetles on that page have somewhat longer hackles. Here are a few more examples, showing not only the variety of hackles, but also of body size and shape—with one furry ant thrown in.

Lance

Click on image to enlarge, pull the handle in lower-right corner. Good detail.

Lance - Looking at that beetle pattern, I agree with Hans. There is probably an tapered underbody of some sort. The under body could be thread, or perhaps even weight (lead wire or tape). I am guessing it is most likely thread. The hackle looks to be starling, which is consistent with the short length. The body looks to be bronze peacock herl. The tying thread looks to be Pearsall's Gossamer silk (Cardinal, or Red). I can not see enough of the hook to venture a guess.

The fly below the beetle pattern looks like an Iron Blue Dun (WAG )

Outstanding pattern!

An older gentleman that showed me a few tying tricks many years ago, used yarn as an underbody.