RexW

I have several dozen on my shelves, but these two are currently sitting on my desk. Both of them are useful.

I use a pedestal vise and I set it on the keyboard shelf of my desk. So, it sounds like I am in the solar plexus height group.

I picked up a couple of eye feathers today. I think you're right, some of the smaller herl near the tip may look better. They have a natural curve and they bend easier than what I used. Should be able to make another attempt this weekend. Thanks for the help.

The hook is Daiichi's Alec Jackson, size 1.5.

True, the dubbing color is a little too bold!

"The Policeman" A Francis pattern from Frodin's book. Or an attempt, anyway. I subbed synthetic dubbing for pig's wool. I have some pig's wool, but it was difficult to work with. Anyone have any tips for tying with it? First attempt at a peacock herl wing and I'm not happy with it. Anyone have any tips for herl wings? I used strung herl and I suspect that it was not a good choice of material quality. I welcome tips and suggestions as I continue learning to tie these flies. Seems like each pattern has a new technique to learn.

"The Policeman" A Francis Francis pattern from 1867.

It's been a while since I've been able to tie something just for fun. Couple of "Blue Rat's" tied as hat pins and one normal example that was used to remember how to tie it.

No need to apologize. I love seeing how different tyers interpret the same pattern. Your flies are always well done. Rex

Nice version!

Bob Hopper 2.0 Hook: Size 14 1xl nymph hook Underbody: Ice Dub dubbing Body: 2 mm foam in whatever color you want Wing: I used FTD's Congo Hair, but EP fiber or even deer hair works fine Legs: Your favorite material Indicator: The original uses a slip of bright foam, but I've found FTD's PIP material works extremely well as an indicator and the pink is easy to see. This Hopper pattern was developed by Yellowstone area guide Walter Weise. This is an easy to tie hopper pattern that catches more fish than the more complicated hopper patterns that I've tried. I've been fishing this pattern for at least 8 years and recently I noticed that Walter posted a new video online with some modifications to the pattern. He added the dubbed underbody and switched from a thin wire dry fly hook to using a nymph hook. After trying them, I like these modifications. Who would have thought to even tie a size 14 hopper pattern? But, it works very well! The color pink is popular in Yellowstone and I've found the Bluegill and bass like a blue/green version in Texas when those tiny Katydid looking green grasshoppers are active in the summer. This is a quick pattern to tie that catches fish.

Thanks for the help Everyone. I had to try the tips, so I tied one tonight. This one came out much better. I definitely need more practice, but I can sure the potential in these materials. Thanks again!

Thanks Philly, that makes sense and should work. Pulling the bunch of hair completely apart and then restacking would solve the issues I had getting the material to move. That's an embarrassingly obvious solution. Thank you! 😀

I've only been tying for 25 years or so, but this is the first time I've used synthetic hair. The stuff is quick and easy to tie with, but I have a couple of questions for those of you with experience using this stuff. - I used FTD's Congo Hair, because, well... it's cheap. For those of you that have used both, how does Congo Hair compare to EP Fibers? - Does anyone have any tips for getting a more natural looking taper with synthetic hair? For the pattern below, it should be tapered to more of a minnow shape. Most of my flies have a boxier look at the tips. I tried trimming after it was tied on the fly and that didn't look very good either. Natural hair can be stacked or can easily be adjusted in your fingers, but this stuff doesn't seem to move very easily. Any suggestions for getting a tapered look at the tips when using synthetic hair? Here's the fly that I was working with. The taper of the one in front is closest to what I wanted to achieve. The second from the left shows the "boxier" look that I don't want. Vanek's Ghost Minnow (This is a surprisingly fast fly to tie.) Hook: Mustad 3366 size 8 (or Gamakatsu B10S) Thread: UTC 140, Gray Brown Eyes: Large Bead Chain Black Back/Wing: FTD Congo Hair - Shiner Tan (Vanek uses EP Fiber in Gold Olive Minnow) Flash: Midge Flash, Pearl Belly: Senyo's Laser Dub - White Lateral Line: Silver Flashabou sub'ed for Lateral Scale Flash

Never made a conscious decision about it, but I don't think I have fished with a baitcaster rod in at least 10 years. I do have one standing in the corner of my tying room that is ready to go, but I just never pick it up anymore. I made the switch to fishing with a fly rod due to a bad case of tennis elbow. Trying to do a hook set with a regular bass rod was extremely painful, but I could do a strip set while fly fishing without an issue. I think it took 6 months or more for my elbow to heal and by that point I was comfortable using a fly rod and never went back to convention rods.