mhbehnke

It is in fact a jig head. Forgive me as I do not really know many of the terms. The body is made up of brown chenille i think (kind of like silky yarn, right?). I have no idea what a palmer hackle is. I understand that a hackle is a feather, but that is all. I used the jig head as it was in with the other fly tying materials that I acquired from my father. I wanted to add some weight, and get the fly down into the water column a little bit. I was really just bored and decided to throw something together with next to no research. I will continue putting new ones up. I will be going to a local fly store in the next week and picking up a couple more materials. I have a vice, pliers and scissors. I am thinking of investing in a bobbin or two. I have the book Simple Flies by Boyd Pfeiffer, that I will soon be combing to get a better idea of what I am doing. Thank you for all the feedback. I am sure going to try and fish this fly next time I go out after trimming that tail hackle though.

I am in the same boat. I have about 16 hours in on my fly rod and have pulled in two tiny redear on spider imitations. I have thrown poppers at dusk and streamers at sunrise. I felt like I would do well where I am fishing too, because I have never seen anyone fishing the lake with a fly rod. My casting technique I am sure is terrible, which cannot help, but I keep trying. I will be trying for trout in Michigan on the Pere Marquette in August though and we will see what happens there! The nice thing about fly fishing is being in nature. I get frustrated sometimes, but then I inevitably fall back to the position of being grateful to be part of this life and part of that particular moment. I will be posting a picture of my first bass if/when that happens!

Hello all! This is my first attempt to tie any flies since I was a kid. Back then I had no idea what I was doing, but tied some fairly convincing poppers with small corks from the hobby store. I also tied a couple based on what I thought flies looked like. My dad had very few materials, and I still haven't bought any more so I am just using what I have for now. My first fly fishing experience was in a small pond. I caught upwards of 20 fish that day, both bass and redear. I am finally back and ready to start at fly fishing/tying in earnest! Now I have my own fly rod and I am getting back into the sport. My wife's grandparents have a house in Pentwater, Michigan and I have taken to spin fishing for trout up there, but this year I will be taking my Orvis Clearwater, 9' 6wt up there to try and bag a couple trout. I have only been out a couple times this year so far due to college and a full time job, but I hope to get some fall bass and panfish. I will be going up to Michigan at the end of august and hope to be able to throw some line and get my first trout on the fly. I am looking to get better at casting as I am terrible so far, and in the winter focus more on tying. Any and all critiques welcome! P.S. I have a friend who has about 5 varieties of chicken. Is this a potential source of feathers that are worth anything, and if so how should I harvest them?