~Jock Scott

[Heff2 0]

I tried my hand at a Jock Scott.  Learned lots in the process of tying this one.  It’s missing a few materials in the wing because I was having real issues with the golden peasant tail staying married. I thought I had over come the reverse curl through steaming and flattening in a book but I couldn’t get it to grab.  My white tip turkey wasn't quite long enough to avoid the thick butt ends for tying so I subbed for a lighter colour turkey feather underwing and skipped that initial layer of the wing. My sword fibres wouldn’t stay flat and I skipped them in the end.  

This took me several weeks working away at it an hour here and there.  I made and attached the wings 6 or 7 times before I got one that stayed together.   While it’s far from perfect, I’m please with it as an early attempt.  That said, I welcome feedback.  If other salmon fly tiers have some advice on maintaining proportions I would appreciate it.  This one ran a little long IMO.  I plan to finish reading How to Dress Salmon Flies before picking a next pattern but I suspect I’ll be back at the vice a few chapters in.  

A huge thanks goes out to George, who sent me some hooks and gut to get started.  

[niveker 0]

Hey man, that's a nice tie.  And kudos to Mr. George for his generosity.   

[gadabout 0]

I’m no expert, but I’d call that a nice job!

[Bruce Derington 0]

I think you’ve done a good job here. Tying Classic’s is an adventure for sure and in general, for me I’ve developed a keener eye when tying. Learning how to apply multiple materials with minimal wraps, proportions and thread control become critical. Definitely a learning curve

[SalarMan 0]

You certainly started off with a toughie. The granddaddy of them all and the hardest of the bunch.

Nicely done Arthur. As Bruce put it, this is a learning experience. I do have a couple of thoughts going back to my early efforts. Save 1 or 2 as a reference point to monitor your progress tying these flies. When you put something on the hook you've already learned if it isn't right, take it out and try again. I used to call myself "George The Ripper" because I would never hesitate to razor a fly and start again to reuse the hook. Good blind eye hooks are becoming harder and harder to find and more expensive all the time.

Learn to count the fibers in the main wing. On a 3/0 hook like those I sent you I use 24 fibers in the wing. Give that a go.

Finally regarding Golden Pheasant tail...Just about every tyer I know who ties classics will tell you it is the biggest pain in the ass to work with. One thing to do to improve its usefulness is to wash it in warm water and Woolite. Rinse thoroughly the let air dry, then gently stroke the fibers back together and that should help.

Keep tying !!!!!
George

[Heff2 0]

Thanks all,  I do plan on keeping this one for future reference.  
 

Bruce, I see that you mean, I wasn’t sure if I should go to a finer thread but I think controlling number of wraps is likely better.  The lessons learned in anticipating thread torque impact on materials is helping my other ties stay a little more balanced.  
 

George, I do recall the 24 fibres from your letter.  Is there a book you recommend that would have this type of proportion table? I will go for a less complicated pattern on the next one. Preparing the materials is a hobby into itself.  
 

thanks for the kind words and encouragement 

 

Arthur 
 

 

[SalarMan 0]

On 1/21/2024 at 5:41 PM, Heff2 said:

Thanks all,  I do plan on keeping this one for future reference.  
 

Bruce, I see that you mean, I wasn’t sure if I should go to a finer thread but I think controlling number of wraps is likely better.  The lessons learned in anticipating thread torque impact on materials is helping my other ties stay a little more balanced.  
 

George, I do recall the 24 fibres from your letter.  Is there a book you recommend that would have this type of proportion table? I will go for a less complicated pattern on the next one. Preparing the materials is a hobby into itself.  
 

thanks for the kind words and encouragement 

 

Arthur 
 

 

Arthur,

There are a few good books out there, but for me personally I'd recommend Mike Radencich's book "Tying The Classic Salmon Fly". Older books like Pryce-Tannatt or Kelson are valuable sources of information, but Mike's modern approach I think is the way to go. It is available on Amazon and ebay. A bit pricey but with better deals on ebay…worth the price if you are serious about tying these flies. When I got mine from Mike there was also a DVD included which I still use as a reference for my tying.

George

[SalarMan 0]

OOPS on my part. There was no DVD with "Tying The Classic Salmon Fly". Mike did have 2 DVD's...one tying the Jock Scott and the other the Durham Ranger. I just don't remember which of his books they came with. They might be available on their own. He was a graphic artist by profession and his DVD's were first rate!!!

[SalarMan 0]

Arthur,

You mention some sort of proportion table for the number of fibers. The number 24 is not written in stone. Staying with a 3/0 hook and there are 5 colors in the wing then make it 25 fibers The fly I'm working on at the moment has 8 colors, so there are 8 ~ 3 fiber strips in the wing. I've attached a picture of a "Flag Fly" I tied a while back on the usual 3/0 hook. Because there are 13 stripes in our flag I have 13 ~ 2 strip stripes in the wing for a total of 26 fibers. More than anything else, experience will give you a feeling for what you are looking for.

Again...enjoy the process and the journey.

George

 

[SalarMan 0]

Arthur,

An additional tip. You can see the 2  ~ 6x9 cards I have on my tying desk. One marked "L" and the other marked "R". When working with a large number of fibers and colors this is an easy way to keep things organized as you prep to marry the feathers...in this case 8 different colors. Fibers from the left side of each feather on one the "L" card and fibers from the right side of each feather on the "R" card. Once I had all the wing materials ready I then went ahead and married them and tied them onto the hook.

Sorry about the chardonnay stain on the left card 🥂😂

Cheers,
George

 

[Heff2 0]

Thanks George,  these are great tips.  I'll keep it in mind the 24 is a guideline more that a rule.  the lay out tip is a great one.  I took a hook and made photo copies of it from each side so I can better lay out and proportion the materials.  I will add some Ls and Rs to help with sorting.  I found a tray I've started using to keep thinks organized.  I find with the salmon flies there are some days where I'd rather tie a few quick flies and I like being able to set that tray aside and know I can pick it back up in a few days.

I think the stain adds character, looks like a pretty nice tying area you have there.  

 

Arthur