How far have I come?

[Dart 0]

My first hook went into my vice in March '07. I tied pretty consistently up until December and have been M.I.A. ever since.

 

I decided to make time for tying this past week, and got a little bummed out because I felt like I had regressed with the layoff. So I knocked the rust off the best I could and tied the pattern that I practiced so much on during those early months.

 

(Sorry for the picture quality. These came out a little "harsh" looking to me. I gotta work on the lighting.)

Here is a picture of my first Wulff in Mar '07: Mustad 94840 sz 12 standard length dry

 

And here is my most recent attempt: Daiichi 1170 sz 12 standard length dry

 

I think the progress is obvious, but I still want to get better.

 

1) One thing I'm concerned about is proportions. Without ever having a proper fly in hand to mimic, I'm going by pictures I see on the net and in books. Do these proportions look ok? The wing measures twice the hook gape, but it looks odd somehow from the front. Is this fly over dressed? I have a tendency to put too much stuff on the hook.

 

2) I need better tailing material. I'm using black moose mane here because I like the color. The ends are brittle and break off though.

 

3) Perhaps I should have started the first hackle wrap a bit closer toward the eye. I think that caused the peacock to flare back and the hackle to bow out a little.

 

Those are my observations on my latest attempt. Please feel free to critique. Additionally, I wanted to thank everyone here who has contributed to FTF. This site and the people that make it up has enabled me to go from picture #1 to #2.

 

Jeff

[Fred H. 0]

Jeff ,I myself have become aware how important proportions are in fly tying. Often when trying to tie an insect I can only find pictures and one angle of view . By using a small flexible millimeter ruler I can at least get the proportions right. I find when I tie a fly and its close but just dosn't look right I find that its the proportions that are off. Hope this helps .

 

Fred

 

P.S. the flies show vast improvement.And I think you'll find that the fish are not as critical as we are on ourselves.

[JackScott 0]

Dart: Those flies are FINE indeed!!! It took me 20 years of tying to get close to mastering this type of fly!!

The "latest" shots are a vast improvement and that front on shot shows a set of wings that is as close to perfection as I've seen in this type of fly!! You appear to have a natural affinity for this game!! Keep with it!!

Jack

PS: Try moose BODY hair,instead of moose MANE...much easier to work with,and less brittle.

[Dart 0]

Thanks for the kind words and advice, guys. I will look into the moose body hair now.

 

/gets shopping list ready

 

Jeff

 

[letumgo 0]

Great job, Jeff! I'm glad to see your flies again.

[Ephemerella 0]

Your recent Royal Wulff is excellent. Remember the originals were not particularly neat. The wings are often calf tail which is kinkier than calf body and makes the wings look just a tad unruly. Just make sure the wings aren't so long the fly rolls over. Otherwise they're great. And BTW the Wulff flies are generally over hackled. They are for rough water.

 

As far has how far do you have left to go, well, you can alway try your hand at the classic streamers, wet flies, and atlantic salmon flies. For most of us those are lifetime pursuits. Figure on spending all your discretionary income, spare time, and then some. Eventually you will meet others with the same "disease". When you house looks like a bomb went off in a taxidermy shop, then you're just about at your peak....

Enjoy.

-E

[Charlie Franklin 0]

HI

My name is Charlie. I am new to both this forum and basically new to tying. I started about a year ago.

Jeff said he was using moose main is it ok to use deer body hair. Also for this kind of fly is it better to use darker hair or lighter. I have been using a beige colored hair.

Another thing what kind of hackle is advisable to use i have been using brown hackle with white kip tail for the wings

 

Charlie

[Dart 0]

Charlie, welcome to FTF AND to the lifestyle... err addiction... err... hobby!

 

I was using moose mane because of the natural dark color. I have some moose body hair ordered and will be using that once it comes in. I tried one with dyed deer hair and I didn't like the jet black appearance of the tail.

 

I'm still at the stage of tying flies rather than fishing them... that is next on my list, so I am unable to offer any advice on whether a dark tailed or a light tailed fly would produce more fish. I can tell you this: deer body hair flares more. If you do decide to use deer body hair, you will need to set the hair to the hook closer to the middle portion of the shank and use looser controlling thread wraps to gather the hair as you work toward the back.

 

Deer body hair is extremely buoyant, so that will help the fly float if you're fishing it in turbulent water, but it will cause a deviation in the way the pattern was originally meant to look. Some people will tell you that's "bad," some will tell you "it doesn't matter. tie what you like and what fills your purpose."

 

It's my opinion that if you're tying flies to display, you'll want to stick to the original pattern. If you're tying them to fish, do whatever you want.

 

As far as the hackle, "furnace" hackle is called for, but I've been unable to find that in a genetic hackle. I use Whiting Farms' 100's Saddle Pack in brown.. For $15, you get a lot of high quality hackle, but it will all be one size. If you intend on tying the same pattern in size 12 and 14, you'll need to buy a pack of each.

 

The kip is more traditional, but I like how clean the calf body hair looks in a finished wing. The kip is more or a pain to stack evenly, although a midge stacker will help a lot with that. I got a Renzetti double ended midge hair stacker and it worked wonders for the quality of wings on my flies.

 

I hope this helps, Charlie. If you have any more questions I'll help where I can... we can ride this roller coaster together.

 

Take care,

Jeff

 

[Charlie Franklin 0]

Thanks Dart

I will go buy some deer and calf body hair and take a look at the whiting 100 packs of hackle.

I will also use your guidance and try deer body hair tied further up the shank of the hook.

 

Thank you for all your help

 

Charlie

[Sagittarius62 0]

The best Royal Wulff tutorial I have ever seen. By Loren Williams.

 

http://flyguysoutfitting.com/royalwulff.html

 

[Charlie Franklin 0]

Thank you

that website is very helpful

i am going to attempt to tie one right now.

thank you so much

charlie