eide 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2014 This year I'm having a 52 weeks - 52 flies challenge: each week have a different theme, and you tie up something that you associate with this theme. I post all my fly on my blog every week, but sniperfreak223 took the challenge and we decided to put up a thread here where we will post 1 photo each week. This is for everyone to follow: the main idea is to be creative on the vice and do something that you can show here (a quick explanation on why the fly corresponds to the theme might be in order sometimes...) Week 1: Begin at the beginningWeek 2: Black and WhiteWeek 3: Self portraitWeek 4: HatWeek 5: VegetablesWeek 6: Something oldWeek 7: Dots Week 8: DessertWeek 9: Rule of thirdsWeek 10: LoveWeek 11: Sky is the limitWeek 12: ConversationWeek 13: Street ArtWeek 14: Look downWeek 15: GreenWeek 16: Noooo!Week 17: Leaves or TreesWeek 18: On the tableWeek 19: LayersWeek 20: RunningWeek 21: BlueWeek 22: WaterWeek 23: HorizonWeek 24: I found it on the groundWeek 25: A summer treatWeek 26: ChocolateWeek 27: CoffeeWeek 28: RedWeek 29: FenceWeek 30: CircleWeek 31: From a distanceWeek 32: Get really closeWeek 33: My home Week 34: FreshWeek 35: MovementWeek 36: ShoesWeek 37: PlaytimeWeek 38: ShadowsWeek 39: DoorWeek 40: Recreate a famous photo/pictureWeek 41: Frame (Framing)Week 42: LettersWeek 43: MirrorWeek 44: TechnologyWeek 45: SymmetryWeek 46: ArchitectureWeek 47: AnimalsWeek 48: TimeWeek 49: SignsWeek 50: Light in the darkWeek 51: TemptationWeek 52: The end Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eide 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2014 Week 1: Begin at the beginning This is a re-do of the very first fly I ever created. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eide 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2014 Week 2: Black and White Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2014 Look forward to following this thread. Almost feel bad replying and breaking up what would be a great flow of pictures. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
utyer 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2014 Ok, I will take the challenge, I am already two weeks behind, so here is one for the Beginning, it doesn't get too much more basic than this: and a Black and White foam Los Alamos Ant, I call it Spy Vs Spy: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flat Rock native 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2014 I will gladly join in. With regular office work increasing recently I need some extra motivation to get to the tying bench once per week. Some of these concepts are very intriguing. I will post weeks one and two later and get busy on week three. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sniperfreak223 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2014 Seeing as I kinda pushed you to start this thread, I guess I'd better put my money where my mouth is. I apologize in advance for my terrible photography skills. Week 1: Begin at the Beginning Instead of beginning with my own beginnings in fly tying, I decided to go back a little bit further. My submission for this week is my own rendition of the "Macedonian Fly", one of the first artificial flies ever described. The original was little more than red wool with a brown feather wing, mine is a red silk floss body with a matched pair of ringneck pheasant body feathers for the wing. Week 2: Black & White I have been on a bit of a dry fly kick as of late, so my submission for "Black & White" is a catskill-style dry. This one is a fan-wing, using the broad, black-tipped white feathers from the white portion of the neck on a ringneck pheasant skin for the wings. The tail is white hackle fibers, the body is white floss with a rib of black 3/0 tying thread, and the hackle is black rooster saddle. Week 3: Self-Portrait I know I may be a little early with this one, but I have a busy week at work coming up and didn't think I'd get another chance at it. The self-portrait topic is quite a challenge, but my choice came down to the simple fact that I have a beard, and to me, beard = classic style flies. My submission here is kind of a take on a traditional hairwing salmon fly. I added a gold tip to represent the old-timey reading glasses I occasionally wear, the blue tag and rib represent my Bavarian Blue eyes, the cream floss body reflects my pale Northern European complexion, the brown hackle represents my beard, and a rusty brown calftail wing to represent my mutt hair (it varies from dirty blonde to brown to dark red depending on the season). This was a tricky one, and I'm sure it's a stretch, but it sounded good to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2014 I like the hairwing. Would definately take sea trout fresh on the tide. I'd probably just try to taper the wing the other way, so longest tips at the top and short beneath but I'm not sure the fish truly care when its moving on the swing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sniperfreak223 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2014 yeah, I usually stack the wings, but somehow the big stacker has gone MIA, so all I have are the three little ones for dry flies that would never handle a hairwing for a 2/0 Dai Riki 899. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eide 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2014 Seeing as I kinda pushed you to start this thread, I guess I'd better put my money where my mouth is. I apologize in advance for my terrible photography skills. Week 1: Begin at the Beginning Instead of beginning with my own beginnings in fly tying, I decided to go back a little bit further. My submission for this week is my own rendition of the "Macedonian Fly", one of the first artificial flies ever described. The original was little more than red wool with a brown feather wing, mine is a red silk floss body with a matched pair of ringneck pheasant body feathers for the wing. week1.jpg Week 2: Black & White I have been on a bit of a dry fly kick as of late, so my submission for "Black & White" is a catskill-style dry. This one is a fan-wing, using the broad, black-tipped white feathers from the white portion of the neck on a ringneck pheasant skin for the wings. The tail is white hackle fibers, the body is white floss with a rib of black 3/0 tying thread, and the hackle is black rooster saddle. week2.jpg Week 3: Self-Portrait I know I may be a little early with this one, but I have a busy week at work coming up and didn't think I'd get another chance at it. The self-portrait topic is quite a challenge, but my choice came down to the simple fact that I have a beard, and to me, beard = classic style flies. My submission here is kind of a take on a traditional hairwing salmon fly. I added a gold tip to represent the old-timey reading glasses I occasionally wear, the blue tag and rib represent my Bavarian Blue eyes, the cream floss body reflects my pale Northern European complexion, the brown hackle represents my beard, and a rusty brown calftail wing to represent my mutt hair (it varies from dirty blonde to brown to dark red depending on the season). This was a tricky one, and I'm sure it's a stretch, but it sounded good to me. week3.jpg Great interpretations on the themes! The selfportrait description there is exactly why I started this challenge! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sniperfreak223 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2014 I have an amazing idea for my week 4 fly, too, I just need to find a moment to actually tie it as all my vise time lately has been filling an order of pike/muskie flies for a local shop. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
utyer 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2014 Well into week 3 so here is a self portrait. I have never been known as a neat freak, my desk is always a mess. This is also the way I like my fur nymphs to look. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eide 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2014 Self portrait: this was a though one! But: for me hiphop and the entire culture is something that is a part of who I am. If you look at a lot of old-school videos or breakdance you will often see the three-striped adidas, I love the Adidas superstar, and the black/gold color combination is great, so for this week I came up with a black and gold "Adidas superstar" fly. The white thread on the rib is supposed to represent the thread on the three stripes on the shoe, the varnished head is the shell toe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted January 18, 2014 Another lovely hairwing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sniperfreak223 0 Report post Posted January 19, 2014 Week 4: Hat Well, I finally got some free time, so I managed to materialize my idea for this topic. on the drive home from work a few days ago, this idea popped into my head.Knowing the next theme was hats, I realized how much a parachute hackle looks like a top hat or a fedora, depending on the length of the post...so, this fly is a bit of a departure from my normally serious approach to fly tying and pushes it into a somewhat whimsical territory,without further adieu, I present my "Jiminy Cricket", basically my foam hopper wearing a "top hat" made from black poly yarn and an undersized black hackle tied parachute style. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites