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Christopher K

Need help figuring out these flies

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A customer wants these two flies done up for him, I only have the pictures to go off of though.

 

I need some help figuring out if those are bead chain or mono eyes and what shellback material was used on the dragonfly, and I need to know what material the thorax is and what makes up the rib on the stone.

 

Thanks for any help,

Chris

cac_selects_dragons.jpg

molting_stonefly.jpg

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damsel

 

looks like mono eyes and swiss straw/raffia/thin skin or equivalent

 

stonefly

 

thorax looks like pearl estaz or equivalent

 

the rib looks like d-rib, v-rib, body glass or equivalent

 

any recipe from where you got the photos?? www.centerpinangling.com

 

Contact Information:

THE CENTERPIN ANGLING CO.
#348 -1154 Warden Avenue (Mailing Address Only)
Toronto, Ontario
M1R 0A1
CANADA

Mr. Jim Maragos
Tel:
416-759-6153
e-mail: [email protected]

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Ya that's what I was thinking, not sure on the shellback though, it has the markings of swiss straw but it's pretty glossy looking and doesn't look to be coated. May just have to email him like you suggested.

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It really looks like Medallion Sheeting to me. Regardless, they will both make a fine replication of the fly. The stone looks like it has picked out mylar tubing for the wing case too. LIke Flytire said, Pearl Estaz will probably work the best.

 

My rule of thumb with these types of custom flies is to use whatever you think will make it look closest to the original. If he is having you tie them, he probably has no idea the difference between swiss straw and medallion sheeting.

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Medallion sheeting for the shellback?

 

Kimo

You got me as I was typing. I agree. I'd say dark dun or mottled brown.

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The eyes look like burnished black bead-chain to me. (Although its hard to be sure from the photos.) There would be a significant difference in behaviour between the fly with bead-chain and one with melted mono.

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Bead chain eyes , you can just see the line where the metal comes together in them to form the bead in the second pic.

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To me that looks like the mold parting line on plastic eyes. Maybe you can ask your customer if the eyes are metal or not.

 

My first thought on the shell back was Swiss straw, but then I noticed that it looks transparent in the second pic. Medallion Sheeting is probably a good bet.

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The back on the stonefly is a Pearlescent Sheet from Yellowstone Fly Goods (or something very similar). I don't know even know if they are still in business but I have some of that stuff and have used it on scuds for years.

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To me that looks like the mold parting line on plastic eyes. Maybe you can ask your customer if the eyes are metal or not.

I second the vote for plastic bead chain eyes. If the size of the vise is a good reference, the eyes are too large to be melted mono ... THAT perfectly round. And they don't look like metal bead chain, so ...

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My first thought on the back of the first fly was raffia, or rather raffene the synthetic version, which is, as has been observed, shiny. The eyes do not look like bead chain. There is a mould line which could look like the split in bead chain, but the circle it leads to doesn't seem to be in the right place to be the hole in the bead chain. To me it looks slightly raised rather than indented, but that is difficult to tell in 2d photos.

 

The stone fly is much simpler, and others have given as good a guess at the dressing as you will get from the picture. The exact material is difficult to say. There are so many. The thorax cover is, from the way it is puckered at the head, not a stretchy material. Its some kind of pearlecent sheet, I have the V.N. one, called Water Wing. That would be as close as any.

 

Cheers,

C.

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tough to get spherical eyes with melted mono

 

i still think its these

 

flytyingeyes_mononympheyes.jpg

 

if it was bead chain i think you would see the hole

 

we are also splitting hairs on whether or not it swiss straw or medallion sheeting. both will function as a shellback. most tyers wouldnt know the difference let alone the fish

 

medallion sheeting

 

medallion-sheeting-fly-tying-material.jp

 

swiss straw

 

swiss-straw-web.jpg

 

upon a closer look at the stonefly, it appears the the thorax may be some sort of dubbing (see the fine fibers) of maybe ice dubbing or equivalent and the wing case/legs is pearl mylar piping pulled over the thorax area and frayed to make the legs

 

maybe you could buy a couple of the flies to be absolutely positive of the materials and for samples

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