Beginner's Feedback Requested

[BlueEyedSon 0]

Thanks again to those that provided some feedback to me as I sought the basic tools needed to start tying.

 

This is my first time posting flies I've tied and I'd appreciate some feedback on them. There are two each of a hare's ear nymph and a pheasant tail nymph.

 

Hare's Ear 1

 

Hare's Ear 2

 

Pheasant Tail 1

 

Pheasant Tail 2

[Piker20 0]

First off well done posting. They will catch fish. Most obvious thing id say is proportion. The hare ear looks right and then you stick a bead on the front. Try to make the bead part of the thorax/head and not a stand alone portion. Same with PT.1 very large thorax. Number 2 looks a lot better.

[BlueEyedSon 0]

Thanks for the encouragement and criticism. After posting them, I definitely see what you mean about the proportions.

 

Here's another Pheasant Tail. It's got a lumpy butt from taking too many thread wraps to tie stuff in the rear, but are the proportions better otherwise?

 

 

And with the Hare's Ear nymph, is the idea to integrate the bead into the thorax, like this:

 

[Davidpensfan87 0]

These flies look great. They will definitely catch some trout. In my opinion, I think the bead you used on the hare's ear is too large, so it appears to through the proportions off. Try not to make so many wraps of thread behind the bead. One tip is to apply a small amount of dubbing behind the bead after you have tied off the wing case, and then whip finish. I have also whip finished with dubbing on the thread.

[SilverCreek 0]

The proportions on nymphs vary and are not as set as for a mayfly dun. This is because proportions of the real nymphs vary quite a bit. They can be flat and squat or long and thin. They can have a large thorax or a smaller thorax. Fish are used to seeing all manner of proportions for mayfly nymphs.

 

 

 

 

The ratio of body length vs thorax can vary from 50/50 to 70/30. You can see that you are not far off at all.

 

You can work on the amount of materials and getting a tapered abdomen and body but your proportion of thorax to abdomen is fine.

 

Here is a nymph tied by Charlie Craven from his article and it is 50/50:

 

http://www.flyfisherman.com/2013/12/13/tying-flies-beautiful-flies/

 

[the.atmos 0]

Thanks for the encouragement and criticism. After posting them, I definitely see what you mean about the proportions.

 

Here's another Pheasant Tail. It's got a lumpy butt from taking too many thread wraps to tie stuff in the rear, but are the proportions better otherwise?

 

You can fix the lumpiness issue by tying in materials 3/4 of the hook shank instead of just near the bend. It is much easier to build tapers and getting consistent, even wraps of material.

[flytire 0]

is you shortened up the tail a bit you can use the remaining fibers to wrap the body eliminating any lumps

 

you only need 2-3 wraps of thread to hold down materials

[flytire 0]

pheasant tail

 

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/details.cfm?parentID=71

[muskyhunter81 0]

They look good.

[jalansalon 0]

This is my personal best fly I have tied and I am a beginner, what do you guys think?

[Davidpensfan87 0]

This is my personal best fly I have tied and I am a beginner, what do you guys think?

That is a cool looking fly. That is a brassie with a wing on it. One suggestion would be to wrap the copper wire so each wrap is touching.

[mikechell 0]

I have a question. Is the arrow pointing to the end of the wire?

 

 

If so, you've wrapped it incorrectly. Leaving the wire loose like that will allow it to "unwrap" or get caught in leader when a fish hits. That would keep the hook turned, and prevent a hook set.

 

Tie the wire in first.

 

 

Then wrap forward.

 

 

Then you secure the front end as you create the head.

[wschmitt3 0]

Mike you can actually apply wire with out tying it in first. Just glue it to a bare hook shank . Some people tie brassies like this. But I would agree that tag of wire should be secured otherwise it will cause problems.

[mikechell 0]

Yeah ... After typing that ... I looked up pictures of Brassies. I realized that some people do wrap the wire from front to back, leaving the end exposed. It might even be the original design. Thanks for backing me up on the loose end ... that's what was bothering me about it.

[flytire 0]

original brassie

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=WxpvoYxhMXUC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=south+platte+brassie+gene+lynch&source=bl&ots=WvXZK2DaGR&sig=EQ62WaZ9nQuDWrPQQSLuB4HcMaQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7BXZVIX8B5D7sATahYHABA&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=south%20platte%20brassie%20gene%20lynch&f=false