First Salmon Fly Attempt - Durham Ranger

[thursthouse 0]

Attempted my first Salmon Fly over the weekend, the Durham Ranger. I strayed slightly from the original pattern, but am interested in critique and advice for improvement.

 

 

 

 

[mikechell 0]

Looks good to me, but I don't tie that type of fly.

 

The only thing I see that "doesn't look right" ... the upper crescent of golden pheasant seems ... too high? It's not outlining (touching) the upper edges of the materials, it's just arching over the whole thing.

 

I don't know if that's a requirement, or if it's even wrong that way ... just relaying what I "See".

[Adam Saarinen 0]

WOW! That's really nice!

[Eddie Southgate 39-5 0]

It looks great to me especially for a first attempt. I can't tie one that nice.I think it would look just a tad better with the jungle cock a bit more centered in the wing with the tips evened up a bit .Congratulations !

[zip 0]

Love tying these bad boys!Not a bad first attempt at all.A few pointers though:

 

1-When you tie a salmon fly pattern;it is much easier when you invest in the best materials you can afford. Jon at feathersmc.com will take good care of you!

 

2-When applying floss it is important to have a smooth underbody. This can be done by making side by side thread wraps along the length of the body then smoothing the thread out with something extremely smooth (I use little polished rock).Then wrap floss,after tie down,smooth the floss before wrapping the rib (tinsel),it will give it a glass like sheen.

 

3-Full feather wing flies are a pain and you are to be commended!The GP tippets need to be perfectly matched and aligned to give it more of a solid look.An important part of that is to do the same with the underwing,in this case JC.

 

And finally i would check this out http://www.classicflytying.com

 

Many years ago,the classics page was on here.Those guys are great and you will learn tons!!!Hope you don't think I was being a butt head,salmon flies are my passion and I want to help!

 

Again,an outstanding first go!Ifor you have any questions feel free to ask here or PM me and we can get more in depth!All the best-Steve

[retrocarp 0]

Cool fly man

[thursthouse 0]

Thank you all for the kind word and for the critiques - all of it is truly appreciated! While I'm not trying to tie museum quality flies (clearly), I am trying to tie them the best I can as they will be used as boutonnieres on myself and my groomsmen. It's funny how I hadn't noticed many of the issues you guys pointed out, so I'm very grateful for the advice and instructions - looking forward to twisting up a few more. I've always admired Salmon flies but now have even more respect for you guys who tie them. My patience was tested

[zip 0]

You're well on your way,man!Another couple of easy starter patterns would be Blue charms and The Lady Amherst.Relatively few materials and you can substitute materials as you did on the ranger.Let's see some more when you're finished man!And congrats on getting married

[thursthouse 0]

Thanks brother. I really like the look of both of those patterns - especially the Lady Amherst.

[zip 0]

Not a problem bro.Just take your time with them!I'll give ya some advice a lot of the old guys won't about these:HAVE FUN and don't get wrapped around the axle too much

[zip 0]

Here's a DR I just finished in 2/0.Took me about 8 hours to tie

[wlshafor 0]

Nice job for your first attempt! This is beautiful!

 

Attempted my first Salmon Fly over the weekend, the Durham Ranger. I strayed slightly from the original pattern, but am interested in critique and advice for improvement.

 

 

 

 

[thursthouse 0]

Haha Zip, the difference is night and day - that is awesome. I have some work to do. Will attempt again when I get some additional materials in next week.