October Flies from the Vise

[SBPatt 0]

Nicholas' McKenzie Guide Secret

Neat Renegade variation. Here's the

for the tying sequence

hook – TMC 5212 #12

thread - Danville 6/0 black

tail - hackle red (webby)

rib - x-small wire copper

rear body - peacock herl

rear hackle - brown (undersize by 2)

center - tinsel gold

front body - peacock herl

front hackle - grizzly

Regards,

Scott

[Kimo 0]

JAN 32



Kimo

[retrocarp 0]

Putting together some display fly's for a Project Healing Waters event, love the deerhair!

 

insane skills Bruce

[SBPatt 0]

Pheasant Tail Brassie

Basics; good practice to restore muscle memory. Tailwater fodder in smaller sizes; weight is optional.

hook – Dai Riki 730 #12

thread - Danville 6/0 rusty brown

tail - pheasant tail

abdomen - brassie wire copper

thorax - peacock herl

shellback/legs - pheasant tail

Regards,

Scott

[wr1nkles 0]

I'm clearly new and don't know how to size hackle. The woolly bugger, I just can't seem to get it to look as nice as others. And don't know what this caterpillar thing is I manage to put together haha. Tips?

[mikechell 0]

"Nice" is a relative term. Yours looks functional ... and it doesn't look that bad. I tie in the chenille to the rear, so there's no wraps showing at the tail like you have. I also don't use a metal bead on mine, since I don't want them to sink to the bottom.

 

The "caterpillar" ... other than the hackle facing forward, it also looks like it'll draw some strikes from the fish.

 

"Nice" is achieved by practice. You can, as some people suggest, save the first flies you tie ... so you can compare later and see your improvement. With pictures, I don't see that being a big deal anymore.

 

Go fishing ... I think you'll find the fish approve.

[wr1nkles 0]

"Nice" is a relative term. Yours looks functional ... and it doesn't look that bad. I tie in the chenille to the rear, so there's no wraps showing at the tail like you have. I also don't use a metal bead on mine, since I don't want them to sink to the bottom.

 

The "caterpillar" ... other than the hackle facing forward, it also looks like it'll draw some strikes from the fish.

 

"Nice" is achieved by practice. You can, as some people suggest, save the first flies you tie ... so you can compare later and see your improvement. With pictures, I don't see that being a big deal anymore.

 

Go fishing ... I think you'll find the fish approve.

 

Thanks mikechell. Can I ask, is there anything wrong with the hackle being as long as I have it on this bugger?

[Flicted 0]

Wrong, no. I've never heard a fish say, "I ain't eating that, it's legs are one size too long." You'll hear several opinions on what everyone uses. I usually end up with 1 1/2 times the hook gap. Wooly bugger is more of a style than a specific pattern. Exact materials, colors, chenille size, dubbing vs. chenille, bead or no bead, tail and hackle length are variable.

[mikechell 0]

As Flicted says ... no. I always tie mine with longer hackle. I like the way it looks in the water.

As far as I can tell, the fish like it, too.

 

There ARE appropriate proportions, if you're trying to tie "display" flies. Some of the members, here, are perfectionist, and tie beautifully accurate pattern flies.

 

I'm not one of those. I am a fly angler who ties for my fishing. I don't tie tens or hundreds of different patterns.

[chugbug27 0]

Ok. You asked how to get the hackle proportions right. It's easier than you think. Just take a hackle feather and bend it around the shank of the hook. The tips of the hackle should generally be 1.5 x as wide as the hook gap (on some flies 2x or just 1x, depending on the pattern). Keep going through feathers until you find one the right size. For any hook at all modest in size this will be much easier to find on a genetic neck of any quality than on any strung saddle hackle.

 

On the wooly worm (which can imitate a caterpillar or could just be fished as an attractor), I'll leave it to others whether the pattern calls for shorter hackle. But to see if it makes a difference to the fish, do this: Tie one with a longer body and with shorter hackle, fish them together (one on a tag line) and see if one outperforms the other. I'd be curious to know what you find. I personally have no clue if either would work better on this pattern.

 

On the possibly implied question of "are they fishable," here's my take... The nicer the flies you tie, the less "fishable" to you those flies will seem. So know this: If you hesitate to fish them now, they will sit in your box for what seems like forever, and they will die a very lonely death. So I say, please do this: Fish them asap. They will catch fish in the fall (probably not in the winter), and you will love that. Do not make your first flies die that lonely death... Others may disagree on this, but of course they'd be...

 

wrong.

 

P.S. Your caterpillar is tied as a dry, but it will also act as a swinging streamer. At the end of your dry fly drift if you have no takes just give a little tug to send it under the surface for the last bit of drift and then a gentle swing through the stream before your next cast. Even once the swing is done, hesitate with a little wiggle before casting, sometimes they like to bite right as you start to take it out of the water.

[wr1nkles 0]

P.S. Your caterpillar is tied as a dry, but it will also act as a swinging streamer. At the end of your dry fly drift if you have no takes just give a little tug to send it under the surface for the last bit of drift and then a gentle swing through the stream before your next cast. Even once the swing is done, hesitate with a little wiggle before casting, sometimes they like to bite right as you start to take it out of the water.

 

Well... damn. I only fish stillwater. It's hard to find a lot of good info on fly fishing for stillwater. Everyone always defaults to fishing streams. Only guy I've found that I really like is Phil Rowley. Should I fish the caterpillar on a polyleader, or maybe with a heavy midge off the bend to bring it down a little?

 

Maybe i'll tie it with a few lead wraps under the belly

[mikechell 0]

I prefer still water and Sunfish and Bass ... no trout in my area.

Less weight, not more, it what you need. Well, unless you're fishing 20 foot depths and a sinking line, etc.

I fish in waters that are, generally, 6 feet deep or less. I add no weight. Most of my takes are on the fall, which take 5 to 10 seconds per foot. Those flies I have that sink faster than that, don't perform as well. Most fish are near the bottom, but are looking up. Those higher in the water column aren't looking down, either. If your fly falls past them before grabbing their attention ... you're not hooking fish.

[chugbug27 0]

Beyond my paygrade, but I'm with you on Phil Rowley's site. It's great.

 

Steve Schalla (who I have not met) has a great all-around flyfishing & tying website, one of the best if not the best I've seen, and in addition to streams he devotes some very nice attention throughout his site to flyfishing mountain lakes. Here's a link

 

http://stevenojai.tripod.com/tactics.htm

 

Sorry for straying off topic... It's turning into that kinda day

 

PS and don't forget this site, as mikechell aptly demonstrates. Lots of still water guys here, all shapes and sizes

[wr1nkles 0]

Lefty's Deceiver. Tail's a little bit longer than I was going for but I think it looks good under water. Going back out for some stripers if this damn wind ever dies down...

[Sandan 0]

As chugbug27 says, "Do not make your first flies die that lonely death". Here are a few that are going to live. A few ties from the last few days