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Don Bastian

Extended Body Dry Flies

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Hello everyone!

 

I've been a FTF member since 2006, and usually am on the classic wet flies & streamer side. I want to start a discussion going basically to get some survey results. I would be grateful if you can please give me your feedback:

 

Extended Body Dry Fly patterns:

 

Do you tie them, buy them, fish them, do you like them, yes / no, positive and negative aspects. Hard to tie, hard to hook fish, not durable, too delicate, etc.

 

Your input is appreciated. I'll be away from my computer for several days, so please just post away, and I'll check on this topic next week. Thank you all!

 

Don

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Ok, I'll start. I first started tying them 30 years ago, when I saw Bing Lemke's patterns. These patterns all used a loop of mono for a core. This loose ends were first attached to the hook, then the loop was suspended from a post by a retractor clip. There were no gallows posts in those days. Once the loop was ready, the the tails and a dubbed abdomen were wrapped around the mono. The loop was then cut off at the junction of the tails and abdomen. The wings, thorax and hackles were tied on a short shank hook in the conventional way. Bing was able to tie these patterns down to a size 22. I still tie a few, but not many these days. They are fun to tie, even if they take a little more time. I find the results are usually worth the effort estetically, and I like the overall look, the upturned bodies more closely mimic the naturals. I fish more emerging patterns or nymphs these days, so I am rarely in need of a dun pattern, and the spinners mostly lay flat on the surface so I don't find any advantage to the extended body.

 

I have on occasion tied extended body hopper, damsel, and stone fly patterns. On these larger flies, the bodies I make are usually foam or deerhair, and are tied on a needle. I haven't as yet tried tying extended bodies on the "J" hooks.

 

I like the ways extended body flies look and think they look and work well for larger patterns.

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Do you tie them, buy them, fish them, do you like them, yes / no, positive and negative aspects. Hard to tie, hard to hook fish, not durable, too delicate, etc.

 

Don

 

I do tie some. I tied a foam bodied dry which started as a damsel fly pattern which pulled up fish really well but fish couldn't pull it under well and so the body shrank and it has been a very successful fly for me and some friends on a variety of wild brown waters. It involves tying the foam body seperately on a needle before transferring to a heavy hook but the fly sits down in the water well with the body acting almost like a sight post and the trout seem to like it so its worth the effort.

 

I have tied a couple of plaited marabou dragonfly nymph things and these proved more durable than I thought but haven't been any better fish catchers than easier to tie flies so I probably wouldn't bother again as I found the plaiting process too fiddly. But they do look fancy in the box.

 

I also tied some pike flies with an extended beadchain tail that worked better than it should have but again no better than standard flies.

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I really like extended foam bodies tied on a needle - see some of my posts!

 

I use foam quite a lot for its floatability.

 

I think extended body flies are good for larger patterns, Ephemera Danica here in the UK, but have less use in smaller sizes.

 

I just like the way they look, but not sure the trout agree! They may well catch anglers better than fish!

 

Might start tying some smaller patterns, but would need very thin needles - maybe 30 guage from work.

 

Simon

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Might start tying some smaller patterns, but would need very thin needles - maybe 30 guage from work.

Simon

 

Mine ends up on a size 18 hook but a heavy one designed for carp. So more like a #16 The foam is 2mm craft cut into a 3mm wide strip and folded in half. Threaded onto a sewing needle through folded end and then I use tying thread to section the foam off. Normally use a 3section length and tie the 4th 'open' section to attach to hook. In the end I have just under an inch foam body. Then dub around the tie on point and thats it done. No need for hackle or anything.

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Yes, I tie and fish them. Although at the moment its for larger mayflies. I have a pattern that I tie which started with a deer hair body but as now progressed to a foam body tied on a needle because I think it looks much better.

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Im using the foam method on a Needle. Really like how they float and VERY hard to drown.

In lakes i have used the wash line technique (dry extended foam fly at the end and a buzzer0,5 meters up the tippet)

 

Here is a picture.

mayfly3.jpg

 

 

Regards

 

Allan

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I like to fish an extended body. I like a small sulphur size 16 or 18 or the same size BWO. I have a simple but effective tie. I melt the end of micro chenille, to taper it I roll it in my fingers. I tie that on a thin wire scud hook . I tie wings and either regular hackle or parachute hackle. The parachute works better on clear slow moving water. The regular hackle works better on the fast moving smaller Appalachian streams.

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I tie them, I fish them, I love/hate them. Size 14 and larger I can tie, they look great (to me) and they catch fish consistently.

 

Anything smaller frustrates me to no end. They look good, the fish take them, but my hook up rate drops way down. I mean, drops straight off the table.

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Hi guys!

Thank you all very much for your input! I just found out today, when I left this site on Thursday for the Classic Wet Fly side, I ended up being logged in here for three days. No big deal I guess. I do appreciate your feedback, thank you very much, everyone!

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I really like a foam and deer-hair extended body design for Drakes and Hex patterns. Given that these bugs give such a large "picture" to the trout, I think that the realism they convey often pays off. For the Hex hatches in New England, I tie a Hairwing Dun-style pattern with a white foam body. I then color it to match with a prismacolor marker (yellow ochre), then wipe it gently to allow for a darker color in the creases. Trout seem to like them :) I have attached a picture that is also posted on this forum.

 

 

 

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For a swap elsewhere I've been tying these midges. The main reason for using a detached body is to keep the hook gap clear. Using this method the majority of the dressing sits on top of the hook. With small hooks, these are TMC 2487BL maintaining as large a gap as possible is a major consideration.

Pictures_0022_zpsd14b9b55.jpg

Pictures_0021_zps1a3c702d.jpg

(Yes I am working on an SbS)

Cheers,

C.

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The only extended-body fly I use is a very basic deer hair-bodied damsel adult. Personally, I never liked the whole needle thing and therefore dropped the extended body concept entirely except for damsels (although I am toying with the idea of a deer-hair Green Drake). For the damsel pattern I don't use a needle, which allows me to tie a very trim body. With a little practice, you can simply pull the hair tight and wrap around it. Please excuse the rough photo and tie, I stole the fly out of my box and snapped a quick photo for you.

 

IMGP6059_zps593d7f26.jpg

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