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Fly Tying

KevCompton

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About KevCompton

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    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 11/11/1970

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  • Website URL
    http://www.performanceflies.com
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  • Location
    Edwards, CO and Cleveland, OH
  1. The Condom Worm was designed by Vladi Trzebunia of Poland. Loren Williams has a good tutorial of Vladi's worm here: http://www.flyguysoutfitting.com/vladiworm.html. A quick suggestion on this pattern: try not to obstruct as much of the throat of the hook. Back the worm up the bend out of the heel of the hook. This will help with both hook sets & holding. *Interesting aside: when I bought more Pink Crown Condoms than I'd like to admit, the owner of Condom Express in Florida called to see if I'd like to exchange site links. When I laughed he said: "But I get a million viewers a month. Do you know where I can at least find a youTube video for this lure? I want to post it on Condom Express." A buddy of mine reminded me, though, that I would probably make more money in my lifetime selling Performance Condoms...
  2. Heavy Water Caddis Hook: DOHIKU Barbless 301 #10. Thread: Giorgio Benecchi 12/0 (70 denier), Brown. Body: Hare's Mask Fur and Clear Antron. Wing: Natural Dun-Tan & Rust CDC and Bleached Whitetail Deer Hair (layered). Thorax: Same as Body (looped & wrapped). I first saw Jan Siman of the Czech Republic tie this fast water sedge. Nice to see/meet many guys -- and to put faces to handles -- in Holt this past weekend.
  3. Here is another helpful guide: http://www.flyfisherman.com/content/best-vises/4 The authors evaluate several vises across various price ranges.
  4. Will be there tying. "Fly Tying Stuff" This year I have decided to work with younger tiers, kids of all ages, at each stop along the winter show circuit. In Holt, I will be leading a class called, "Fly Tying Stuff". It is simply an opportunity to acquaint kids who tie, or would like to tie, with the materials that we often use in our fly patterns. These kids simply need to touch and to have a sense of where all this fluff & feather comes from; to understand where certain furs and feathers can be found on various animals and birds; to understand something about the nature and properties of our materials. When I watch kids watching myself or others tie, there is a hesitancy coupled with a natural curiosity when they see the stuff we work with at the vise. They simply want to touch the stuff and ask questions. This is very different than handing a kid a plastic 3x4" zip-loc bag with a patch of muskrat fur in it. I have seen kids marvel at the Whiting Farms' mounted birds while Chris Helm is tying long after they've paid attention to Chris spinning a mouse. In this class, I'm going to lay out all kinds of pelts and bird skins and -- more or less -- let the questions fly. I think when first starting out, kids pay much more attention at shows to stuff than to demonstrated techniques -- which are often miles over their heads. Should be a lot of fun. This class will run for 30-45 mins. in the morning and again mid-afternoon. Thanks.
  5. Really nice sculpin. Imagine it has a great profile when it skinnies down in the water. Good to see you again, Paul. Kevin
  6. Hello. Since the October Caddis inhabits the swiftest runs of large rivers, I wanted a pattern that would float very well, yet land softly, and sit right within the surface of the water. This combination of snowshoe hare's fur (body), the CDC underwing or 'bubble', and the CDC overwing all help to buoy the pattern. And unlike hackled caddis patterns, which tend to ride higher, this sedge imitation sits flush right in the water -- much as the real bug does. This fly is a meal. The pattern is tied on a #6 DOHIKU dry fly hook. I use Orange Benecchi 12/0 thread. The 'bubble' is natural tan-dun CDC looped over a body of yellow-orange snowshoe hare's fur. The body dubbing is spun in a dubbing loop and wrapped. The 'bubble' is formed just like the CDC wingcase on a 'loop-wing' emerger. Since the fly is so large, some of the 'bubble' fibers of CDC will flank the body. The CDC overwing is the same as the underwing. The collar or 'veiling' is a brown Partridge back feather. The thorax is a blend of burnt orange squirrel guard hairs and orange hare's mask fur -- simply dubbed and picked out to suggest the legs.
  7. Duck Legs Golden Stone Nymph Hook: Dohiku Barbless S #8. Beadhead: Tungsten Bead, Gold (3.0mm). Thread: Giorgio Benecchi 12/0, Brown. Weight: Flat lead wire. Tails: Giorgio Benecchi Micro-Flec Turkey Flat, Golden Yellow (V-shaped, quill-slip section of the feather including the fibers from both sides of the quill-stem). Ribbing: Synthetic Body Quill, Graphite. Abdomen: Dave Whitlock SLF Blend Dubbing, Golden Stone Nymph. Wingcase: Turkey Tail Feather Slip coated with Flex-Seal. Thorax: Yellow & Natural Dun CDC spun in a loop and wrapped over the same Whitlock SLF Blend Dubbing as the abdomen.
  8. Hi Socallies23, Which hook are you using here? Just curious. You mention: "bent hook used to get the tail below the film" Are you bending the hook yourself or are you using a stonefly nymph hook? Thanks, Kevin
  9. If anyone is interested in reading a forum discussion about Snowshoe Hare -- patterns, its history in fly-tying, and much else -- check this thread out: http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/thread?id=792795 Kevin
  10. Hi Horseshoes, Hopefully this article will sort out your questions: http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwcdc/ Kevin
  11. Thanks for all the comments, guys. ********** Chuck, Thanks for the great question. And I agree -- Wyatt's patterns are less familiar/appreciated by tiers in N. America. For anyone interested, here is a link to some of his patterns: http://www.danica.com/flytier/rwyatt/rwyatt.htm The "Indicator". I should have called it something like, "The Attractor". So the pattern recipe is misleading, in a sense. Although the hot orange SSH might help to sight the fly, it's really there as an 'attractor' for the fish. How so? When I was looking thru Leeson & Schollmeyer's book, Tying Emergers, I noticed that only a couple patterns, with some exceptions, incorporated an indicator-like feature -- a bright hot spot/heart, a fluorescent post, a fluorescent CDC loop-wing, or whatever. The color white, though, was occasionally used. So many of the emergers looked like 'semi-dries' -- abdomens submerged, thoraxes in the film, and wing/post/hackle/CDC on the surface & above. The Klinkhammer is a great example. So are the 'loop-wing' emergers. But then I came across Gary LaFontaine's Halo Mayfly Emerger (which has a hot orange deer hair wing) in that book and the fly led me back to his discussion of the pattern in his own book, Trout Flies: Proven Patterns. In talking about the Halo, he said: The triggering characteristic on the Halo Emerger is the spike of fluorescent orange deer hair canting upwards. Never mind that it is a wild, improbable exaggeration of the budding wings on the emerging nymph. The spike is a great attention grabber...the spike of orange deer hair looms into the trout's window of vision, an exaggeration of unfolding wings, but it also pokes out of the water, presenting a clear silhouette against any glare. It was after reading this that I decided to put a 'twist' on Wyatt's pattern. I reached for the hot orange SSH -- both for the reasons LaFontaine explains and in hopes that it would also help to buoy the fly. But if it helps to see the pattern on the water in the latter half of the drift, that's great, too...A hot-orange SSH wing would also be an interesting twist. I hope this helps, Chuck. By the way, LaFontaine also designed a dry fly which is hackled, in part, with orange-dyed rooster hackle, called the Flame-Thrower. I've also heard (???) that hot orange works well on some dries on the Gunnison River in Colorado. Who knows...? Here is a photo of the Halo Mayfly Emerger:
  12. Hi 2bonthewater, Thanks for the comments and question. The fly sinks -- and is meant to sink. I'd forgotten to mention in the pattern recipe that I do, in fact, use flat lead wire on this fly. You can see where the body thickens in the middle and this is where most of the lead was wrapped. I try to taper both ends of the lead wraps towards the tails and the antennae -- forming what Oliver Edwards calls a "banana-shaped underbody". CDC can do much more than float flies; it adds marabou-like movement, translucency, and perhaps, even bubbles as you suggest. This Grip Hook (14723BL) is a very versatile hook. It seems to work well for scuds, shrimps, caddis larvae (including Czech Nymphs), and emergers of all kinds -- both mayflies & caddisflies. Thanks again, Kevin
  13. Wyatt's Snowshoe Hare Emerger Hook: Dohiku G #12-18. Thread: Fly D&K 80, Brown. Rib: DMC Embroidery Floss, Brown-Olive. Body: Blend of Olive Hare's Ear Fur and Medium-Olive Seal's Fur. Indicator: Snowshoe Hare, Hot Orange. Wing/Post: Snowshoe Hare, Blue Dun. Thorax: Hare's Ear Mask Fur, Natural. *Wyatt also ties this pattern with a deer hair wing.
  14. Quigley-Hunchback Emerging PMD Cripple Hook: Grip Hooks 14723BL #14-18. Thread: Giorgio Benecchi 12/0, Light Yellow. Shuck: Woodduck & Zelon. Rib: Black Body Quill & Copper Wire. Body: Brown Body Quill over White Thread. Wingcase & Wing: Same Clump of Short Coarse Whitetail Deer Hair. Thorax: Arizona Micro Sheen, PMD. Hackle: Whiting Farms Blue Dun Rooster Feather.
  15. Nice bug. I imagine the marabou imparts a lot of triggering motion to the pattern. Welcome to the forum, Felix. Kevin
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