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Fly Tying

GR8LAKES FLYER

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About GR8LAKES FLYER

  • Rank
    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 09/08/1969

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  • Location
    Ontario , Canada
  1. I tied these up in hopes of the fall runs of steelhead when I return home at he end of September from Mexico . Can't wait for the chrome !!! Each of these have a slight variation in the ribbing and collar . Hope you like them Mike
  2. That would be a very effective fly on Greatlakes steelhead !! Thank-you for sharing Mike
  3. I'd swing that in a second ..... nicely done !!! Mike
  4. I voted other .... they are somewhat neat , but also half way filled . I'm slowly adding to them each day in preparation for the fall season . Mike
  5. I've been working seven days a week and crazy shift work too !! Get home and everyone is asleep .... nothing to do but tie . This is a spin off of the Undertaker .... I call it Grave Digger : Mike
  6. Nicely done Mike !! I fancy the "old school" speys Mike
  7. That's a killer colour combination !!! Well done my friend :headbang: :headbang: Mike
  8. Old Hat , It seems we are cut from the same cloth I'm sitting here prep'ing some blind eye's for an order ...... would you care to swap a fly or two Coot or Moore hen is an inexpensive substitute for Blue Eared Pheasant ..... should have mentioned that earlier ..... sorry . However the feathers are not as long or as "wispy" as the BEP , but would do fine for smaller speys up to #2 long Bartleet . (Partridge CS10/1) Mike
  9. Old Hat , coque feathers are my favorite as well and John has the best I have found . However , the barbules are quite long on the raichis and not suited for some speys , they would upset the proportions of the fly . The coque hackles are best suited for the "old school" shrimp patterns of Kelson and Francis . Mike
  10. Since you have been tying for a while , I will assume you have a good vice with lots of holding power for the larger gauge hooks . Speaking of hooks , the style hook is very important . I prefer a good quality Bartleet hook ..... Partridge CS10/1 or Daiichi 2051 for most spey flies , I leave the heavier Irons (CS10/2) for standard steelhead and salmon wet flies . For body materials , you can get by with wool .... natural type (100% wool) four stranded type will give a "buggy" or "vintage" look . The synthetic (lycra) will give a sleek , shiny appearance , almost floss like . You can use the same dubbing blends that you use on other flies , just pick your colours . I like metal tinsels and wire , I stay away from mylar ...... just doesn't withstand the salmon and steelhead . Matter of fact , it would rarely make it out of the vise . I do tie with great pressure on my tinsel ribs and wire counter ribs and the mylar would never even hold up during the tying process . Pheasant pelts are a very good source of body hackles and collar hackles . Plus the breast and flank feathers can be used as winging material ..... I love pheasant You can always purchase teal and guinea hen as well , both are used on a multitude of patterns and very inexpensive . Blue Eared Pheasant is well sought after by most spey tiers , however on a limited budget , it would take away from purchasing a lot of other needed materials . a BEP pelt would run you at least $150US and a package of a dozen feathers is around $10US . I would rather get a few Ringneck pheasant pelts in natural and dyed colours and a Golden pheasant pelt with the head and crest and some good quality schallapan in an aray of colours before committing to a hefty purchase like the BEP pelt . Goose and Swan shoulders come in a variety of colours and are fairly inexpensive for winging material . Good quality Bronze mallard can make all the difference when tying old school shrimp patterns , like the King series , Speals and Riachs (Reech) . Fortunately , good quality bronze mallard is not that expensive Hope that helped some what ..... Mike
  11. Some very good suggestions so far .... I'll add my favorites to the list : Stoat's Tail Silver Stoat's Tail Lemire's Black Diamond Cascade All Black Mike
  12. Excellent flies .... keep going !! Mike
  13. Very elegant fly Mike , lines are perfect .... well done !! Excellent cause , that I can relate too . My sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts . Unfortunately , both had to be removed .... but she is alive and in remission now for seven years !! :headbang: Mike
  14. When it comes to rhea , you have to bite the bullet . I buy from a trusted source for rhea , Todd Scarff in BC . Not cheap , but excellent quality rhea , in every imaginable colour . I have rhea from Todd that herls are 7"to 8" long ..... first quality for sure . Mike
  15. Thank-you Chris !! I use many types of hackle . On this type spey fly , I like to use coque for two reasons . 1. The long , following barbules , coupled with the extremely durable raichis . 2. The feathers have an unbelievable sheen to them . The hackle on this fly is gold tipped , which is a metallic gold with a green/blue sheen ..... just crazy !!! If you have a look at my "Crowne" series of speys , you will see schallapan , pheasant and coque with rhea herls tied in at the collar . I usually add rhea to all of my spey flies because of the "fishing" factor . Hard to beat rhea for movement . Mike
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