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J-Kno

Critique this Muddler

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Hey guys,

 

I have never really fished streamers and hadn't tied one until last month's "Tell you neighbor what to tie" swap. Well September is "Streamer" month and I thought I'd try a Muddler Minnow.

 

I haven't spun deer hair in over 20 years and consider my self just an intermediate bug twister.

 

Looking for constructive criticism... I will say, I might be able to pack a little more hair in the front and fought the tail and wing (turkey) a bit marrying them. I will get some darker turkey for swap flies, this was just a first stab.

 

 

post-50671-0-77275300-1410921693_thumb.jpg

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That looks pretty nice to me, that cone head should get it down and cause for some dips and doodles when stripped.

 

Mine are a little more ragged than that one. Great bug!

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I like the tail a little longer and thus the wing a little longer also so it stays about halfway down the tail. And the collar hairs a little shorter. But that's mostly aesthetic, I think that would fish just as well, which is the important part.

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I agree with the above. I also prefer a longer tail and then wing, collar to suit. The turkey tail is very traditional and I prefer on a sedge imitation muddler. For a streamer I would use more mobile material like marabou or better yet arctic fox or similar.

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ill take another dozen smile.png

 

since most of the flies shown in the link below has the collar extending to about the hook point/barb, I think your fly is just fine

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=cone+head+muddler&biw=1200&bih=628&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dU8ZVM2HEMSSyAS1tYKwAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

 

you mentioned your concern about the turkey tail and wing slips so you know what should be done there

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I agree on the tail, and wing length, if you look at the pictures in the previous link, your hair is packed tight enough. To me, the primary purpose of the hair is to form the collar and pectoral fins. Your collar could stand to be a bit fuller or more evenly distributed around the sides, but it will fish just fine the way it is.

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The Muddler came into being long before there were cones. Weighted Muddlers had lead wrapped around the shank so it had a different action than when using a cone head. Sinkers had a sparsely tied head to allow the fly to sink better. Floaters had a thicker head and no lead to facilitate the float. Sub-surface had no lead and a sparsely tied head. The trend today seems to be a very conical shaped head weighted or not. 45 years ago Muddler heads were not trimmed to such a cone and were more flat faced. I suppose they pushed more water by being more flat faced. IMO brass cones create a variation Muddler but they sure are handsome and make me want to buy a half dozen.

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One piece of advise I might give is that when I do muddlers I always spray my feathers with some sort of coating. I use krylon clear. Some use fleximent and other products. This will help to make the wing and tail more durable and keep it from splitting. It really made my muddlers look more professional. They keep their shape better too.

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Thank you for offering the words of advice. I have read each bit and truly appreciate your time to respond. The link was very beneficial to put what was said and seeing it right off. I will practice a few more before tying up the lot for the swap.

 

My plan is to:

1) Change the color of the wing and tail to natural (this is bleached as the LFS only had this and yellow) and coat the feathers with something.

2) Extend the tail and wing accordingly

3) Shorten the collar (a little)

4) Work on a more uniform spin

 

Now off to find some darker turkey feathers....

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Thanks for posting the Gapen Muddler....Don't remember ever seeing one before. I do know that the current style of neat cone shaped heads is not how the muddler was originally tied. I also know that the original Muddler would kinda float if treated with floatant and slowly sink if left undressed. They also caught a lot of fish.

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Wow, Flytire , thats a large selection of googled photos, man there are some nice ones.

J-Kno, You mentioned something about marrying wing? I attached an older Video of a Muddler I tied and you may find some value in the placement and "setting" of the wings, hope its helpful, (video is alittle long , maybe 8/9 mins.)

 

Bruce

 

muddler3.wmv

 

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