arkle

The other day I was searching for a pattern that I had hidden away in a dis-used box and found some flies that were given to me by Terry Ruane.

Terry is a pro-tyer from South Africa who came to the U.K. quite a few years ago and he was involved with the design of several patterns of Partridge hooks amongst many other projects. He gave regular demo's at many shows and clubs and was a very highly respected tyer.

Unfortunately he suffered a major stroke a few years ago and is now wheelchair bound. I've seen him a couple of times in the last few years, he's okay but i don't know if he's still tying.

I thought that you may be interested in seeing a few of his patterns that were done in the early 1990's,

Google "Mick Hall Fly" and you should find a wealth of info there

Twofingers, look at the bottom of the lwr. part, (r/h picture) and think ovipositer, not quite in focus as depth of field is concentrated on the main part of the fly.

That is a staggeringly accurate representation, flawlessly tied. Beyond beautiful. It must have taken many,many hours; we are all grateful to have seen such a work of art, sorry masterpiece.

I know this may sound like "coals to Newcastle" or whatever, but I managed to get a U.K. version of the "flytying & rodbuilding list" last year.

No mention of the elusive strips in any Orvis lit. I have though. Orvis market a lot of new product for other suppliers/manufacturers, often they run it for a year or so until their distribution ensures it's widespread. Then it either goes on general sale or fades away, often rapidly. Perhaps if you could show us a pic. then someone might recall it and say ahh yes thats a whatever by whoever.

Hey Mike, next time you're over here in the U.K. bring it along with you so that we can see you do a demo of it. You'll have about 2 1/2 hours though so keep practicing. Seriously though that is one stunning fly.

Truly awesome, colouring foam is "challenging" as the inks are not designed to work well on that medium. I don't know if there is a good marker system for foam though, perhaps someone out there can advise.

Sorry about that, my mistake I was rather tired & didn't check it to make certain. It looks like my own "personal hard drive" needs a re-boot.

Anyway thanks to twofingers for correcting me, and I hope you liked his site.

As well as the above take a look at our Mr.Beetle's site, www.gajaflies.com There are dozens of references on google as well for him, try the art of angling one as well to start with.

Hello again Leif, brilliant to see you back.

If they don't rate your photo's then I'll try and compensate for them for you.

Those spiders would scare anyone, even an arachnologyst ; let alone us tiers.

Superb flies, and they look brilliant in close up! If you download it via windows, at the bottom of the screen there's a lense icon with a + sign in it. \just keep hitting that one, and move the image with the blue lines at the bottom and r/h side. you can blow the pic up so that 1 insect will almost fill the screen, like all enlargements though it degrades the further you go.

Some styles of hook just won't work with any beads, others often require a SMALLER bead to go around the barb & start of the bend.

There's only one hard and fast rule ! and that is there's NO hard and fast rule!

There are NO standard hole sizes for any beads, it's a matter of trial & error I'm afraid.

Mike,

When I saw the header I thought has he gone to get the groundbait.

Then when I opened the thread, well; has he contacted Rentokill yet !

John

Thought you might be interested in seeing one of the patterns I've been playing around with. Not totally happy with the choice of wing material, which in this case is Tiemco's winging sheet, have tried most of the others; but this is the best I've found so far. I want to remain with a man made fibre as it retains its shape when wet, and doesn't waterlog. Any ideas for alternatives will be considered if I have not already tried them.

It's dressed on an u.e sedge type hook #10 or 12 with 14/0 brown thread, a twist & furled Flexifloss detached body. The double knotted pheasant tail fibres for the rear of the dressing are added next, then a canoe shaped piece of brown razor foam is tied at the back on top of the shank. This is followed by the wing section and then the forward legs before the front of the foam is tied in and trimmed. The fly is then inverted in the vice and a coat of cyanacrolate is given to the underparts.

Hello Johan,

I wouldn't mind having a go at this one, if there's still a slot available. I've a couple or three ideas with "fishables" for your consideration

So thats what accounts for all those twelve hour days ! Keep 'em comin' MIke, they're absolute crackers.

You mean you didn't use Raid on them ? I was going to ask how you got the hook through them without squashing them.

Sorry, just my rubbish s.o.h. brilliant, as always

P.S. Hope the sale go's well for you, and you get that other "person" sorted !

Regards

John

Propencia, LOL, Sorry try ostrich herl, stripped on one side and tied along the side or for larger patterns use a clipped hackle which has been stripped on one side.

Wait till you get up to full speed like the late Warren.

I do a similar pattern that is based on a "Golden Guinea" g/f wings, tippet tail. flat gold body palmered orange cock h. ribbed golds wire. My "Silver Guinea" has an Amherst tippet tail. G/F wings, silver body palmered with slate cock, ribbed silv. wire, and a grey partridge hackle at the head. Can also be tied with a flat pearl body and no palmer. I use white thread on latter 2 so that heads can be treated with white frosted varnish. Black or orange on the golden one.

Thanks Ray, Pete Gathercole started life as a teenage fly tyer and soon came under the wing of Bob Church, then a tackle dealer (as he is now) and one of the countries leading trout writers. Peter, under Bob's advice went on to take up photography full time and has/still does work for several magazines both trout orientated and I think he does work for walking mags as well. His flies are of a very high standard, as is his photo work. He did the photo's in Oliver Edwards book, although I was not so impressed with those.

The green you mentioned was a mid-grass type of colour, it's amazing how things change over the years, maybe it had been turned up in photoshop, or it could have been what was on the bench at the time, I don't know.

When I dress the App. I usually do it with white thread, so that I can varnish it with white frosted nail varnish, not original I know; lets call it a variation.

Have you tried the Jack Frost yet, another one from Bob's stable. I haven't seen the book you mention but the original had a white baby wool (Sirdar nylon wool) body that was overwound with a polythene strip to give it a hard shiny appearance.

As chenille became available to fly tyers it replaced a lot of the original body materials as it was,amongst other things far quicker to tie with. An example of this, also from from Bob C. again was his "Church Fry" originally orange marabou floss body with a tip of fluorescent orange floss at the throat. Later versions always have orange chenille. which I think looks disproportionate to the slim wing of grey squirell.

That's almost spot on Ray, and it's the way virtually everybody dresses it these days.

The very first versions had a flat silver tinsel rib, a metal one; not the chromed plastic stuff that is so popular. Plastic tinsels were then very weak, and would come undone or break at the first opportunity - todays are better, but they still tear or break quite easily.

I think that it is a method that has (sorry had) its feet in both camps.

Another very well known angler from that era had a similar method, but would only ever fish in one exact spot. Some close observation were being made by the rangers at this water, as he was the only angler ever to come in with a bagfuls of fish, even when no-one else had seen or touched one sometimes for weeks on end.

Around the end of the season the rangers had the spot marked out accurately from the bank, and the underwater diving patrol was sent in. After some searching the divers surfaced and got the above water team to send down a rope with a grappling hook at one end and a winch at the other. Some time later, the exhausted boat team winched up a plastic fertilizer sack filled with rancid cheese!

Needless to say the angler was not invited to re-join the following season.

Another later version of this fly (?) had a body of peach or coral chenille, as it looks like rotting flesh. Oh yes did I mention chenille is very absorbent !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Over this side of the water, there is an almost identical pattern called "The Missionary", which was developed in the 60s I think by possibly Dick Shrive, for use on the Midlands reservoirs from an earlier standard wet fly pattern.

For those "in the know" the idea came from a Northampton sandwich, i.e. 3 Jacobs Cream Cracker biscuits without any butter, one bite and they were spat out over the side of a boat, to attract fish! Sort of an illegal form of groundbaiting.

It is used on a slow sink/intermediate or even a floater with a long leader as a point fly. The main dressing is the same wing, with natural red whisks for tail and hackle, and a white chenille body ribbed with silver oval.

Very nice Mike, they look as if they're about to pour some ketchup on themselves ready for the final swim.