utyer

You and not the first, the peacock herl wooly bugger, or wooly worm, has been around for many years. Peacock herl bodies on wet flies of every style are very popular and effective on all spieces of fish. That irridecent sheen is hard to duplicate with other materials, and it does seem to be pretty attractive to fish. Peacock wooly bugger can be tied with almost any marabou in the tail, but browns and olives are pretty standard. I have seen chartreuse, black and orange used to good effect as well. Try some wooly buggers with pheasant rump feathers as the tail. Its a little stiffer than marabou, and won't foul around the hook as much. Most common hackle palmered through the body is brown, followed by black, olive and grizzley. The mylar material is known as Crystal Fash, its slightly thinner and more supple than flashabou, which is ususally not embossed to make it crinkley. Both come is a wide array of colors. You can either blend it in our use it to contrast the body or tail of a pattern.

Foam bodied bombers, water walkers, and gurglebugs come to mind. Large Wulff patterns should also work. The Royal Coachman is tied as a steelhead pattern, so I see no reason not to try a Royal Wulff. Don't forget the Bulkley Mouse, Its tied with an extended deer hair wing (like a elk hair caddis would be.) Leave the wing butts long (about 1/4" or 6/16".) Wind the thread forward through the wing butts, and tie off. Trim head underneath. Body on these is optional, I usually leave it out, so its jus the deerhair, which is not spun.

You might also want to pickup a straight eye hook like the Mustad 3407, or the Mustad Signature S71 S SS.

My eggs are usually tied on either the Eagle Claw L056, or the Mustad Signature C67S both heavy wires, and work fine for me.

It was about 20 years ago, I was able to get 2 4 ounce spools of black nymo. There must be 3000 yards of thread on each. I only with I was able to find more. I use a drill to load from the bulk spools to standard size spools, and onto sewing machine bobbin spools for my travel kit. I would check on the Uni Thread web site or Danville website for bulk spools.

I will ship you a regal vise tomorrow, along with a whip finisher, some bobbins thread, hooks and supplies. What you end up with duplicates of, distribute to your buddies.

Its time for streamers on the Madison in the park. Wooly buggers in black, olive, and brown, will do. Zonkers, or Zoo Cougars too. Get them in the deep runs and holes between the rocks and weeds. There are browns running up from Hegbem lake. Fish the barn holes right inside the west entrance, or about 7 miles east. You may do ok with stone flys in the deep runs, and soft hackles in the deeper riffles. For me it would be streamers all day.

The ribbon cables used to attach various drives to the motherboards is made up of silver wire. Some ribbons are made of up to 60 or so wires each with 7 strands of fine silver wire. I get mine out of scrapped computer, before we recycle them.

You have really got the fly tying bug. Don’t stop, your eggs are looking pretty good. Tie that crystal chenille egg on the front of a wooly bugger, for a meth head leach. You should fill a box of what you have going there. Add some chartreuse eggs, and crystal eggs. Orange, pink (both hot cerise and peachy shades,) and chartreuse are the three primary colors for eggs. Cheese and baby blue are also popular. Tie up some big 1” eggs for off color water. Not too many, maybe a couple of dozen. You could stop with a box of eggs, but that’s no fun. I now have 9 boxes of Steelhead flies. I’ve had the bug a little longer. About 500 egg patterns and the rest are various nymphs, and streamers. A simple black stonefly nymph is basic. Try this 2 goose biot or rubber tails, black wool body 2/3 of the way up, tie in a grizzly and brown saddle by the butts. Continue the wool up to the head, back to the hackle tie in, and back to head. Palmer both hackles forward to head in 3 or 4 open turns. Tie off and finish head. If you have rubber legs, use two for the tails, black wool body, and where you would have tied in the hackle tie a pair of rubber legs in (one on each side.) These legs should make a V shape. Take the wool forward two turns and tie in another pair of rubber legs. You now have another V shape set of legs. Continue wool to the eye back to the rear pair of legs, working around and between the legs. Wrap wool back to the eye, and bring the front most legs along to the eye as antennae tie the wool off and clip. As you form the head get the antennae to point forward on each side of the eye. You should end up with 2 tails, 6 legs, and 2 antennae. No hackle needed. Clip the legs if necessary. The rear legs are the longest and can extend back to the rear of the body. The legs get shorter as go to the front of the fly. These can extend out to where the cross the eye. Tie up some black, purple, and peacock wooly buggers with and with out eggs in front. Tie up some of what I posted before, and you can be pretty well stocked. I tie up marabou streamers in various colors (black, purple, pink, chartreuse, and white) and combinations of those colors. I also tie up bunny leaches in the same colors. These are pretty much interchangeable, and work best in bigger water than what we fish in Pa. I do fine with the eggs, smaller nymphs and wooly buggers.

Two that work well for me on both Salmon and Steelhead. They are tied with pheasant tail and diamond braid. Use chartreuse, pink and orange braid; and natural, and purple PT.

The HMH Spartan is as good a vise as you could ask for under $200. The Regal has long been know to pop small hooks out of the jaws, and damage the jaws in the process. I have not heard any good things lately about their service or replacement policy. The company is not the same as it once was. I have one, and it hasn't been out of my closet in 15 years. I have been using a Dynaking Sidewinder. The Dynaking Kingfisher would be the closest thing to a Spartan. Can't go too far wrong with either one. If you purchase a clamp model, you can pickup a base from The manufacturers. Dynaking bases are between 40 and 50. The HMH bases are 59.

From you pictures, it looks like you need a camera that can do close ups. Or at least learn where the macro setting is on your camera. If your going to post pictures, they need to be in focus. Now as to materials: Dry flies are meant to float, and nymphs (for the most part) are supposed to sink. Fine or ultra fine synthetic dubbing will be good for dry fly bodies. These dubbings would tie up into thin clean bodies that won't absorb much water (especailly if treated with floatant.) Fur dubbing and the corser synthetics or blends will be better suited to nymphs. You should start with a range of light to dark olives, tans, and browns. Find out what insects live in your local waters and get colors to match those also. Quill bodies can be wrapped for either nymphs or dry flies. Wool and synthetic yarns make excellent fly tying materials. The yarn plys can be seperated for smaller bodies, or the yarn can be chopped and blended to make dubbings. If you know anyone who knits, ask for the scraps. Pheasant tail fibers are used in the Pheasant tail nymph and other nymph patterns. Turkey tails can be used the same way to make a darker version of the same pattern. Hackle for nymphs will be soft and webby, from either game birds (partridge, pheasant, grouse) or from the lowest grade saddle hackles and hen necks and saddles. I save any use the webby bases of many dry fly hackles for nymphs too. Many times, the thorax area can be picked or brushed out to tease out enough of the dubbing to make legs, and no hackle at all is needed. Many nymphs call for wing cases or wing pads. These are made of various wing feathers, and tail feathers (goose, turkey, pheasant, peacock.) Wing pads can also be made from clear or colored plastic bags, sparkle ribbon many other materials. Wing pads can also be made with small beads of 5 minute epoxie or Knot Sence glue. Hackle for dry flys will be stiff and shiny. The best dry fly hackle will come from domestic rooster necks and saddles. These will be bread to give the longest feathers with stiff barbs and a long taper. Many times the saddles will be long enough to tie two or three flies from one feather. To start out, look for grizzley, brown, ginger, and dun (gray.) Dry fly wings can be made from flank feathers from Wood Ducks, Mallards, and other ducks. Hair from calf tails are used for many attractor flies or synthetic poly materials can be substituted. Deer hair is used on a lot of dry fly wings (look up the comparadun fly.) Elk hair is also used for the Elk Hair Caddis, and on Stone fly and hopper patterns. These materials should get you started. I have ties for more than 50 years, and I am still finding new things to tie flies with.

From your pictures, I see what you mean by leach wrap. It is NOT leach yarn, which is brushed mohair. Brushed mohair can be wrapped up the hook from bend to head, tail is optional. Using a velcro or toothbrush brush out the mohair to make it as shaggy as posible. These work great. I hardly ever go to the trouble of making wooly buggers with chennile and haclke any more. The material you have is a yarn product call "Sable" by the manufacturer. Its a short uniform length and silky looking. I have used it myself in brown and black to make "leaches" and Assam dragons. For the leaches, I start with a maraboo tail, and then just wrap the Sable yarn up the hook. The Assam Dragon, is a pattern for Dragon fly nymphs. It was origionally tied using beaver fur strips. This Sable yarn makes a very good substitute. The trick to using this yarn, is to get it to lay back toward the rear of the hook as you wrap. Cut off about a foot, and tie in and take a turn, It should lay with the sewn edge in front, and loose edge to the back. If it doesn't after the first turn, unwrap, and tie it in by the other end. Reversing it will make it lay right. I havn't used either pattern enough to make a decision about how good they will be.

For the last 18 or 20 years, I have been using braided mono slipped over the fly line. These have a loop built on the other end. The braided line is pushed 4" up the fly line, and held in place by a small sleeve. The pull of fish on the leader tighten the braid down on the fly line. I've fished these on Steelhead, and Salmon without any problems. The leader will make the loop to loop connection to the braided connector rather than the fly line. The loop to loop connection should pull up like a square knot to be strong and present a smooth connection. I don't like perfection loops tied in the end of the fly line. Most times, the leader loop will cut through the line coating.

On your tailing problem, try this. Start your tail about 1/4 of the way back from the eye. Take several firm turns of thread while you hold the tips out over the end of the hook. Now grasp the tips and hold them up off the hook as you continue wrapping back. Wrap firmly, and don't release the tips til your done. I usually wrap under the back of the tail once or tiwce to cock them up a little.

Looks a lot better, only comment I would make is to thin out the tail a little. Size 14 and smaller, just three fibers, 12, and 10, 4 or 5 fibers, and 8, and 6 about 8. Try tying up some of Jim Teeny's nymphs. They use nothing but pheasant tail. This link will show you a picture and tying instructions. They work, and are simple to tie. Use a heavy hook, like a Mustad 7970, or Eagle claw L1197N. Or get some of the Jim Teeny Hooks from his web site. http://www.flytyingworld.com/PagesH/hs-teenyleech.htm

Very nice fly. I think your will within your rights to keep your information close. If your trying to sell these gigs, and eventually the materials and flies. Then it only makes sence to keep your sources confidential. As you said you have spent time and money developing these.

De Pere Wi, has a Sportsmans Warehouse: They are sort of a big box like Cabelas. They have a pretty good selection of fly tying materials. At least in the two stores (Salt Lake City and Pittsburgh) that I have shopped. I think they have pretty good prices. They have 99 cent SW brand marabou, and a lot of other SW brand materials at really good prices. Lower than Cabelas, and lower than the shop where I live. Craft and yarn shops are great places to get materials such as glass beads, ribbon braid, mohair yarn, various yarns try Disco from Walmart. Craft stores sell the whole skein of yarn 50 to 80 yards for what 2 or 3 pachages will cost from most fly shops. I find some pretty interesting supplies at Big Lots too. Yarn for $1.00. Hooks thread, and tools, you have to be shoping from a fly-tying supplier. Dazzel aire and other yarns can be chopped into 1/4 to 1/2" pieces and blended into fine dubbing. I use a standard Osterizer blender and water to do this. Chop up the yarn add a cup of water and blend. Pour out into a strainer with a paper towell in it. Press out the excess water and let it dry. These yarns can be blended with furs, and the combinations are endless. I use a lot of brushed marabou yarns just as they come off the bundle. Just wrap around a long shank hook brush out the fibers to make it really shaggy,and you have a fine leach pattern. I never pass up specialty yarn shops, they have some pretty amazing kinds of yarn, that will make fine fly tying materials. One of my favorites is Glitz from Bernatt. Sadly this has been discontinued. Ask you friends and relatives for left over yarn from knitting projects. Some times you can get a lot of good yarn free.

Taking your list, and eliminating all the flies that require no hackle at all we are left with Green drake: Wich uses (yellow or olive died grizzly hackle) yellow sally: using grizzly hackle Blue wing olive: using Dark blue dun hackle or Medium dark blue dun and Med-dark blue dun hen hackle tips Olive dun: using Olive dry hackle Parachute adams: using Mixed grizzly and grown hackle brown woolly bugger: using brown saddle hackle lower grade Stonefly: using Black hackle fibres only for tail, sub goose biots Beadhead Prince Nymph: using Brown hen hackle PMD: using Light dun hackle barbs and Light dun Med dun hen hackle tips So what you really need in dry fly quality hackle is Grizzley, Brown, and a medium dun. Purchase these as first or second grade half saddles. You could get two different shades of dun, a half saddle each. Inexpensive imported saddle hackle for the wooly bugger, in grizzley and brown Full saddles of each color. Hen neck for wets, and a partridge skin for soft hackles (can also be used on nymphs, and wets.)

I don't think I could get by with only one color hackle. If I had grizzley and brown, I could tie up Adams, Royal Coachmen, any assortment of caddis, and stoneflies (stimulaters.) For matching the hatch, dun gray is called for a lot. With those three colors, you can get by. Neck hackles are nice, but many genitic saddles will give you dry fly quality hackle in the most common sizes (12-14-16.) These saddles will be very long, so two or more flies from each feather is very likely. Start with a half saddle in Brown and Grizzley. For wet flies and soft hackle flies, use hen necks and partridge skins. Hen necks should be less than $10 and partridge skins somewhere between 15, and 24. Most wooly buggers and other flies using palmered hackle can be tied with Imported rooster saddle. These saddles will have larger feathers which have a lot more web. They will NOT work well for floating flies, but are the way to go for woolys and stone fly nymphs. A lot of the genitic saddles will be too small for large wet flies. They are long enough, but the barbs are short. For streamers, use the wide webby feathers from the base of the saddle, or sometimes the larger hen neck feathers. All of these other hackles are much less expensive than neck hackle. Lastly, you can tie plenty of dry (floating) flies wihtout hackles at all. The compara dun series are very good, and use only dubbing and deer hair. Elk hair caddis, and be done with out hackle, use a dubbing mix with a lot of guard hair. There are plenty of foam stonefly, hopper, beatle, ant, and other patterns that use no feather hackles.

Not too bad for your first effort. Could just as easily be a scud. It will catch something. Your tail is fine, but the body is a little bulky, and not well tapered. You want to work for a slimmer abdomin, and a thicker thorax. Before you start wraping the body, tie in about 6" of copper wire, then wax your thread, and spin on about a 3" noodle of hair. This noodle should be thin, less than a pencil lead. Wrap the dubbed body 2/3 of the way up the hook. Now wrap the wire forward in an even spiral. Shoot for about 7 wraps of wire. This will compress the body, and help keep the abdomin a little thinner. For the wing case, you can use pheasant tail, goose quill, dark colored plastic bags, peacock herl lots of different things will work fine. Tie this in next, and spin up a thicker noodle, and wrap the thorax up to one eye width back from the eye. The thorax should be a little bulkier than the abdomin. Pull your wing case material over the thorax and tie down. Wrap a neat small head. When your done, turn the fly upside down, and pick out the thorax fur for legs. I use a short piece of an old saber saw blade for this. Gently work some fur out to each side. Glue up the head, and your done.

This pattern was developed as an emerger, as such, it was fished just below the surface. During or just prior to hatches, it is quite effective. Tied with different color zlon for the body, it can match many different emerging bugs. Most times it was fished as a dropper behind a dry fly. It wouldn't be among my top 10 deep patterns. Tied with a slightly larger wing, and greased with floatant, it can be fished right on the surface, but I wouldn't call this a dry fly. Floating nymphs and emergers fished in the surface film would be better fall into a damp fly group, but not the traditional dry fly category.

Dry Fly: Hair wing Adams Wet Fly: Soft hackle hares ear Nymph: Pheasant Tail Streamer: Black leach. This question has many different answers (one for each fly fisher,) and you limited our choices to trout patterns.

Looks like a great bug, meets all my criteria for a good fly. Very spikey dubbing, traps air, and looks alive underwater. I find when they stop gettng hits, its time to put on a new one. Simple to tie, and I am going to try some.

I started on a C clamp Thompson, and replaced that with a pedestal mounted Thompson pro 35 years ago. I have a C clamp Regal, and never use it any more. All three of my other vises are pedestal mounted, I have no problems with the stability of a pedestal vise. I have a fly tying desk with a pull out (keyboard) drawer, which lowers the vise and brings it out closer to me. I find it very comfortable. Use to get tired tying on top of a regular table or desk long term. For portablility I think the pedestal is the way to go. I have found its pretty hard to mount a C clamp to a lot of forrest service campground tables. Many of these in my part of the country are concrete and 3" thick.