squire123

So long as it grew on a bird or animal I've used everything that's long enough, stiff enough and the right color.

I tie over clockwise as my Grandfather taught me 60 years ago. Have met some accomplished tiers over the years who do it differently but I don't think either way matters to the fish.

My understanding is the practice orginated as an early form of waterproofing. Like many things in fly fishing some techniques have evolved.

I figure if I'm alive to complain then I've got little to complain about.

I've tied hundreds of these over the years, beautifully simple and quite effective. Easy to figure out how to tie as the recipe only has three parts, wing, body and rib. You can of course add more material (eyes, contrasting collar, etc.) but three is enough. I tie them as small as 10 and find the pattern a great way to use up leftover feathers that don't quite seem to fit elsewhere.

Chromez for me a classic fly is one who's pattern is at least 100 years old, which are the ones I tie and fish. Your friends might find some of these classics interesting.

Dry fly . . . the Adams, which works everywhere. It's pattern is only 92 years old but I make an exception because it's basically the Grey Palmer pattern Len Halladay tied for years before he added a wing and named it Adams. To stay past the century mark I suggest the Quill Gordon.

Wet fly . . . the classiest fly of all and so many patterns to choose from, I would start with the Professor which tied in different sizes should work in any water where yellow bodied flies abound.

Nymphs/Emergers . . . Soft Hackles in any combination of size and color. The simplest of all (just tying thread and a single feather in some) perhaps even entitled to be called the original pattern, it's as effective now as it was centuries ago.

Streamers . . . for me this is basically a wet fly tied on an elongated hook with proportionally sized wing and hackle. I would choose one of the wet fly patterns that mimicked the colors of what type bait fish inhabit in the waters where your friends fish.

If you haven't already then you may wish to visit www.classicflytying.com

It will work as is or with the suggested changes.

They were astute observers of the natural flies they were imitating, particularly as to size and how colors shifted over the season. Unlike today, their fly tying was not based on theories (material fluorescence, cone of vision, etc.) rather they concentrated on what simply worked. Being so unencumbered they had complete freedom to experiment and the principles of fly tying they established and passed down are equally viable today.

Yes I tie them and yes I fish them using whatever technique seems appropriate at the time.

Sometimes a new pattern is simply a renamed one and that's been going on since self promoting authors and commercial fly tyers began publishing books on the subject from the 1830's onward. I don't find this commercial aspect objectionable in the slightest as a number of great old patterns have been perserved as a result.

It's also a case where accepted usage comes into play. We refer to the lake patterns in Mary Orvis Marbury's book as MOM flies but only a few were designed by her, yet all were for sale from the Orvis shop and sales were the reason behind the book.

Ray Bergman developed only about a dozen of the patterns in his book but the hundreds there are collectively known as the Bergman style due in no small part to all the plates being illustrated by the same artist.

What is the difference between a Hairwing Coachman and a Royal Wulff? Nothing really, and Lee Wulff neither discovered nor created hairwing flies but was smart enough to recognize a commercial hook when he saw one, begin writing about these "new flies", and now his name is associated with them.

When I started tying flies back in the 1950s a new pattern called the Wooly Worm was highly recommended and the next generation gave a good bit of press to the Wooly Bugger claiming it to be an improved version of the Worm when in fact both are minor variations of the palmer fly which has been around for centuries. Walton, Cotton and their contemporaries all used palmer flies, sometimes referred to as worm patterns. Even Dame Julia had one in her book written over five hundred years ago which I believe she referred to as a caterpillar.

I don't think basic fly patterns have changed much since Macedonian fishermen were wrapping fur and feathers around a hook 1800 years ago. We can claim some modern materials now but they were using rubber legs back in the 1870s and their silver/gold lace tinsels were every bit as gaudy as our modern holographic mylar strands. Over the ages those who fashioned flies for fishing have proven to be an innovative lot whose boundless energy discovered innumerable ways of attaching materials to a hook in an effort to deceive an underwater dwelling creature who's primordial brain hasn't evolved much at all in the past 3-4 million years.

An adjustable chair with good lumbar/back support. I get the chair set first then adjust the rest.

Oh, I forgot you mentioned feathers. I get duck feathers from local hunters by swapping some flies and find the wing feathers from individual birds match up much better than what I can buy.

RC if I may add my thoughts. My Grandfather taught me to tie flies 58 years ago and I've used a number of materials since then. Now I buy dubbing material from the craft/discount stores where I can examine the yarn first for color and texture and usually select sale items. A roll of knitting yarn is good for at least 500 flies and I picked up a beautiful fiery brown color the other day which was on sale for less than $3.00 including tax. You can pay more than that for a fraction of an ounce of material from a fly tying supplier and the stuff is made by the same company.

I will pay extra for embossed metal tinsel or genuine silk floss but for the usual stuff I don't think brand names matter.

For me it's not so much where to go, rather it's where to return.

You can wade but have to learn the river a bit. Being a tailwater the level fluctuates depending on how many power turbines are running and a place you waded yesterday may be downright dangerous today. Great fishing though, especially dry fly. Drift boat is the way to go.

A note of caution though, the river is very, very popular with non fishing recreational users and I've had the boat so surrounded by canoeists and tubers that I literally couldn't cast so it's best to let them have that stretch of water during the summer weekends.

I like bucktail, it's versitle and a natural product. With the exception of ribbing material all my tying stuff is natural fur, feather or hair.

Traditional winged wets of patterns at least 100 years old.

Since my Grandfather taught me to tie in the Summer of 1956. Still at it.

Squire

My choice, traditional wet flies, is not on the list so I'll add it here.

Yes, chenille is widely and cheaply available, easy to tie with as well.

A Regal for the last 30 years or so.

A local businessman with a flair for promotion, his tying and guiding skills earned him the respect of noted outdoor writers of the time.