Streamside

Just fooling around at the vice tonight trying to come up with some new terrestrial patterns. Came up with this little guy. I'm just going to call it the "Streamside Iridescent Green Beetle or "S.I.G.B for short. Let me know if you think it is worth doing a step by step how to.

Exactly!!

Great Step by step Graham. Keep up the good work. John

QUOTE (DFix @ Nov 9 2004, 10:39 AM) Both, all. If it where me I would keep the entire skins. Skin the entire bird. Scrape off all the fat and stretch it out on a chunk of cardboard skin side out using pins or thumb tacks. Spread a liberal amount of equal parts salt and 20 mule team borax. Repeat every couple days until all the moisture and oils have been absorbed. When dry, place the skins along with a Vapona pest strip in a sealed plastic storage box or a large ziplock bag for three weeks. This will kill any parasites or lice that are already on the feathers and whatever hatches from eggs over the next three weeks. Then you can place it safely with your other materials.

QUOTE (jbrowning @ Nov 9 2004, 12:31 PM) Hello Streamside, on your bleaching method. Where would I find these items at the beauty salon or Walmart or where? It's looking like that might be the way I have to go unless I can substitute another material. Thanks Jim A beauty salon, but I doubt you want to pay $18.00 to bleach a few peacock hurls. Here is a link. Susan sells all kinds of peacock feathers. It's much cheaper and a lot less messy. She has natural white as well as ivory or any other pea foul feathers you might need at reasonable prices. Hope this helps Susans Feathers Peacock feather price list White Peacock feathers

QUOTE (flyingcrayfish @ Nov 9 2004, 07:28 AM) If you have a Franks Nursuery by you look in the dried flowers section. I purchased a hand full of feathers from their not to long ago. there going out of business so there darn near free. You can't get these at Frank's! Actually there is a huge difference in quality of peacock hurl. The narrow bluish green peacock feathers you buy at Frank's, Michele's, White Rose, craft stores, Feather Craft or Hook & Hackle are from the common blue peacock and are relatively cheap. They usually run about $8.00 for 3 feathers. These are good for tying nymphs and such, but they are not good quality for classic salmon fly patterns. My birds are from a very rare, pure line of the Java Greens from the Rodney Michael line. Java Green feathers sell for around $5.00- $7.00 each depending on quality. Java Green feathers are much thicker and a much brighter green. Highly sought after as the proper original peacock hurl for use in classic salmon fly patterns. You can easily tell the quality of a classic salmon fly and the level of the dresser by the quality of materials he uses. I have a list of classic dressers who only buy exclusively from me every year because of the quality of the hurls. As I was saying in my post above, this years feathers where exceptional. Normally he would be quite aggressive strut around like an idiot, displaying pruning and shaking his tail wildly for his mate and by the time he was ready to molt, there would be some degree of damaged feathers, but because he was mourning her death he kept his tail tightly bundled all season and moved around very little all year. As a result, his tail remained perfect all season. His display had over 250 perfect eyes this season and his center quills where over 2 meters long. The ones in the beer stein on my tying desk are all that I have left from this years harvest and they are the lesser quality feathers I kept for myself. The rest had already been spoken for a year in advance.

You can bleach peacock using the same method I was discussing here on last weeks post. Bleaching If you leave it in the solution longer, the fiber will actually come away from the stem and the stem will bleach out white with a pale leading edge remaining light tan. This is excellent if you are tying quill body Pale Morning Duns. It makes a great ribbing effect. John

QUOTE (jbrowning @ Nov 9 2004, 12:00 AM) Here is the finished project. This is with a ostriche herl rope (2 pcs). It is a red, white and blue pheasant tail. Tail and body: Red pheasant tail, Ribbing: Blue wire, Wing case: Blue flashabou, Thorax: White Ostriche, Head: 8/0 Red thread. Jim OOps I didn't see your fly. We must have both been posting at the same time. John

QUOTE (jbrowning @ Nov 8 2004, 11:02 PM) Hello John thanks for the response. I just tried some and it works and looks ok. But I think the peacock would make it look better. I will post a picture of it so everyone can see it. Jim Are you using it as a tag or head collar, or are you using it as a layer or topping? I have some beautiful peacock right now. My cock just molted his tail feathers and they are georgous. His life mate was killed last year, so he has been in mourning all year and had the most beautiful display I have ever seen on him. Some of his quills are 12"-14" wide with very thick long bright green hurls. I also still have some very nice copper bronze window bleached from last season. John

QUOTE (Darrin @ Nov 6 2004, 11:00 AM) In comparing the Diachi 1130 and the TMC 2487 which is the lighter hook or the thinner daimeter wire ??????????/ Thanks Hey Cold, I had nothing better to do so I weighed them for you. After first zeroing the scale with a 100g weight. A single hook would not register on the scale. Graduation on the scale starts at 0.1 Although my scale is very accurate, it's smallest measuring unit is in grams so I had to weigh the hooks in groups of 5 . For what it's worth...... The results where the same. 5 DAI 1130 = 0.1 g 5 TMC 2487 = 0.1 g John

SIZE BEADSIZE mm BEAD SIZE in" HOOK SIZE x micro glass 1 24 - 32 micro 2.0 5/64" 18 - 22 mini 2.3 3/32" 16 - 18 x small 2.8 7/64" 14 - 16 small 3.2 1/8" 12 - 14 medium 4.0 5/32" 8 - 10 large 4.8 3/16" 4 - 6 Here's my bead chart very simple and strait forward. If you tie a lot of bead flies here is what I do. Because there are so many different sizes and makers of beads and nymph hooks and they are all a little different, I go through using the chart above as a rough guide. Find which bead fits which hook the best, and dump the right size bead in with the right size hook. That way, whether I am tying a regular fly or a beaded fly, I just reach into that compartment and grab either a hook, a bead, or both. It might sound messy, but in fact it is very organized way to keep your nymph hooks and beads I always have the right size bead and hook right there when I need it. I only have to open one box and I don't have to go rumaging around.

QUOTE (DFix @ Oct 28 2004, 09:49 PM) Streamside- Great tutorial and setup on the pics! No doubt you'll be posting the recipe and such in the Archive! Nice Work - Thanks! I haven't figured out how to post in the archive yet. LOL I'm still banging my head against the wall!

Thanks guys. I enjoy doing them. It helps me sharpen my internet / HTML skills. Let me know what I can do to improve on my posts. P.S. Is there any pattern in particular you would like to see? I thought I would do a few more terrestrials.

Tying the Henry's Fork Hopper It's mid summer. Hot and sticky, you pack light but still the beads of sweat are rolling down your neck and your exhausted before you make it to the waters edge. Fishing has been tough lately, very tough! The pools are low and crystal clear. If you even hook one today you will be happy. You assume light tippets and tiny flies are the order of the day. You try your best flies for these finicky critters, but to no avail. You decide to move to another pool. As you walk along the bank, insects move through the knee-high grass in a wave just ahead of your every step. Suddenly a gust of wind carries one high aloft over the river. It falls helplessly on the water. After a momentary pause he starts kicking frantically toward shore "SLURP!" then vanishes before your eyes. It's "hopper time again!" One of my favorite mid summer terrestrials is the grasshopper. Sometimes when a trout won't take any thing else, a nice plump smartly placed kicking hopper will be just enough to temp him to rise. Out of all the various hopper patterns, my personal favorite is the Henry's Fork Hopper. I like how it ties, I like the way it looks, and I like the realistic kicking action of the rubber legs. It's a definite trout pleaser. Here is a step by step on how to tie the "Henry's Fork Hopper." Materials Hook : Any medium shank dry Downeydown-eye with a wide gape will do fine. Size can range anywhere from # 6 to # 14. Thread: # 06 Yellow Uni Abdomen: Light tan or white elk . Ribbing: Living Rubber, Yellow Under-wing: Light brown deer hair Wing: Tip of a hen pheasant tail feather reinforced. You can use any of the following: Sally Hanson Teflon nail guard, Krylon Clear Coat spray or Dave's Flexament. As long as it remains flexible. Legs: Living Rubber, Yellow Head: Dark brown deer hair. Indicator: Hot Orange Egg yarn Step. 1 Start your thread and wind back to the point of the hook and let your bobbin hang. Step. 2 Take a 4" piece of Living Rubber and tie it in where you left off with your thread. Wrap it secure up to where the bend of the hook starts. Step. 3 Cut a nice clump of about 1/4" dia light tan elk hair and even the tips with your stacker. Step. 4 Tie it in by the tips. Trim off the access and wrap it tight tapering it off with your thread. Try not to spin the hair. Step. 5 Take your bodkin and holding it at a 90* angle about 1/8" past the bend of the hook, fold the elk hair over the bodkin back over itself on to the shank of the hook and secure it with a couple wraps just to hold it. Step. 6 Trim the ends on a taper and wrap tight to the shank of the hook forming a taper with your thread. It's important to have a nice gradual taper. You don't want to bulk up your fly. Step. 7 Now wind the rubber ribbing forward to form the segmenting and tie off. Try to space segments about 1/8" apart. 5 segments is ideal. Step. 8 Take a much smaller clump of light brown deer hair for the under- wing about 1/4 the size of the first bunch and even the tips in your stacker. Step. 9 You want the under-wing to sit right on top of the fly and not spread out all over so you need to do a bundle loop. Simply wrap your thread once around the bundle of hair to draw it together, then make a second wrap around the bundle and the hook and pull it down tight. Trim the ends and finish it off in the same way tapering it with your thread. Step. 10 Take the over-wing feather you prepared earlier trim it to shape and tie it in overhanging the end of the abdomen by 3/16"to 1/4" The wing should be just wide enough to come half way down each side of the abdomen. Step. 11 Now we are going to do the bullet head and the collar. You want the proportions to be right and you want it to be pleasing to the eye, so we are going to take a measurement. Take a piece of scrap wire and hold it above the fly on a bit of an angle. Just as if it was the collar. You want the tips of the collar to come just past the point of the hook. Put a little bend in the wire the length you want the collar to be. Step. 12 Cut a clump of dark deer hair thick enough to make your bullet head and even it in the stacker. Using your measuring wire, measure the length you need to stick out past the eye. Tie in the clump, trim the ends and wrap it tight down on top of the taper. Step . 13 Now using your bullethead tool, I just use a small piece of soft rubber siphoning hose, gently push the hair back over the shank of the hook forming a bullet head. Secure it with a couple wraps of thread. Step. 14 Take two pieces of living rubber, tie in a knot to form the knee joints and tie one in on each side. Tie in a tiny piece or orange egg yarn for high vis, whip finish, trim off the bottom of the skirt and all the uglies and your done.

QUOTE (Bonehead @ Oct 27 2004, 01:47 AM) Dear all, Am new to this wonderful and informative forum. Can anyone share the know-how of bleaching Cock Pheasant Centre Tail? Reason for bleaching is because I want to dye it pink latter on. Thanks in advance. Regards, Victor Hey Victor, welcome Professional grade hair bleach from a beauty salon. Cost is about $18.00 1 part hydrogen peroxide at least 20% solution- 2 parts amonia. Are you aware that you can buy entire Hot Pink pheasant rumps for $5.00 from Hook & Hackle It will save you a lot of $$$, work and mess. Hook & Hack

Graham I just visited your site and read about your trip to Chile. All I can say is extraordinary! I had heard the brown fishing there was great, but that is unbelievable. Those searun browns are huge. What kind of setup did you use to take these monsters. Please post us the details right down to the leader tippet and actual flies you used. I would also like to get the travel details from you, I have to go there. John

Once again very nice Graham. Hope you don't mind but I saved your photos for my Digital Library.

QUOTE (Graham @ Oct 20 2004, 10:31 PM) Hey Streamside, Oliver is the man. I used some of his techniques for this stone pattern which fish seem to like from west coast to east. Instead of partirdge for the legs I used guinea dyed yellow and touched up with Pantone markers. http://www.flytyingforum.com/uploads/galle...771e88a123a.jpg Graham Awsome Graham, Totally awsome! I love how you incorperated the bead heads along with his technique, very neat. I also appreciate your fondness for red in your emerger/ midge box, as do the trout I would suspect. I don't know if you already have it or not, but there is another advanced book by a friend of mine Steve Thornton from England called " Listen To The River " He uses much the same techniques in his realistic patterns, but uses a material called Larva Lace. I'm sure you have heard of it. I have tried his patterns substituting Larva Lace with pre colored scud back. Works great and does away with using eding pens or markers.

Graham very, very nice Ont brown trout assortment and exceptional tying. I think I see a little Oliver Edward in there.

QUOTE (Sawcat @ Oct 18 2004, 07:33 AM) I've been tying those for over a year now, except I tye them in #28 & 24. Great fly I catch a lot of fish on them! Great job on the tying sequence & photos! Hey Sawcat, here's a piece of trout candy I came up with a few years ago. This one is absolutely deadly! Nick I know you have also been waiting a dogs age for this one. It's my version of a San Juan. A traditional San Juan is tied at both ends with a hump in the middle, but the problem is that it rolls over in the water and looks very unnatural to a trout. Mine is only tied at the front so it has a much more realistic action like a real worm. Try it out, you'll love it. The biggest brown I'm holding in my other post was caught on this fly in a size # 18 red. I also tie it in beige, tan, med brown, green, orange & black Recipe Tiemco Nymph hook size # 14-20 Red #08 thread Hot Orange Micro Uni Wire ribbing. Red Glass Micro needlework bead 2 Pc crystal flash 1 1/2"- 2" strip of red leather.

QUOTE (jbrowning @ Oct 14 2004, 09:26 AM) Does this ever happen to anyone else? It seems everytime I am working with Marabou I develope a sore throat the next day. Even though when I'm wetting my fingers to make the marabou more managable, I dip my fingers into a bowl/cup of water then wipe them off a little on a towel and then work with the marabou. Or maybe it is just me. Thanks Jim Hi J, You may well be allergic to down. Maribou is an insulating feather. Actually it is a type of down. Some people who are allergic to down can't use feather pillows. It's basically the same thing.

Yes, I know it is an amazing trout fly. Browns just love it. I tie it in sizes ranging from 14 to 32 . On average, I catch around 40 - 50 fish every season on it. I seem to have the best luck with size 18 & 20. Not this past seaon, but the year before, I hooked a 30"er in the Grand river on a # 18. I had him on for about 20 minutes. When he hit it he just exploded from the water,then made a blistering run to his safe zone at the far end of the pool before leaping 3" into the air. I had him right up to my net three times. Just at the last second when I was about to net him....... " Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!" he threw the hook. You can read about it here Troutzilla

I love fishing big trout on ultralight tackle. There is nothing like hooking an 18 or 19 " brown on a 2 wt cane rod using 8 or 9x tippet & a # 20 fly. For me the thrill is unbelievable. My heart is in my throat, from the time I hook a trout, till the time I actually have em in my net. Tiemco takes the thrill one step further with their 518 series of midge hooks. The Tiemco 518's series are some of the tiniest fly hooks made. Ok kiddies Don't try this at home! .......That is unless you have a ton of patience, a bottle of Visine and a good set of Bi- focals. PREPARATION Step # 1 Bring in an extra light. Step # 2 Clean glasses thoroughly. Step # 3 Get a fridge magnet to hold your hooks. Step # 4 Clip and file your finger nails smooth. Step # 5 Remove all hang nails. Step # 6 Apply a liberal amount of hand lotion and rub in thoroughly. Step # 7 Get out your magnifying glass. Step # 8 Take double dose of valium. MATERIALS Tying the Tiemco # 30 & # 32 Blood Midge Materials - Tiemco TMC 518" 30 & # 32 Midge Thread - # 08 Uni Hot Flo.. Orange Ribbing - very fine wire from the windings of electric slot car motor. Bead - Mill Hills. Needlework, Micro bead, Clear Collar - Fine hurl from base of peacock sword feather TYING THE # 32 BLOOD MIDGE 1. After fumbling for five or six minutes trying to get that little bead on the tiny little hook with your big fat fingers, tighten the hook in your vise. 2. Now get down on your hands and knees with your magnifying glass and pick up all the hooks and beads you dropped while attempting step 1. 3. Wet your tying thread slightly by licking your fingers and running them along the thread. This will help to secure the thread tight to the hook with only a couple wraps. I actually use a small wet sponge because I don't like licking my fingers while I am fly tying. Now starting in the center of the hook, make 3 overlapping wraps to secure the thread to the hook and cut off the tag. I like to use a surgical scalpel with a hooked blade much better than a pair of fine tip scissors. 4. After only 3 wraps, so you don't bulk up the hook, tie in your wire ribbing, and wrap your thread nice and tight without overlapping, all the way back to 1/2 way around the curve of the hook. Now untwist your thread so it lies very flat on the hook, and wrap your thread forward again to where you started and secure with a single 1/2 hitch and hang your bobbin on the bobbin hanger. 5. In a clockwise direction, wrap the ribbing forward nice and even 7 times up to where you tied off your thread and secure with 2 wraps. Do not 1/2 hitch it or you will bulk up the hook too much. 6. Take a fine hurl from the base of a peacock sword feather and secure it near the tip with two more wraps and let your bobbin hang. 5. With the weight of the bobbin hanging, pull the hurl through the wraps until you come to the very tip, then pull the bobbin tight and make 3 more wraps to secure it, 2 in front of the hurl, and 1 behind the hurl and once again let your bobbin hang. Now wrap the hurl 3 wraps forward to the bead, then three wraps back again ending off where your thread is hanging and secure with 2 wraps. 7. Whip finish off behind the hurl with 3 whips and trim your tag. Now let out a big sigh Wheeeeew ....your done. Now check out the beautiful little fly you just created with a magnifying glass. Good luck. " Hey where are you going? Your not done!" That was just practice. That was only a size # 30 hook. For the size # 32 hook with no bead, just a peacock hurl colar, all you need to do is follow the same instructions, but exercise a lot more patience and take a couple more valium. You'll be fine. Nothin to it! Ok now your done! Now you may be excused from the fly table!

The Hellgrammite, larval stage of the Eastern Dobsonfly. Some people think they are hideous little creatures. I happen to think they are beautiful!

QUOTE (mozes @ Oct 14 2004, 05:43 PM) Does anyone have any experience with Integra necks ofered on EBAY? Hi Mozes Integra has been around for quit a while now. They are a wholesale company that deal in mid to low grade fly fishing products amongst other things. They're kind of like 3M United States. They buy generic brand merchandise from factories all over, pay to have their name slapped on it and sell wholesale to many retail outlets. Most of the inexpensive vices and tools and fly kits you see on ebay are all Integra products. That's not to say that they aren't any good. Many of their products are fine, nothing wrong with them. I happen to like some of their bobbins and they are one of the few companies that offers wing burners, foam cutters and they are the only company I know that sells a thread lance. They are just not top of the line brand name merchandise. From what I understand, most of their tools come from India, Pacastan, cheap labor. This is just hearsay. Nobody knows for sure, it's kind of hush,hush..... Most of their saddles I have seen or used, I have to say where poor quality at best. They are ok for tying flies like wooly buggers and such, but you are not going to be getting Whiting Hoffman quality. A hen's a hen and a cock's a cock. There is no selective breeding going on here. I think they grade their saddles and necks as Grade 1 Grade 2 & Grade 3 . That's about the extent of it. The Company Integra USA is just another one of their outlets / destributors. It kind of looks to me like they are in hot water with the mother company for selling under MSRP and it looks like they have had their line cut off so they are closing shop. Lets face it, if it where making money, they wouldn't be selling.