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Hi Everyone, I am DAMN excited about tying my first two flys (flies ? Spelling)........ Anyhow here are the very first ones I have done and I would LOVE some critiques! The pattern is a Zebra Midge from a manual the Healing Waters folks loaned me. I also looked at a couple of you tube videos as well. I practiced attaching thread, half hitches, and whip finishes for hours and was confident enough to go on. I ONLY have an assortment pack from Hook And Hackle and some smaller hooks I got from SkipJack so I tried to match the hooks as closely as I could before having a mentor let me know what works here in Colorado. So here are the pics....be honest!!!! I can take it!!!! This was my first fly!!!! Keeping it for my God Children... This is it on my cutting mat..... Here was my second attempt....this was done on a Scud/Emerger Hook Size 18 SE7 from Wapsi..... Finally here is the room I cleared out to tie flys and building my rods....in the back of the room I have a cabinet that keeps my homemade rod wrapping Jig and supplies. Look forward to all your criticisms and advice! One thing I can say....PRACTICING is a great way to start out. I couldn't get down the whip finish from books but after watching some videos and cutting off TONS of thread (don't ask) I can do it fairly well now! Had the folks at Healing Waters told me to just jump in and tie I would have been VERY frustrated trying to finish these off. Practice, for me, made me feel very comfortable after doing all my thread wrapping.... Cheers, Mike

Hi foks!!! My first two Zebra Midge variants (Black Beauties) came out fairly well. I have a question about using different types of hooks, specifically a straight shank hook with a down eye. Our class is using TMC 2457-8 size hooks...using the hook/hackle gauge I have it appears to be an eight or a ten ...these were provided to us for our Project Healing Waters class. The size aside, my question comes to how far down should I bring the thread and the wire? If I go just to the bend in the hook the midge is perfectly straight. The other zebra patterns I have tried were on curved (scud/emerger?) hooks from a sample pack and they took the wraps down halfway through the bend. My question is how far should I bring the wrapping (thread and wire) down the hook? Should it go halfway through the bend or should it go to just where the bend starts? Thanks for the help!!!! Mike PS...these are for trout here in Colorado. I also realize that there are generally accepted standards when tying flies but I don't have a pattern for this with a straight shank hook.