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Having run out of suitably shaded wool and dubbing for the body on Lady Caroline's ( tying 1/0 to 3/0), I'm attempting to mix my own Dubbing. I've bought some Roving or Felting wool Olive and Brown ( enough of the stuff for 3 quid or so to last a lifetime) to achieve approximately a reasonable shade. However I'm not sure what staple length to cut up for the dubbing. I've tried 20mm and 25mm but not too happy with the result. Is there an ideal staple length I should cut the wool to?

Amazing! Another successful Spacex launch. I was tying up a bunch of Willie Gunn tube flies at the time and just had to stop to watch the whole thing including the re-usable Falcon-9's perfect return. Somehow I started looking at the partly completed Willie Gunn in the tube tool with fresh eyes. Looking at that Falcon-9 back on the pad guided by those oh-so-well engineered Grid Fins, and with Salmon flies in mind, I suddenly remembered I had seen something on a Salmon fly that reminded me of Grid Fins and that was the Sarvijaakko Finnish salmon fly. So with apologies to Spacex, Willie Gunn and Dusty Miller, I present the Falcon Salmon tube fly, a 2020 innovation on the Willie Gunn. The tie is as follows: Tube: ½ inch (13mm) Tungsten front portion, fluorescent orange outer tubing at rear co-joined by fluorescent orange inner tubing, flared both ends, then fluorescent orange junction tubing. Thread: Semperfli Nano Silk 12/0 Black. Tails: Fluorescent Cock Saddle Hackle stalks tied in at the rear of the Tungsten tube – cut square then stripped, leaving a triangle of barbs at the tip; Black, Yellow & Orange. (Tails are intended to flex and vibrate in the downstream current, and the retrieve, after the ‘dangle’. (Inspiration for tails - Falcon rocket Grid Fins and the Finnish fly ‘Sarvijaakko’). Body: Silver Holographic Tinsel medium over Tungsten tube. Rib: Thread, 5 turns Wing: As per popular Willie Gunn; Fluorescent Bucktail mixed colours Yellow, Orange, Black. Head: Prominent/large Glo-Brite fluorescent No 4, several coats of Sally Hansen Double Duty clear nail polish over. Feel free to laugh, comment and innovate 😊