Stevegud1 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2015 Took my first crack at a dry fly...size 18 BWO...wow, what a disappointment! After watching a ton of YouTube videos, and putting on the magnifying glasses, I did my best, but it doesn't look anything like the storebought one I grabbed for a model to mimic. I am not a novice at tying flies, but i am new at such a small dry fly. Any tips? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaFly 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2015 you posted this twice, each with no photo attached. If you're trying to post a photo you'll need to use the reply box and select "more reply options". You'll get a new screen that includes instructions for attaching photos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2015 Any tips? start on a larger hooks and work down to the 18's Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ihang10 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2015 Post a pic and your materials list. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djtrout 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2015 I'm on a new midge kick. My tying began with bass flies, so large got comfortable. Mostly I had a confidence problem with using small flies. What I found was that materials changed a bit. Thread use seems to be the big difference for me. I often use just thread for the body of a size 22-24, not bothering with any dubbing. Thread size is important. I used 6/0 on a size 22 royal coachman (my pride and joy) but it took a while to get it. 8/0 or thinner make my life much easier. Also, with larger flies, 12-16, I don't pay much attention to how many "extra" wraps of thread I might take to tweak here and there, but it matters when tying 18 and smaller. Wraps add bulk, and one must be efficient and stingy when applying wraps to tiny flies. Only use the minimal necessary. Finally, use a minimum number of materials. 2 or 3 materials should suffice, many are tied with only 1 material other than thread. 6-material flies will be difficult to tie in size 22 and smaller. The amount of material changes. My pheasant tails in size 12 or 14 use 6 strands of tail fibers. My size 22 only uses 1 or 2. Everything is just downsized. It also made a huge difference for me when I got a magnifying glass/lamp. hackle wraps for a 22 became almost easy. With hackle, incidentally, it was really important that I had a hackle pliers with a good grip. I have a pair that does OK with most hackle until I get really skinny, then it just won't grip. Just a few thoughts. I'm winter fishing this year trying to build my confidence in teeny flies (although one of the folks on this forum sent me some 26-32 flies he ties, and I've redefined what I call "teeny." Working with them now, I think 20-22 are going to become just sort of "normal" for me. It's just about getting acclimated. Would like to see your pic and materials list too. I know in many forums I've had issues with trying to attach pics. Often a solution is to login from Firefox or Chrome rather than Internet Explorer. I have something set apparently on IE that causes problems, but FireFox executes without a hitch. Otherwise, I am simply a victim of my ignorance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stevegud1 0 Report post Posted February 24, 2015 you posted this twice, each with no photo attached. If you're trying to post a photo you'll need to use the reply box and select "more reply options". You'll get a new screen that includes instructions for attaching photos. Not sure how it got posted twice...and I can't figure out how to delete one of the threads... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stevegud1 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2015 Well, I tied up a bunch of size 14 Quill Gordons, and though I'm not ready to post a photo, they are turning out better. One question I have now: how do I make even wings from wood duck fibers without cutting the tips off? If I snip fibers from the feather, then tie them in, they sort of turn out all different lengths. However, they are too small and stuck together to use a hair stacker. I also tried tying them in before removing them from the feather, but that gets real clumsy in a hurry. Any tips? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2015 view this tutorial for quill Gordon wings http://www.smokymountainflyguide.com/tutorials_flytying.htm/quill%20gordon.htm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave G. 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2015 Well, I tied up a bunch of size 14 Quill Gordons, and though I'm not ready to post a photo, they are turning out better. One question I have now: how do I make even wings from wood duck fibers without cutting the tips off? If I snip fibers from the feather, then tie them in, they sort of turn out all different lengths. However, they are too small and stuck together to use a hair stacker. I also tried tying them in before removing them from the feather, but that gets real clumsy in a hurry. Any tips? I kind of even the material up before I snip, take your time before snipping. Stroke the fibers out so the feather looks like a comb of material, gather up a clump between your fingers, look close and even them up best you can, then cut or tear away from the barb. Never tried with duck but with deer hair, moose hair etc I use a hair stacker. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bellevue.chartreuse.trout 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2015 The "smokeymounti.... uill gordon.htm" link..... didn't work for me. Just comes back 'server not found'. Anyone else have this issue? googled: http://www.smokymountainflyguide.com/tutorials_flytying.htm/quill%20gordon.htm This one seemed to work - don't know why flytire's didn't?! After putting them top/bottom in a word doc - they are identical. Don't mean to hiijack your post Steve but... To anyone: Is the purpose of cutting a 'V' notch out of the lemon wood duck flank feather - to allow those fibers to be split/separated when going to divide it to form the wings? Have been curious about this for a while and as I think of it, it makes sense. Can imagine it would be difficult to split them otherwise. BCT Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bugsy 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2015 To anyone: Is the purpose of cutting a 'V' notch out of the lemon wood duck flank feather - to allow those fibers to be split/separated when going to divide it to form the wings? Have been curious about this for a while and as I think of it, it makes sense. Can imagine it would be difficult to split them otherwise. BCT Trimming the tip removes the tip of the stem, which you don't want to incorporate in the wing. If the length of the barbs at the tip of the stem are at least as long as the wing length required, trimming is unnecessary (and may result in a sparser wing than desired.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave G. 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2015 Wait a minute, i may have misunderstood . Are you tying in barbed whole feather pieces, splayed ? i was speaking of fibers in my other response. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
