Skill Builder Trout Swap Series

[kennebec12 0]

Pretty much anywhere in the North East we refer to ruffed grouse as partridge. It's one of those odd words that has become a general term for the bird we hunt locally, though truly partridge are a group of species of pheasant like birds in Southern Europe and the Middle East. Grouse are actually distant relatives of partridge, but probably the name was used because they are similar in size and shape and were recognizable to early explorers.

 

Woodcock have nice feathers, generally a little stiffer stemmed than Hungarian partridge but softer than pheasant, the color is quite a bit different also and as far as I've fished with woodcock it's been less productive than the same fly tied with partridge (which I believe is because the tan/brown color doesn't match the naturals as well as the gray/brown partridge where I fish). Woodcock feathers can be pretty short (and thus a pain to tie with) but I keep most of the feathers off the one or two I get every year. The one I got last fall had nice long feathers on it, which have been much easier to use. They are tough to hunt, their camouflage is near perfect, I go out in the field and wait for them to fly at dusk (5-10 minutes before the end of legal hunting hours they all take off and fly in a circle) and that's the only way I've been able to get them. Very little meat but they are some tasty.

[vicrider 0]

Pretty much what he said BB. In the western highlands they have sharptail grouse and no one calls them partridge but most everywhere else I've seen or hunted ruffed grouse they'll get called partridge. I used to hunt the bobwhite quail in Indiana on cousins farms and pheasant in IL. Partridge in MN and WI and when in MN I killed and ate many many partridge and wish I'd have been tying then and treated and saved feathers. We have a lot of quail here in western OK, though not like I guess it used to be. Turkey are also plentiful but I just can't get out and walk the trails anymore. I have gone out with my nephew and done some coyote calling and saved a couple of tails from them. This month's fur flies for the swap have a bit of OK coyote and squirrel on them. I also get turkey and deer tails from nephews and would save body hair if I knew how to treat it better. Colored hair for tying is not that much though but you do use a lot of it spinning hair.

[breambuster 0]

Hey Guys, what I think will be the last set of flies arrived today. Riff, your flies are here and both the Missus and I thank you for the extras! I have a busy couple of days coming up but I will try to get them photographed in the next couple of days and back in the mail either on Friday or Monday. It looks like it's going to be 11 swappers including me instead of the 13 that signed up. One had to drop out because of family concerns and the other apparently has dropped out also.

 

So, with that said, I appreciate you guys who have hung in there and completed this round of the swap and I'm looking forward to the next one. I'll let you know when I do get them in the mail and when I have posted pictures.

 

Take care

 

BB

[Chris_NH 0]

If there's an opening in the near future for someone pretty green to tying flies I'd like to participate. Would definitely help me improve.

[breambuster 0]

Thanks, Chris_NH, the guys who are already in will get first chance at the second round. Then any open spots will be filled by the people who have requested a spot. You are the third person who has expressed an interest in the second round. Stand by and we will see how it goes. I will be announcing the second round either this weekend or the first of next week.

 

Take care

 

BB

[josephcsylvia 0]

id also like to get in on the next round if you have any openings bream, thanks

[breambuster 0]

OK Josephcsylvia, you will be 4th in line. I'll let you know.

 

Take care

 

BB

[josephcsylvia 0]

thank you

[Western Trout Hunter 0]

Please add me to the waiting list for the next round. I'm pretty new to this site and would like to get into a few swaps.

 

Thanks.

[breambuster 0]

Western Trout Hunter, you will be 5th in line. We will just have to wait and see how many of the first round guys are going to stay in.

 

BB

[breambuster 0]

Hey Guys, I have the pictures made, such as they are, and will be posting them later today, hopefully. And I'm getting ready to divide them up and will get them in the mail either this afternoon or tomorrow morning. The Post Office closes, here, at Noon on Saturday. What I need to know from each of you, ASAP, is whether or not you want to be in on the second round of Skill Builder. For those of you who completed the swap, you have first dibs on the second round. The pattern for round 2 will be soft hackle. There are 5 guys waiting in line to get into the swap and I'm going to contact them in the order they contacted me to make sure they still want in for as many open spots as we have. But you guys have the first shot at it. So let me know ***A S A P!!!*** If you decide that you don't want to participate in the second round, first THANK YOU, for participating in the first round. I really appreciate you helping me get this thing rolling. There was a while there when I didn't know if we were going to get it filled up, or not. But now we have a waiting list to get in. Second, if you decide not to participate in the second round, post here and let me know that. That way, I will know quicker, how many open spots we have.

 

Thanks

 

BB

[DavidR 0]

I'm in for soft hackles.

[Wetsock 0]

BB count me in on the 2nd round soft hackle. I tie a pearl one I call the 3P

[breambuster 0]

OK, here are the pictures that I made of the flies. I have neither the equipment nor the expertise to post the wonderful pictures that others post, but I hope you will bear with me.

 

First, I'm more of a swapmeister than I am a tyer, so I'm not going to critique these flies. I hope I can persuade others to do that. And since we are all here to increase our skills, if you see anything that could help a fellow tyer to improve his skills, please say so. I will ask you, though, to be positive in your comments. We don't want anyone to be discouraged because of negative comments. And I will make some observations.

 

I didn't make pictures of sets because, for the most part, I didn't find very much variation between one fly and another in any of the sets.

 

Ok, this first picture is Riff's offering. It certainly has a sparkly thorax, doesn't it. The tail is really nice. All in all, I think Riff did a very fine job.

 

Thanks, Riff

 

BB

[breambuster 0]

Here is Kennebec12's fly. It has an articulated body and is tied on a #16 hook. The shellback on this one is really nice. I'm not familiar with this pattern and don't know what the proportions should be. The tail and wings look a bit long to me. Most of the pictures of Pheasant Tail Nymphs that I see have stubby tails and wings. But in the few pictures I could find of Articulated Pheasant Tail Nymphs, the wings and tail are longer, so what do I know. Kennebec, I think you did a wonderful job with a complicated fly. You deserve extra credit just for the "articulated" part.

 

Thanks, Kennebec12

 

BB