first attempts at soft hackles and flymphs

[taylor16]

Wanted to try to tie some with some tungsten beadheads tucked behind the hackle to get them down when the trout aren't looking up. Any thoughts on this?

I'd be interested in any positive criticism here -- I started tying soft hackles this week.

[taylor16]

thanks y'all...

[Mataura mayfly]

They look like they will do the trick! Fishing them is the only true way to find your answer. We look forward to seeing them hanging from some trout jaws.

I like the way you incorporated the beads in the thorax and behind the hackle. I think it looks better than in front- helps keep the hackle from collapsing over the abdomen, yet still helps the fly sink to where you need it and maybe with the weight a little further back it keeps the fly on more of an even keel in the water.
You look as though you have the hackle sorted, not too full and it is sitting quite nice. For first attempts they are much nicer looking than my earlier ones (some will say better than some of my later ones!)
What is the body of you first offering in the opening photo?

[hankaye]

taylor16, Howdy;

Excellent looking Spiders!!!
Jump right in with both feet why don't ya...
Great looking tyes. You don't appear to be a stranger to
a tying vise. Are you relying on the hackle to prevent the
bead from moving towords the eye or are you putting a little
something extra in there? Same question for the back side of the bead.
I ask as I haven't ventured into the relm of bead,bangles, and baubbles yet.

hank

[taylor16]

taylor16, Howdy;

Excellent looking Spiders!!!
Jump right in with both feet why don't ya...
Great looking tyes. You don't appear to be a stranger to
a tying vise. Are you relying on the hackle to prevent the
bead from moving towords the eye or are you putting a little
something extra in there? Same question for the back side of the bead.
I ask as I haven't ventured into the relm of bead,bangles, and baubbles yet.

hank

Hank - Thanks for the kind words. I simply secured the bead tying behind and then over and in-front of the bead with the gossamer's silk thread. At that time, the bead was quite stable and hopefully won't move on the hook. I was trying to figure out a way to do it without having to rely on the hackle to support the bead. I chose the small tungsten beads as they aren't as overwhelmingly large as "regular" beads and the metal color, I guess, can mimic an air bubble trapped behind the hackle.

[William Anderson]

Taylor, you're off to a fine start. These buggy little flies should be very effective in the right conditions. Great to see such a well rounded set right away.

w

[letumgo]

Taylor - I wish my first attempts at soft hackle flies had looked this nice. You've done a nice job on a range of different patterns. All of these flies look like they would fool fish. I would like to encourage you to share your experiences with these, once you have a chance to fish them. I am very interested to hear how they work for your. Thank you for sharing.

[Old Hat]

Taylor the flies look like they are nicely tied. You did a fine job.

I know people tie soft hackles with beads. You can find all sorts of patterns with them. I don't. Simply because I think you are defeating the purpose and function of the fly and honestly there are better patterns out there for that purpose. Now there are some patterns that you could call soft hackled (Brooks Stone) that are perfectly fine weighted and function well. The patterns that you have tied here, I wouldn't weight. I'm not saying you won't catch fish with these by any means, just that there other flies that would be more productive weighted. If I want to get a soft hackled fly deeper I choose specific profiles and hooks that promote that. If I want to get even deeper then I use a two fly set up with a heavy nymph to get the soft hackle down. But I don't do this a lot, as I just find in those situations the nymph is usually taken.

[hankaye]

taylor16, Howdy;

Thanks for the information on getting the bead to stay put.
As was mentioned by Ray, I'm (and more than
care to admit it out loud will as well),interested in how these
fish for you. Pix are a bonus we all appericiate ...

hank

[Kelly L.]

You have done a fine job on tackling this type of fly! You will definitely catch fish with them too.