Hen and Hare - Wire Brush Body

[William Anderson]

I tied these a couple weeks ago, after trying to use Uniwire Small (silver) on the spinning block, I tied a few with Extra-Small Uniwire (copper) and liked the result of the smaller wire much better. It worked great, but was a bit clumbsy using my JDorin hackle pliers to make each twist. I realize if I had just searched for the hackle pliers with the tube that allows the pliers to rotate it would have been a more graceful procedure. I didn't.

Hen and Hare Wire Bodied Caddis

Hook: Daiichi 1530 #16
Thread: 14/0 Griffiths Orange
Hackle: possibly a Collin's Greenwell, but maybe another Indian hen cape. I don't recall
Body: Hare's mask twisted on a spinning block with Copper Uniwire - Extra-Small



Several have posted images of flies submerged that are far more meaningful that this sad pic. It does show the degree of visibility of the wire through the brush, but lacks all relevance with the dubbing mushed about and the hackle clumped together. I have ordered a small acrylic tub that might allow me to shoot the flies dry and then shoot them wet in the same orientation and background using my current set-up. It's always fun to fool around with these things. I'll have to let you know how that turns out. Until then...



I'd really like to play with this technique more, but it will have to wait until after the holidays. My house is about to be decended upon by my whole family. I love them, I don't take them for granted...but it could be a bit of a trial. Happy Thanksgiving.

w

[hankaye]

dub-ya, Howdy;

Our friend Ruard has a nice set-up. Perhaps you missed the posting.

http://flymphforum.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 1&start=30

near the bottom of the page he unlocks the secret... ,

hank

[Old Hat]

William, that is a well done. It is not easy getting that sparse yet full characteristic on the body, especially with wire.

[Mataura mayfly]

Nothing un-graceful here, regardless of the hackle pliers used! Nice tie and the wet photo really lets you see the wire come to the fore.
I like it a lot.

[Roadkill]

William,

Nice fly and technique!

Instead of hackle pliers you can twist up a wire brush on spinning block with a shepherd's crook style dubbing hook. It is easy to twist up a brush with one-here is a Small Uniwire example.


A #12 wire flymph

[CreationBear]

Another option is to eschew the block all together and use two sections of wire, one extra-fine like Lagartun's XS gold, the other medium Uniwire (color of your choice.) Tie in the XS wire as you might a thread or floss loop on the bottom of the hook shank; then, working back toward the eye, tie in a length of medium Uni so that both sets of wire are hanging down near the barb.

At this point, dub one leg of the XS wire loop, then insert the medium wire into the loop as well, trying not to disturb the "noodle" too much. Using a shepard's crook like Roadkill shows, draw the loop down tight, catching the medium wire in the crook as well, then twist away to form your brush.

In addition to the simple mechanical advantage over the hackle-pliers method, I've found that dubbing the extra-fine wire gives a little tighter, more uniform brush--not to mention, letting you have different color options with the medium Uni.

[tie2fish]

Regardless of how you arrived at it, william, your result is the kind of wispy, mayfly-like effect that is is so desireable but remains elusive for most of us. Bravo.

[William Anderson]

Thanks so much for all the kind comments and especially for the technical advice. You guys are very generous.

Hank, I did see Ruard's cool set-up, which is why I wanted to give it an honest effort. His shots are very compelling. Bill Shuck and Ray have posted submerged patterns (others as well) and if I could make that part of my routine, it does make a difference in trying to understand these flies and sharing techniques.

Bill (RK), I will probably try the shepards hook as its the tool I always have on hand for dropped loops, and I can see where I could make that transition with the wire, with some practice. I like these bodies a lot. When you do need to get a fly down, this is a nice way to do it and maintain the kind of body action of the fuzzy, lighter flies.

Jon, your imagination always amazes me. I'm not one to complicate things when there is a simpler way...but I can't argue with the flies you produce. It's magnificent and the techniques you've come up with, especially with these wire brushes are very helpful. I know you have shown flies with wire brushes and blended materials, but would you post one here...like a massive trump card.

w

[CreationBear]

Ha, no doubt a solution looking for a problem. At any rate, there are a couple of photo's at the bottom of this page:
http://flymphforum.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... it=sulphur
that I posted a few months back. As I said in the posts, the idea was to get a slimmer, more uniform brush onto what for me is a small fly (or in a lot of cases, a hot-spot thorax.) It might be my imagination, but I think the really fine wire "bites" the dubbing better and makes for a less "clumpy" brush when you twist it than does standard size wire, plus you have the option of adding a bit of color with a single length of wire without dealing with the bulk of two Uniwire strands twisted together.

At any rate, just another way to skin (and Borax? ) a cat...

[Ruard]

Hi William,

Nice fly and thanks for the compliment.

quote: I have ordered a small acrylic tub that might allow me to shoot the flies dry and then shoot them wet in the same orientation and background using my current set-up. It's always fun to fool around with these things. I'll have to let you know how that turns out. Until then...

Try a whiskey glass

Greeting