They are soft hackles, honest!

[kanutripr]

Oh, how much trouble can I get into over these?

These are nothing new or revolutionary,just some pretty neat flies stemming from a crummy hackling job. I was tying up a regular flymph and was having a bit-- of a time with the hackle. Never one to want to start over I continued, whip finished and decided, hey that technique could work on purpose! So if you tie a hen hackle in collar style then just pinch all the fibers up and finish off you get a neat soft hackle wing that could imitate a caddis nicely. I have seen and fished similar flies (a Skip Morris fly comes to mind) but the wings are a pinch of hen hackle fibers tied in on top of the hook. I like the way the feather lays better on these.




hook-size 14 Togen emerger 58528
small glass bead
thread - Uni 8/0 camel
hackle - mottled brown hen
abdomen - above thread
thorax - grey sheep fleece
peacock herl wrapped in front of wrapped and positioned hackle before whip finishing (this was just an excuse to fill up an empty space )



hook - size 14 Togen emerger 58528
small glass bead
thread - Uni 8/0 black
hackle - mottled brown hen
abdomen - underfur from ginger tom cat
thorax - Shih Poo fur in dubbing loop
more Shih Poo in dubbing loop after wrapping and positioning hackle but before whip finishing

They are still works in progress but I wanted an excuse to post some pics


Vicki

[willowhead]

Good to know you do like beads..... Your package arrive yet? Very nice flies you did there.

[tie2fish]

Very fishy, Vicki.

[kanutripr]

Don't get me wrong! I still don't like beads

Beads have a place. They may make the fly look pretty! They may be useful if you're fishing in a lake and have to get the fly down more than 10 feet quickly. They may be useful when you're steelhead fishing in a fast moving winter river, freezing your a$$ off and have a very small area to get the fly down deep to a fish that may see you at any second and take off if you're fiddle farting around, plus an orange one could represent an egg Beads are beautiful in Mark's artistic endeavors and will probably not be so beautiful in mine. Again I like the glass beads because they're are a little less heavy.

There are other ways to make a fly sink. You can use materials and tying techniques to make the fly more prone to sinking or you can use fishing techniques to get the fly right to the bottom. I prefer these methods, they make the fly appear more real. A fly sinking like a stone, is a just a stone. We should spend more time trying to improve these techniques, after all what are we doing? We're just standing around in a river. We've got lots of time on our hands!

OK enough of the rant!

I'm with you Mike. I'm not a fan of the one with the peacock. It was one of the first ones and I had to fill up an empty space behind the bead. I don't like a big wad of thread there. The second one was an effort to get rid of the peacock plus the hair looks more like legs (I hope). We have a ton of various caddis in our area and this fly can be adapted easily to fit the bill for any of them.

The people that thought up the handle Shih Poo also come up with things like labradoodle just so they can charge big bucks for mutts. Just my two cents. Hey she's a sweetheart though and I still love her!

[willowhead]

.....nice reply all-around.....

[kanutripr]

Thanks! Just trying to be diplomatic (hee hee)

Too much time on my hands but not enough experience under my belt to have any good opinions yet


Vicki

[Soft-hackle]

Vicki,
I'[m really not a fan of beaded wingless wets, however, the bead in these adds tremendously to the profile. As Mike said--they look like perfect caddis imitations.

Mark