UV Cree

[gingerdun]

Carl,
This is a great example.
Would you mind just quickly describing your method of overlapping the body with the hackle?
Any tips to offer?
Sorry to put you to any trouble, but I've observed and read about several slightly different approaches to constructing these thorax flymphs. Just want to make sure that I understand what I'm looking at here. Really beautiful.
What is in the dubbing to make it UV?
Does UV makes a difference for your trout?
Is this science or wishful thinking?

Lance

[Old Hat]

Lance,

I don't know a lot about the UV spectrum and how it relates to fish other than what I read in this book

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157188 ... 8MF8K5TK0K

It is not a bad book and has some good information in it, however I didn't care for the writing. This is a newer book and looks to Be concentrating on UV specifically.

http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Scientifi ... gy_b_img_z

I know that UV materials have become very prevalent in new materials coming out. Marketing ploy? Maybe, I don't know. I haven't fished enough flies using it to make an opinion on it. The only materials I have that are UV dyed are peacock and a couple colors of this dubbing. I haven't investigated what they have done to call it UV. Both are Spirit River products that I have gotten in "thank you" bags at the shows. I know a number of folks that swear by the importance of the UV spectrum to fish and try to incorporate materials specifically for this reason. Again, I just don't know. I used to read a lot and study a lot on the "science" of fly fishing. It never helped as much as just being on the river and fishing.

As far as tying method goes not much to it. Before wrapping the hackle, I dub from the rear up to the head of the fly then back over the thorax where I leave the thread ( I often use this back wrapping to change the color or shade of the thorax), then I wrap the hackle back in open wraps, tie it down and make a couple wraps of thread through the thorax to head and finish.

The only tips I can think of is I usually strip one side of the hackle feather when I do this so that the hackle is not too dense. I didn't do that for this one because the hackle had a pretty low barb count to begin with. Also, I usually incorporate a little longer fibers in the thorax dubbing to increase the fullness of the profile there and it helps hide the thread wraps.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Carl,

That is a great looking fly. I have a couple of Cree necks here from cockerel. Softer barbs than an adult rooster, but stiffer than hen. I'll have to try them, as I love the look of Cree.

I got a couple packs of the Spirit River UV dubbing samples at the Albany, OR show as well. I haven't used the purple, but the PMD and Gray got a work out. I tied some Adams colored soft hackles with both the UV and standard gray dubbing from Spirit River. The trout showed a preference for the UV. Water was a bit off color, there was some sun and shadow on the water surface, air temp was about 55. Most hits came as the fly drifted between shadow and sun.

I'm not sure about the process they use to make it UV, but their web site probably explains it somewhat.

[Old Hat]

Ron, did you actually get grey or was it the same as this dubbing? The dubbing looked very grey in the package and less colorful as the picture showed.

Interesting that you noticed a difference in catch with the two flies.

[swellcat]

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Looks like a confidence pattern one wouldn't mind seeing a fly box filled with.

How might it fare as a March brown impression?
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[Ron Eagle Elk]

Carl, the gray I got looked very gray in the package, but had other colors mixed in when you teased it out. Much like your's appears to be. The PMD color is very nice with just a bit of orange and gray mixed into the PMD color. That's something I normally do anyway and this saves a step.

[Old Hat]

Probably the same dubbing Ron.

Swellcat - I think it would make a good march brown. They are so different from place to place, so it would just depend. I usually add a little maroon/dark red color to the thorax on my march browns, which would be very easy to do here.