Dark Watchett

[Hans Weilenmann]

Philip,

"no more than 2 1/2 turns"

I do not know about you, but I always have to scratch my head when I read or am told 2 1/2 turns, or 1 1/2 turns - I would think an even distribution, especially on sparse collars, would favor complete revolutions, not a lop-sided half turn. What am I missing?

Cheers,
Hans W

[Jerry G]

I'm likely all wet on this but whenever I've read the 1 1/2 turns of hackle I assumed that extra half turn was suppose to be at the top of the fly so as to perhaps suggest winging. Just a guess on my part.

Regards, Jerry

[letumgo]

That's the same way I think of it too.

[Hans Weilenmann]

Here is I thinking most wingless wets are tied 'in the round'...

Ah well, our milage may vary

Cheers,
Hans W

[flyfishwithme]

Philip -

I agree that the originators would have used what's at hand. I suspect, though, that the thread they had lying about was even thicker than Pearsall's, not thinner. Also, since they were tying on blind hooks, they may have wanted a big build-up of thread at the head anyway, just to make a clean transition to the snell. Some of the old recipes are pretty insistent about a head. Also, I wonder if the size of jackdaw feather was what they were looking for, rather than the exact color? They were tied on smaller hooks than, say, a waterhen bloa.

Great observations Bob,
I have a few flies that were professionally tied in the late 1800's (I will try and photograph them this week) and I recollect that the bodies were very fine. That is what has pushed me to thinner materials. I will have another look though when I dig them out and photograph them.

[Roy]

Philip,

"no more than 2 1/2 turns"

I do not know about you, but I always have to scratch my head when I read or am told 2 1/2 turns, or 1 1/2 turns - I would think an even distribution, especially on sparse collars, would favor complete revolutions, not a lop-sided half turn. What am I missing?

Cheers,
Hans W

Hi, Hans,
I tie some wets with 1.5 turns.
Using a game hackle or starling,
leave the last three or four soft barbs of hackle unstripped at the butt,
tie in on the nearside,
wrap around and over to the far side, tie off on the far side to finish.
The resulting fly will have a fluffy wing and a collar of stiffer hackle fibres
I use this technique to breathe life into tiny wet flies

Roy

[GlassJet]

Swarbrick (1817 Manuscript) says " No 10 THis is a very small Flie a dark iron collar a blo wich cocks up her wings the feather is Taken from Betwixet a Jackdaws Shoulders made very Small with Oringe and purple Silk twisted Together water rat Down in the Bodey This Flie is cald Watchet" (the spelling and grammar is as it was written)

Hi,
I've just started to tie this pattern. When I first read that, I thought it meant to actually twist the orange and purple thread around each other and then wind on the shank. So I tied on the orange, then tied in a length of purple, touching turns of orange for body length, then twist the purple around the orange and wind both back for the body. Apparently this was wrong!

It does produce an interesting effect though, sort of a mottled effect. Think I'll see what the trout say about it come April time.

Here's my Dark Watchet as it stands so far:
http://www.flymphforum.com/phpBB3/viewt ... ?f=6&t=869

Didn't realise this thread was here when I posted yesterday.

GlassJet