FLYMPH FORUM

Can I sneak this one in? It has a hair hackle... sort of! If it has gatecrashed, just escort it politely but firmly off the premises...


Used a brown thread base, pheasant tail barbs for tail and abdomen, and extra fine copper wire for the thorax, wound many times. For the last dozen or so turns, waxed it and touch dubbed spiky hare's ear to it, then continued winding. Not done that before, but I thought it looked eminently fishable! Not fished it yet though, so proof of the pudding etc...

Andrew

Lovely fly, Andrew. Sure looks like a "catcher". I like the hair-hackle legs.

There is a wing case there as well, formed from the pheasant tail barbs, which isn't very obvious in the photo. I am left handed, which means that the hook is facing the other way as I tie - I photograph it this way so it doesn't look odd in the company!
But from the other side, that wing case looks great, I can tell you...
Andrew.

So ... who sez ya gotta shoot the pix like all the rest?

Let's see the side you are talking about, please.

hankaye wrote:
Let's see the side you are talking about, please.

Nah - I got used to having to operate in a right handed world a long time ago!

Got out on the river for an hour or so this afternoon and fished this nymph as a team of two, with this one on the dropper. On the point was another nymph pattern I'm playing around with at the moment, Hare's Ear Nymph. Both were catching, and it's always good when that happens!


#12 hook. Yellow silk, waxed. Abdomen: spiky hare's ear twisted in split thread, copper rib, copper thorax, again with hare's ear lightly dubbed onto last few turns. Canada goose herl wing case, jackdaw neck hackle.

Bit rough and ready still, but hey - it's catching!
Andrew

Edited to say: I know that strictly speaking the tail is too long, and that there is too much to it, but fortunately there were two trout at least in the river who didn't notice!

Andrew,
There is nothing wrong with either one of these patterns although I like #2 better. Dave Hughes covers hair hackling very well in his book "Wet Flies" published years ago. He uses a very useful technique of trapping the butt ends of a thin sliver of hair cut directly the skin of a pine squirrel (I think?) between the split thread. It's very easy to wrap too much hair around the head of the fly therefor only enough to cover or veil the body and that's all.
It does grant a nice looking hackle if you can resist the dreaded "second wrap". In this case, enough is sometimes too much.
I should be telling you these things.....it should be the other way around!
I like your flies Andrew. Keep them coming!

Dougsden

DOUGSDEN wrote: Dave Hughes covers hair hackling very well in his book "Wet Flies" published years ago.

Hi Dougsden, I don't know that one, thanks, I'll look it up.

Andrew.

That one just screams "I'M A BUG!"
I'd fish that one anytime, anywhere.
Thanks for posting.

I love them both, but the second one gets my vote for sizes #10-14 and the first one for #16 and smaller.