FLYMPH FORUM

Grizzly and Cinnamon 1250
Hook: Daiichi 1250
Thread: Brown 14/0
Hackle: Grizzly Hen Cape
Rib: Pearsalls Silk - Chestnut
Body: Beaver spun on tying thread. I tried a few times to get a soft...pillowy effect with the softest underfur in the beaver pelt, like a reverse of a dub where all the fibers project. I need to stick this in the dunk tank. The intent was to create a more loopy body that would hold more air as it was pulled under. Pics are needed. I'll try to get to it.



w

Great looking fly!

That is a wondeful fly, william. Just beautiful to my eye. Your commentary has me wondering about which type of dubbing will retain more air bubbles after it is submerged ... a soft one with lots of little spaces or a stiffer one that will hold its shape and trap the air bubbles by staying "flatter"? The possibility crossed my mind that soft dubbing fibers might tend to straighten out vertically, thereby allowing the entrapped air bubbles to escape. Perhaps you can conduct a side-by-side controlled test in your dunking chamber photo setup?

That would be an interesting test to see. Great looking fly, too.
Love that hook, I'm gonna have to see if I can find some. Haven't seen any locally.

W - Lovely fly. Beaver is one of my favorite dubbing materials (easy to work with and gives very nice results). Have your tried "carding" the dubbing to align the fibers before creating the dubbing brush? You may get a little more of the perpendicular fibers your looking for, but you may need to limit the fiber length to prevent the fibers from twisting around the central silk core. Another alternate would be to use silk dubbing. The fibers are very fine, and may trap more are bubbles.

That reminds me, I have a floatant called "Frogs Fanny", that I wanted to test on soft hackle patterns. I was thinking of dusting the dubbing brushes with Frogs Fanny as another way of trapping more bubbles around the body of the fly. I think it would be simple to create a card of dubbing brushes, then apply the Frogs Fanny floatant (white powder desicant). I think the finished fly would then be more likely to retain the bubbles.

Interesting topic. Can't wait to see the discussion this generates.

Great stuff Mr. Anderson!

Sweet looking bug William. Like those hooks and the fact you did not smother the bend or encroach on the gape, looks like a hook aimed at big fishes mouths.

Thanks, guys. I realize this is getting a little on the fussy side, but it entertains me and that keeps me out of trouble, which Gab appreciates.

Bill, I had the same thoughts about a more structured dubbing supporting a stronger hydrofuge, but what I was trying to achieve was someone more along the lines of Lafontain's caddis pupa where a kind of envelope is created to hold air. With a soft underfur, and this is and under-underfur, the thought was lots of smaller structures. Who knows. The first few I tied may work as well, but were not as photogenic. So rather than the typical method of creating fibers that radiate from the body, as Ray suggests (Ray, carding the fibers would have done the opposite of what I tried to do, although I realize my initial description was not clear), I wanted a more loopy effect, on a smaller scale. Maybe there is some there, maybe not. I'll have to dunk them to find out. I dunked the first one and it had like....long thin bubbles like webbing on the body. I was just looking for an excuse to use the new grizzly hackle and as I was plucking fibers from the hide and twisting them around, I just thought I would try something that I couldn't do with stiffer dubbings. If the effect has absolutely no effect in the bubble dept, I'm left with a light dunnish over body to the dark core, sporting a chestnut rib and grizzly hackle, which is a result I can live with.

Thanks for all the kind remarks. I'll dunk these when I get that set up back in operation. I'm more of a hit and run tyer/poster at the moment.

w

Great fly, discussion and ideas. I have not tried beaver,though I know it was a favourite material for Gunnar Johnsson in his flymphs.

And wow, that hook is new to me. Have a thing for the canvas we use and a love it. Anybody know the Kamasan no for this one?

Btw: dunk??

Martin

Martin ~ "Dunk" in this context = submerge