FLYMPH FORUM

There had been some discussion in another thread about a pattern that tietofish had submitted for the last Great Feathers swap. Many of us in Maryland have fished it with great success on various local streams, so tietofish has asked me to post it on his behalf.

Dark Hendrickson Soft Hackle Emerger

Hook-Daiichi 1260, #14
Thread-Uni-thread 6/0, Camel
Hackle-Red Grouse
Tail-Pheasant tail fibers
Abdomen-Stripped dry fly hackle quills, one dark ginger and one coachman brown, wrapped together and coated with Hard-As-Nails
Thorax-Olive brown CDC fibers in dubbing loop and trimmed

Oh, that looks like a great fishing fly. I love the look of the tapered quill body and the cdc abdomen/hackle collar. What a great emerger pattern!

Liam,

It is a very nicely tied pattern, which makes it all the more surprising to see the tail barbs slipped down the far side

I am curious whether this occur(ed) during the tie-in stage, or is a result of the quill body wrapping step?

Cheers,
Hans W

Hans- This is a proxy post for tietofish. He doesn't have the means to photograph or upload small fly pics, so I am simply posting it on his behalf- it is his tie. I am sure he will answer you when he reads this.

Liam, Tietofish,

I am sure you know you always have the option to tell me to bug off

Cheers,
Hans W

tietofish,

I have tied lots of patterns on that style hook, often with a quill body, and it's hard to argue against that combo for a large mayfly or stonefly imitation, which ever side the tails find themselves. The overall proportions of this are really nice, and the coloration is nice with the variations in the quill. I think my box might be a little low on these. I should get back to it.

w

A fair question, Hans, and I must say that I don't really know the answer. (I could tell you that I did it on purpose to make the fly track erratically during the drift, but that would be a cop-out.) It appears that the fly may be rotated slightly in the photo (see plane of hook eye), which may account for some of it. The remainder probably happened during the quill wrap. In any event, I believe that color combinations, shapes, and proportions are my forte as opposed to precise tying craftsmanship. I shall endeavor to improve that aspect of my tying, but to be truthful, the fish don't seem to mind much.

tie2fish,

My apologies if asking my question was perceived as a criticism on your tying (or rather Liam's, as I incorrectly attributed the fly to him) - it was not meant as such. It was and is more designed to be a starting point for a discussion on techniques, but likely introduced is a somewhat clumsy and ambiguous manner

Whether or not the fish care is always an important consideration, and yes some of us tie solely to have something to fish with and are not overly concerned with the finer detail we incorporate in our bugs.

On the other hand, some of us, and that includes me, tie to an equal degree to please ourselves.

Please receive my question as one of academic interest, seeking a measure of understanding of the process particulars. Or, as I already suggested, simply tell me to go take a hike

Cheers,
Hans W

No offense taken, Hans. I follow this forum daily to learn from those more skilled than I, and your creativity and fine technique are no small part of what I've gleaned to date.

Hi tie2fish;

The abdomen on this pattern looks so life like!

How did you strip the quills by hand???

Wayne