Old Master

[Old Hat]

My best rendition of a pattern I've seen mentioned quite a few times in books the "Old Master"
The original called for a woodcock hackle, but since I don't have any woodcock I used a sharptail grouse rump feather which I think might be a pretty good substitute. You guys that tie with woodcock might be able to chime in on that.

The original pattern:
Body: ash colored silk thread
Rib: open wraps of natural heron herl
Hackle: woodcock



Then, along the same lines, here is a couple more I wound up.
These are tied using Pearsall's silk thread in gold (waxed) and the sharptail grouse rump feathers again.

For this one I used natural rhea herl for the ribbing


...and for this one I used a cock pheasant center tail fiber dyed ginger for the ribbing


and a folded split wing just to be a little rebellious

[kanutripr]

The flies are beautiful but I have to tell you I really like the pics. The backgrounds are very complementary. Are they taken in front of a window?


Vicki

[Old Hat]

Thanks Vicki,
For the pics I just stepped out on my porch in the evening light and took some shots with different backgrounds.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Very nice flies indeed. The pics, as Vicki mentioned, are pretty nice too. I like the natural background. Seeing as your a neighbor to the south, I was wondering what you used for the heron herl on the Old Master. I've had pretty good results with Blue Earred Pheasant herl. Just curious.

REE

[DNicolson]

Very nicely tied flies.
Using herls of various types as ribs, can produce some
very interesting results. There quite a few old patterns
that use herl ribs.
Woodcock is a very good hackle, and a pair of wings from Cookshill are
fairly cheap - GBP2.50.
As a matter of fact, most traditional spiders use feathers from wings of
various birds.
Try Cookshill if you want to try the original patterns, but don't forget,
they, in the 19th century, were using what was easily available.

[daringduffer]

These are indeed beautiful flies. Since I happen to have all the materials I just have to try tying the Old Master. Your standard is very high but nothing beats a fly you have tied yourself!! (If you are satisfied with your effort, that is).

Somewhere I read that segmentation is the trout's whole concept of business; their "prey image". That might make sense and could explain the success with palmering and ribbing the bodies.

I tip my hat for you...

dd

( I normally write much slower than slow with my index fingers only. It takes me forever, and then a while, to produce just a few lines of text. I envy those of you that are swift with your letters. Last night I sliced my left index finger and today I write even slower).

[GlassJet]

Love the flies - and the photos are superb!

Could you re-create them?

Andrew

[narcodog]

WOW lookin great. I tied the Old Master for a swap not long ago. I have to tie a few more and see how they fish.

[Old Hat]

Glad you like them.
I too like the way the pictures turned out however it wasn't any purposeful attempt, only going outside to use natural light. Shouldn't be a problem to repeat the procedure though GlassJet, I will just have to save all my photographing until next year at the same date and time so the sun is in the same spot and hope it is a clear day No really though the shots are completely reproduceable. The one little trick I learned though while taking them was to give plenty of space between the fly and the background to give the background a more "blurred" look. These flies were about 18"-24" from the background. I did shoot from different angles to see how that affected the shadows. I'm by no means any photographer, just a guy with a cheapo camera having fun. The rhea is a really cool herl and has a lot of very fine "hairs" coming out of it. However, I had a hard time capturing them in the photos. If you look really close you can see them. I have also found the rhea to be one of the most durable herls.

Ron, I too have found that blue eared pheasant is the best substitute for the heron. I've tried various other herls dyed dun and the burnt spey hackles but non of them come close to the natural blue eared pheasant. I think we have briefly met at the show in Albany, Oregon Ron. I've been going for years but just started tying there and in Boise, ID last year.

Carl

[letumgo]

Superb flies and photos, Carl. I recently received a couple "Old Master" flies from Bob (narcodog), as part of the Lucky 13 IBF Swap. It's easy to see why this pattern is a classic.