Horsetail Twisted Bodied Soft-hackles

[William Anderson]

I like tying with the horsetail. It has some possiblities, typically as quill bodies, but I liked the twists the best.

A light and an Amber colored horsetail hair twisted, mole thorax and hen saddle hackle:







Same two horsetail hairs twisted with #4 yellow silk, mole thorax and CdL saddle hackle:







This is three horsetail hairs twisted, bison underfur thorax and grouse hackle:





w

[hankaye]

Dub-ya, Howdy;

Looks to be a tough material to work with. Sorta like that Llama you and Ray were wrestling with a bit ago.
I really like the top one the best. To me looks more symetrical (sp?), thru the wrappings and gives,
to me, a better rendition of the segmented body then the others. Strikes me as a case of less is better.

hank

[CreationBear]

This is three horsetail hairs twisted, bison underfur thorax and grouse hackle

Kit Carson tied soft hackles; who knew? Throw in some grizzly bear guard hairs as tailing material and you've got yourself the set-up for a great story...

[William Anderson]

Carson was a decent tier, but his flies were all gawdy and colorful (product of his time). He was fixated on Cutts. I tied a few with the bison guardhairs in the llama method and then twisted a few with horsetail. They are fishable, but not intended for public viewing.

There are several things about these horsetail flies that I like. I can imagine the light play in those fibers could be interesting, expecially with the contrasting underbody and the addition of silk into the twist. I just really like the irregularity of it all.

Anyone want to way in on the bouyancy of the hairs. I know they were used for the first fly lines, but they were greased. Are these going to float as tied? I would'nt mind if they did. I could test them, but conversation is more interesting.

w

[William Anderson]

These are bison guard hairs twisted with the underfur and a horsetail fiber, that is very well blended with the bison underfur thorax. I was just curious.

[CreationBear]

Very cool effects...the amber horsehair especially is giving off that "just looks buggy" vibe. If it holds up at all I could see it really obsoleting stripped peacock for me.

[tie2fish]

There's lots to like about these, William, not the least of which is the naturalistic look of your "organized chaos" -- the irregularity of wraps that are not parallel. I know we've seen a little of this recently what with all the twisting of dissimilar materials going on, but I think your combination of the twisted horsehair with bison fur is inspired. Adding the rough grouse hackle (I'm speaking of the textured barbs, not hackle from a ruffed grouse ) is a fitting touch.

[letumgo]

My initial impression was stunned silence, mouth agape.

Remarkable flies, William. I can't wait to try this, myself.

[William Anderson]

Thanks for such kind remarks. These twisted bodies really seem to hold some potential for me and I'll try again with using other silk and some herls. Actually I just like the two and three strands twisted and brought forward the way they are, but some other colors would be cool.

Thanks again.

[Otter]

From a tying perspective, invesitigations into the properies and possibilities of new materials is good fun, particularly where the material is of natural origin - thanks for sharing.

From a fishing perspective they are worth nought until they prove successful so don't be shy in coming back with the results I know you would be very distressed if we all suspected that you had a gem of a fly on your hands and forgot to tell us.