first try at a realistic looking fly

[mike_richardson]

My first try. I need to try and find a better leg material. I do not want to use any premade leg. I tried tying turkey feathers but that was not the most fun. I had also thought about using vinyl ribbing as well. I will be tweaking this fly a lot. I will use a brown marker instead of black. A lot i can do but not a bad place to start. Hope to post a success pic with it soon. I will be ticked if I get snagged.

 

[Chaz]

It only needs a little tweeking, shorter legs, tail, and antennae is about all. But it will catch fish.

 

[FrequentTyer]

Nice looking fly Mike! I really like the coloring effects. Brown Maxima bent with hot tweezers makes nice legs. But given the likelyhood of getting snagged, phesant tail makes nice legs too.
Mike.

 

[lv2nymph]

Carefull Mike, one can become quite obsessed where you tread... Nice lookin stone.

 

[Fishidiot]

Two thumbs up!

You'll hear, from time to time, that tying flies like this is of no use - they don't catch fish well or are too time consuming etc. Maybe so, but I'd argue that folks with this view are misguided. I suppose I can understand that point of view but, speaking personally, I certainly can't relate to it. Fly tying is so much more than just maintenance. I can't imagine fly tying without the creative and artistic exploration dimension. Exploring realistic nymphs, or classic salmon flies or streamers, really opens up a whole new artistic angle to the hobby. I'm also convinced that such efforts make one ultimately much better at tying more functional fly patterns as well.

 

[mike_richardson]

Fishidiot i agree. I got enjoyment out of tying this fly. I mean we all know when we tie our classic patterns that you will catch fish on this but going out on your own to create something lifelike is a lot of fun. Digs you a bit deeper into our "hobby" I was however pretty bummed when my rainbow from the "Christmas bow" post took they fly it took me 2 minutes to tie and didn't even hit the "real looking bug" sometimes flies are just better at catching fisher man

I really like the challenge of making a flie like this. It took me about minutes of game planning and about 15 to tie it. I was very upset when i tried to adjust tow of the legs and the knots came undone. Part of the learning process i guess.

Thanks for all of the compliments and insight guys. I hope to post a few more realistics soon. That is if I get some more time