Just an update! (until I started writing, now a bit more)

[ryguyfi]

I haven't been on the site for a while. I don't have internet access and haven't gotten to a computer. Been doing some fishing though! I started tying in December and first day of trout i caught my first fish on my own fly! A prince nymph. Man was that awesome. Had a couple skunkings but when the weather warmed up a bit i started fishing my dries and caught my first fish on a dry fly on a BWO. That fly is pretty much demolished now, but thats a good thing. I'm making some good progress on my tying also. What took me about 45 min (yeah thats not an overstatement) to tie is now taking about 15 min, and they're looking a whole lot better. I still don't have all the materials i would like, but that will come with time. Which brings me to my first question. When you are tying dries, catskill, and your hackle is too long, do you simply just trim it, and does this have a negative effect on the fly for presentation purposes? Second, when do you weight your flies. I try to vary it, but mostly i prefer to put split shot on when i'm nymphing. If i don't, my nymphs are pretty boyant. I know that when nymphing, presentation is everything. Drift speed, depth, etc. So would it be in my best interest to put a little weight on my nymphs when tying, and adjust with split shot for the conditions? And third are wings. I started tying more dries and the wings aren't too bad. Are they always necessary? and if so should the ends of the feather(like on mallard flank for a cahil) be equal to the lenth of the hackle, and if not does it make a difference to trim those too, to equal lengths? I know this is alot all at once, but it's been over a month of tying with out all the pro's on this website to help me out with my questions. Thanks in advance!

Ryan

 

[jayL]

I wouldn't trim hackle. You want the fly to ride on the delicate tips of the feather barbules... You should select a feather that fits without trimming.

For weighting, I dont usually add lead to my flies. I think it bulks them unnecessarily. I either tie beadhead, or use very tiny split shot.

I don't tie wings in my catskills too often... only if I'm feeling fancy.

 

[jayL]

BTW.

Big congrats on your success. I love how catching a few trout almost completely on your own can brighten your life so much.... I can't ever explain it to people, but you understand.