my first "salmon fly"

[sniperfreak223]

This is my first attempt at a full dress salmon fly, well, kinda...it's a little piece I tied up in the style of a classic salmon fly, and a little homage to my Irish heritage. the tails are a little off, but oh well, it's a first try...

 

[Lonewolve]

Sniper
Very good, but this is more a giant wet fly and i bet that if i were to swing it id catch some nice rainbows and browns with it.
Next time try a Upturned salmon hook,it would make this fly pop, also try to keep the golden pheasant tippets together, if you want to try classic get some blind eye Partridge Bartleet hook go smaller than 2/0 . I really like this fly ,the hook isn't ideal though,but hell of a job for a first fly.
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

 

[sniperfreak223]

I know the hook isn't ideal, I've just been toying around trying to teach myself traditional techniques...in fact, this was originally just a test of my ability to marry wings. If I had any salmon/steelhead hooks on hand, I'd have used one, but all I had on hand were my favorite bass bug hooks (Mustad 3366, a size 2 in this case), when I get my confidence up more, I may improve upon this pattern and maybe buy some true salmon hooks...

 

[gaeronf]

Also, If you don't have your floss completely smooth, your fly won't turn out good. Otherwise, nice job!

 

[sniperfreak223]

second attempt...

 

[Lonewolve]

Sniper,
very good, keep at it and youll have it licked.Try a topping of golden pheasant crest dyed orange irish flag is orange white and green i think.

 

[turkey]

Great effort on these. These kinds of wets have so many different techniques that can be tricky. Floss can be tough to lay flat even with a burnishing tool and strip wings can be a real bugger too....let alone marrying slips together. They are among my favorite types of flies and they'll really make you better at all types of flies. Well done. Keep at it.

 

[buffalo7]

Sniper,
Looks great, I have one for you to tie, it's one of those old Brittish Empire flies. you'll have to go to India and Africa to find everything you need.

When you finish it, post a picture.

 

[sniperfreak223]

buffalo7 wrote:
Sniper,
Looks great, I have one for you to tie, it's one of those old Brittish Empire flies. you'll have to go to India and Africa to find everything you need.

When you finish it, post a picture.

Just a warning...it will be a long while before I can track down all the materials (or even suitable substitutes), and even longer for me to build the confidence to attempt such a beast...might try a Silver Doctor or Highlander, though...

 

[Fishidiot]

Nice job sniper. Your second version shows noticeable improvement, esp in the golden pheasant tail strands and the married wings.
I love tying classic style salmon flies and find it adds a challenging and aesthetic angle to the art of fly tying.
Good stuff.

 

[sniperfreak223]

And with a few more refinements to make it look more salmon fly than wet fly...taking the advice to add a little more orange, I've added an underwing of GP tippets, I've also added a few peacock sword fibers as a topper over the wing and the tail, how's it look?

PS: as to the more wet fly appearance, I only really have trout materials on hand, so things like junglecock eyes, GP crests, and florican bustard are a little out of the picture at the moment.

 

[Lonewolve]

Sniper ,
I like this last one would really set off with a golden pheasant crest dyed orange for a topping tied just this way ,you are doin good brother.Send me an address and ill mail ya a blind eye to try.
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

 

[buffalo7]

Lonewolve wrote:
Sniper ,
Send me an address and ill mail ya a blind eye to try.
Rick Wallace

I sent sniper a pm this mourning, I have some golden pheasant crest for him. I had it for a long time and only used the tippets.

 

[Lonewolve]

Buffalo,
Cool beans, im sending him two Partridge 2/0 Bartleet blind eyes to play with,hes on his own for silk gut, i know you can get a package of silk gut from partridge and its sized just right for this particular size hook ,its three strand and pre twisted,all you do is soak then ltrim ends ala Radencich and lash down on the tapered area leaving a whisker of the tip of the taper exposed to be classy about it and away we go.
I'm debating tying one up in the Irish Flag colors,I like my Crests natural but they also look great in dyed colors too thats why i said if he could get the crest in a dyed orange.The tippets look far better on this fly now i couldnt enjoy the first theyway the tippets were in disarray but hey thats me the last fly is reaaly cool ,still say a crest would set it off.
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace
one tip when tying flosss anything it pays to think ahead as in to proportions and placement of materials, also a burnishing tool really gets the floss in a a nice smooth state but only if you keep the floss laid flat,dont let it spin into a rope as you wind it around the shank.

 

[sniperfreak223]

Here's another improved version I've been working on...I really want to try a new material for the wings, I've been using dyed turkey boit quills, which are very stiff and heavy, but I've just ordered some dyed goose shoulders, as I've heard they're almost perfect for married wings, so hopefully that will improve this pattern more...

 

[gaeronf]

What you need to work on is your tags, then your floss, then ribbing, etc. Do jump the gun and do a whole fly right away. You have to start with the basics. Although it is boring, you will get a much better looking fly in the (very) long run.

 

[sniperfreak223]

gaeronf wrote:
What you need to work on is your tags, then your floss, then ribbing, etc. Do jump the gun and do a whole fly right away. You have to start with the basics. Although it is boring, you will get a much better looking fly in the (very) long run.

does the body really look that bad? I took extra care to make the floss and underbody as smooth as possible...and heck, I was really proud of the body, but I really can't be satisfied with the wing...the fibers don't compress right, and they always seem to sit a little too high.

 

[gaeronf]

It's not that it looks "that" bad, it's just that you should strive for perfection on each part that you are working on and have complete focus on it. Check out this site and compare how your tag and floss work compares. Follow the lessons and I guarantee you, you will tie nicer looking flies. Make sure you go under the how to dress salmon flies link. Also, read everything, don't skip steps, and do the lessons in order.
http://ronnlucassr.com/