proportions

[mute]

Do these proportions look right, just doesnt seem right. Something is off.

 

[tomgamber]

Depends on the real natural bug if I were to be overly critical I'd say longer abdomen and smaller thorax then what you have...but I'm not sure the fish is gonna notice most of the time...

 

[mute]

version 2, better? worse?

 

[tomgamber]

again it would depend on the natural but there is a happy medium between 1 and 2.

 

[mute]

Haha, i see that medium, and im going for your common generic nymph(olive hares ear). Its weird though, it seems the store bought hares ear, or maybe professional ones may be it, are tapered up the hook, instead of an abdomen then the thicker thorax.

 

[mute]

can always get the natural and blacks down, but for some reason the olives just dont like me

 

[jayL]

You are probably no longer tying for the fish, but for yourself. I'd put all three in my box and fish them all with equal confidence. I guess it all depends on how much fun you are having. If you're going for a fish catching fly, mission accomplished.

 

[JackM]

I'm with Jay on this one. Though you would sell more of the third example, you'll likely catch fish equally on all three. But in case you don't believe this, you can send Jay all your long abdomen flies and send me the ones with the long thorax.

 

[mute]

haha, ok.

 

[JackM]

mute, I should add that though I would certainly fish all the flies, I think it makes sense as a tying "philosophy" to try to tie the best approximation of the natural as reasonably posible. Having exacting proportions may not mean anything more than a slight advantage in convincing the trout that the fly is a genuine food item, but so long as you aren't tearing down flies that aren't perfect or wasting a huge amount of time measuring with a micrometer, it makes sense to try to get the proportions approximately correct. I certainly don't do it always, or even often, but I try to do so with each tie.

 

[tomgamber]

I hope he wasn't flaming those and starting over...I was just offering the criticism I thought he wanted...jack and jay are right but you are more then entitled to be picky about it as well...and yeah, if you bring your rejects in a box to the jam, someone will swap them for something with you.

 

[mute]

haha ,yea i agree with all of you. And no i still have those ties lol. Its just when it seems a bit off, if im fishing with that fly, its always goign to be a thought in my head, i could be catchin fish right now, maybe its because of the bad proportion, if i had a better one on, id be getting hits.

 

[mediclimber]

Maybe if you thought of your different proportined ones as mutations or cripples you could clear you mind and fish the zen way? :-D

 

[jayL]

Whenever I start to worry about my fly, I force myself to think about presentation.

Try it. It's made me a way better fisherman.

 

[MKern]

Most natural insects have a larger thorax than their matching fly pattern anyway.

They are also a lot wider, especially with the addition of gills.

So if it is accurate silhouette your after my advice would be to look at a natural (picture or first-hand) and mimic its proportions.

However, I personally think presentation is way more important.
I've said it before: if a fish is picky enough to to shy away from your fly because it is too thin or its thorax is slightly too big, then it can definately tell the difference between hair/feathers and the real thing!

 

[afishinado]

Mute,

I found this about proportions of different types of flies:

Fly Proportions

It's a good guideline. I suggest you look at the images of the insects you are tying. Troutnut is a pretty goood source. Don't sweat it, it's not that big of a deal in most cases. Good luck.

 

[sandfly]

this is the correct tool for making flies, especially drys..

 

[jayL]

If you believe in the golden ratio's significance as some magical underlying universal law. I don't.

It is probably pretty close though. The real reason is that humans find something appealing about 1.61803399 to 1, primarily because we've been conditioned by art and architecture for centuries.

Sorry to geek up our conversation. :lol:

 

[sandfly]

it will tie perfect flys, I use it all the time for drys