Here is my attempt at the Stone Midge using a crow covert feather for the soft hackle and a few fibers from a primary crow wing feather wrapped on for the herl body. My biggest issue was the covert feathers from a crow wing are just a bit to big for a size 16 hook. However, in the style of the long hackled spiders it may fish well. I kind of like the way the crow herl body worked out.
I think it looks great. Where does one find crow feathers?
I use Pearsall's brown for Stewart's Black Spider.
On a crow. 😁 Sorry, I just couldn’t resist on that one! Seriously that’s a legit question. I have procured all of my own crow feathers over the years. When the local flock of crows invades my property I usually sneak out back and a couple of cracks from the 20 guage sends them all on their way very quickly and it’s usually quite some time until they come back. In the process of doing this I generally knock one down. I skin out both wings on the sacrificial crow and borax them. This is how I maintain my supply of crow covert feathers and wing feathers.
This will be the same as cards of Chadwick's 477 for the Killer pattern. People will spend big BUCKS for the real stuff!! BUT these same tyers forget that it is not just the yarn that makes the fly! First, they tie the wire on incorrectly (starting at behind the eye of the hook) AND using the wrong copper wire (straight copper vs. electric motor wire) and, most importantly, this fly was designed for use on English chalk streams! Most any aquatic insects species in England are NOT the same as US/Canadian aquatic species and just how many fishers use this fly on OTHER than a chalk stream. The color/action of the yarn MAY help in the UK but across the pond, well...
But most English insects have a near relative with similar appearance here in the US. You'd be hard pressed to see any difference between what the Brits call a Mayfly (Ephemera danica) and what we call a green drake (E. guttulata) for instance. Many of their Baetis species are very similar to ours, including being swimmers that swim with their legs tucked against their sides. What they call a BWO is a relative of our Hendrickson, and is similar in appearance; in fact the males of each species are called red quills, and patterns that work for one will work for the other. English grannom patterns work well here for the grannom hatch. The English needle fly patterns work just as well for out needle flies (e.g. little black stoneflies.)
No they don't. I will say, though, that Prince Nymphs and Humpies aren't particular effective on the Gunpowder. (I wouldn't know about Power Bait or Mepps Spinners -- one is illegal there and Mepps are awfully hard to cast with a fly rod.)
Rather than splitting i just double over and weight the bottom of the loop with a whip finisher or something like that. Place the material between the strands and spin it. They make an actual tool for this but...
I think that you and I are stating the same point from opposite ends! My point was that some tyers feel that ONLY Chadwick's will do the trick (i.e. - "Perfect" materials for 'perfectly" matched flies.). Save your money and tie near matched materials for nearly matched fly patterns. I have seen "Killer-style" flies tied using colored yarns that are effective. Besides, I have read that over 1 million new fly patterns are developed each year on this Earth and they each represent a new way to catch a fish! So save your money, tie using similar materials, tie your version of the pattern, and go catch a fish (or at least give your fish a vote!).
I recently saw patches of urine stained vixen fur selling for 100 to 150 bucks at the Beaverkill Angler in Roscoe depending I guess on the quality of the stain.Sort of reminds me of "urine stained fur from the underbelly of a vixen..."
Art Flick had me so concerned, I took to pi$$ing on my stash of fox fur because I thought it was that important...
I’m not sure how much difference there‘d be in the finished fly, but if you’d want to use the authentic Indian Crow called for on certain salmon fly patterns I see these Indian Crow feathers (looks like 3 feathers) are currently bid at $21.00+ on EBay, plus tax and shipping. Personally, I think your Lancaster County crow feather is prettier.
Here is one of my all time favorite wet flies over the years. It’s called the Usk Naylor and it calls for some fancy kind of blue hen soft hackle feather (very similar to dark blue dun) that I don’t have. I have always substituted jackdaw for the hackle and it is a great early season wet fly. If I’m fishing a 3 wet fly rig in the Spring when the fish are getting active and working the mid part of the water column there’s a real good chance that the Usk Naylor is a player on it. I have only one spool of Pearsall’s silk left in purple and it’s pretty much dedicated to tying this fly. I’m also running low on the bronze mallard with only 2 feathers left. This fly has put a lot of fish in the net for me over many years.
Ring neck pheasant is another namethe common pheasant. We imported them from Europe; the Europeans imported them from Asia.
