>>>What are you tying today ? Part I

[InCahoots]

In one of my tying club's supply of materials we have a nice section of condor quill, still in the suppler's original packaging. There it will remain. No polar bear however.

 

[djs12354]

Spent some time tying some Prince Nymphs and tried some nymphs using goose biots for the bodies.

Frequent Tyer - I used the peacock herl you gave me at the Tying Jam. Quite a difference from the herl I have from the tying kit to use. Where did you purchase it?

Also played with using a doubled length of black krystal flash instead of copper wire or tinsel. Think I may be tying a few up using that method.

Lv2nymph - Do you soak the biots to soften them when tying bodies? Googled and came up with a method that said to fold into a damp paper towel. I may have let them get to dry before I started tying.
I am interested in the two different results you get depending on which side you wrap out. Am I correct in remembering that you prefer the smoother look for your ties?

 

[djs12354]

Just tried again to tie the biot body. Size 18, with a black nickle bead and a little dubbing. Used the damp paper towel to soften the biot and that helped considerably.

What do I need to do to prevent that small bump at the tail end of the fly. It has to be from the biot folding over. Should I soften the biot more?

Should the fly's body be touched with head cement or Sally Hanson's to make it more durable? Or should I just consider it a "one fish and done" fly? (There I go, getting optimistic about catching a fish again :lol: )

 

[lv2nymph]

Nice looking nymph Dave. I don't soak the biots before tying them in I've never had to to make them behave, I do soak the quills before tying them because they have a nasty tendency to split while wrapping them. The wet paper towel is to keep them moist after soaking them for use during a tying session. To help alleviate that little bump at the tie in point try to angle the biot down and away from you when tying in. Maybe a 30 degree angle or so and tie the quill in at the smaller portion of the tip. That way it will wrap around and mold to the hook instead of "folding" over as you take the first wrap. I don't know if you've found this out yet or not but if you "tear" the biot from the stem instead of cutting it off you'll notice what appears to be a v notch in the wider part of the biot when you hold that facing down you will get a smooth body. For the most part I like the body to be smooth yes.

 

[Tigereye]

I like to soak biots, quills etc in Hair Conditioner. Works very well.

 

[CLSports]

I stopped tying my version of the black nosed dace once my supply of Mastadon fur and Dire Wolf tails were exhausted. There is simply no substitute for that prehistoric fur.

 

[FrequentTyer]

djs12354 wrote:

Frequent Tyer - I used the peacock herl you gave me at the Tying Jam. Quite a difference from the herl I have from the tying kit to use. Where did you purchase it?

No idea Dave. I buy the peacock eye feathers almost anywhere I see them if I find the right coloration for stripped quills. The extras that are not right for stripping go into the herl collection. Any flyshop, J Stockard, FF Paradise, etc. should have them. Don't use the craft store stuff. Its too dry and brittle.
Mike.

 

[djs12354]

FrequentTyer wrote:

djs12354 wrote:

Frequent Tyer - I used the peacock herl you gave me at the Tying Jam. Quite a difference from the herl I have from the tying kit to use. Where did you purchase it?

No idea Dave. I buy the peacock eye feathers almost anywhere I see them if I find the right coloration for stripped quills. The extras that are not right for stripping go into the herl collection. Any flyshop, J Stockard, FF Paradise, etc. should have them. Don't use the craft store stuff. Its too dry and brittle.
Mike.

Gotcha! Will look around for the better feathers.

Thanks Again

 

[djs12354]

FrequentTyer wrote:

djs12354 wrote:

Frequent Tyer - I used the peacock herl you gave me at the Tying Jam. Quite a difference from the herl I have from the tying kit to use. Where did you purchase it?

No idea Dave. I buy the peacock eye feathers almost anywhere I see them if I find the right coloration for stripped quills. The extras that are not right for stripping go into the herl collection. Any flyshop, J Stockard, FF Paradise, etc. should have them. Don't use the craft store stuff. Its too dry and brittle.
Mike.

Gotcha! Will look around for the better feathers.

Thanks Again

 

[Fishidiot]

Some big ole black Clousers.

Large, black streamers are a favorite of mine for the colder months on rivers and trout streams. Copper colored flash adds a nice touch.

 

[melvinp]

Gotta love black and red clousers,All ways work good up here in the north east corner.(Wyoming county PA)Pretty hot for northerns in the spring too.

 

[lv2nymph]

Tying some 18's and looking out the window watching it sleet and daydreaming about spring.

 

[LeTortAngler2]

" looking out the window watching it sleet and daydreaming about spring". And winter only just started. Would be nice to fish the hatches through the winter like they do down in the Southwest US.

 

[dc410]

Tied up a few to try to match the "mulberry hatch" for carp this year. I missed the mulberry action in 2014, but I did scout out some real good producing mulberry trees on sections of water that have real good carp populations. I will be keeping a close eye out for when the carp start circling and camping out under the branches of these trees when the mulberries mature and start dropping.

From what I understand it is just as important to emulate the "plop" of a natural mulberry falling into the water as the actual appearance of the pattern. I tied up two different patterns. One is a purple chenille for a sinking pattern, but I also tied in foam to the interior of the pattern to slow the sink rate like a natural mulberry. The other is a spun deer hair version which I have included .015 lead wire on the shank to help with the "plop" and maybe sink it just below the surface or keep it in the film. Fishing these two patterns in a tandem rig could be a real blast. Kind of hoping not to double up on carp :-D . This is going to be a real experiment and I am sure I will be making adjustments to these patterns in order to obtain the presentation that I am hoping to achieve. Ultimately, I guess the carp will be the judge of the effectiveness of these patterns.

 

[GenCon]

John, they are pretty awesome. That sounds like so much fun. I have to try the carpin sometime.

GenCon

 

[lv2nymph]

Cool John, nice looking berries :roll: don't take that the wrong way. :-D definately wanna hear how it goes with those.

 

[BREECHESANGLER]

Nice mulberry pattern. I am sure you'll get some on them. Nice job.

 

[jay348]

carp stuff as well...little ripoff of dc's crayfish on the left.

 

[BREECHESANGLER]

Tied some nice pheasant tails. Mostly in size 16's and can't wait to use them.

 

[GenCon]

jay348 wrote:
carp stuff as well...little ripoff of dc's crayfish on the left.

I also bet they would be good for smallies. Nice ties.

GenCon