What Are You Tying Today?

Boilermaker 1080.JPG


Boilermaker

Andrew Grillos

Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tip - Oval silver tinsel
Tail - Golden pheasant tippets
Butt - Chartreuse yarn
Back - Black foam strip
Ribbing - Oval silver tinsel
Body - Black yarn or dubbing (body = 1/2 shank length)
Wing case - Black foam strip
Hackle - Black or brown
Thorax - Black wool or dubbing
Head - Black foam from the wing case
Sighter - White foam strip

The Green Butt Skunk is arguably the most common and recognizable steelhead fly ever created. The Boilermaker is basically a foam Green Butt Skunk waking fly for steelhead. This fly is named The Boilermaker because when you’re skating flies for steelhead, you’re hoping for a fish to boil on your fly. This guy is easy to cast and pushes a nice little V wake.
 
like nearly all of us when we start out you are crowding the eye. back it off some and you'll find it much easier. Not sure why, but I still struggle with that at times.
 
Mwo10mwo said:
Working on some dry fly caddis sized 16. For whatever reason this fly is my kryptonite!
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If I may give you a piece of advice, you are using too much hair for your wing. You probably only need 1/3 of what you have on there. Also as tomgamber said make it a point to give some space for the hook eye.
 
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Mwo10mwo said:
Working on some dry fly caddis sized 16. For whatever reason this fly is my kryptonite!
View attachment 1641239778
Click to expand...
What the other guys said....push that spacing back a bit, a little less hair and also your choice in thread can help your progression and overall tying. When tying hair patterns you need a thread with the strength to be able to bite into that bundle and compress the hair to create a solid hold without breaking or causing unnecessary bulk.
A standard 8/0 uni is a tough thread to learn to tie hair patterns with....at least it was for me because I'm as heavy handed as a gorilla. 6/0 is strong enough but is going to bulk up quickly.
A strong yet thin thread like Semperfli 12/0 nano silk makes both concerns a breeze. Strong enough that you'd probably cut your finger before you broke it and thin enough that you can build those wings and heads without bulk.
 
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MJMFlyfisher said:
What the other guys said....push that spacing back a bit, a little less hair and also your choice in thread can help your progression and overall tying. When tying hair patterns you need a thread with the strength to be able to bite into that bundle and compress the hair to create a solid hold without breaking or causing unnecessary bulk.
A standard 8/0 uni is a tough thread to learn to tie hair patterns with....at least it was for me because I'm as heavy handed as a gorilla. 6/0 is strong enough but is going to bulk up quickly.
A strong yet thin thread like Semperfli 12/0 nano silk makes both concerns a breeze. Strong enough that you'd probably cut your finger before you broke it and thin enough that you can build those wings and heads without bulk.
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Sounds good. I have never tied with semperfli. I have only tied with UTC, Lagartun, and Danville. I will have to try out some semperfli!
 
Mwo10mwo said:
Sounds good. I have never tied with semperfli. I have only tied with UTC, Lagartun, and Danville. I will have to try out some semperfli!
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Semperfli Nanosilk is a great product. Very thin but extremely strong. It is a GSP thread. I highly recommend cutting it with a razor blade to get a clean cut off. It is extremely hard on scissors. I’ve been tying with it for several years now and I really like it.
 
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