Hook: Partridge Patriot Grub & Buzzer K4AY #12
Thread: Semperfli Nanosilk 50D Black
Tail: 2-3 strands of Pearl Mylar cut short
Rib: Small Pearl Mylar
Abdomen: Peacock herl single layer
Thorax: Peacock herl double layer
Hackle: Ginger Cock
Hook: Partridge Klinkhamer 15BN #14
Thread: Semperfli Nanosilk 50D White
Rib: Hends Body Quills BQ-12 March Brown
Body: Mix Cream/Tan/Yellow Camel Dubbing
Gills: CDC Oiler Puff Cream
Wing: CDC Cream
Abdomen: Mix Cream/Tan/Yellow Camel Dubbing
Legs: Carabou fibres in split thread palmered over the abdomen then clipped underneath
Hook: Partridge Patriot Fine Dry SLD #18
Underbody: Yellow UTC 70D thread
Rib: Yellow UTC 70D thread tag coloured olive
Overbody: Hends Body Quills BQ-34 Lt Olive
Thread: Semperfli Nanosilk 30D Yellow
Wing: Natural CDC
Abdomen: Kapok Dubbing coloured yellow olive
Hook: Partridge Classic Spider L3A/S #14
Thread: Semperfli Nanosilk 30D Black
Body: 3 strands X-small black wire, 1 strand X-small silver wire. Coated with Clear Cure Goo Hydro
Hackle: Starling
Head: Peacock Herl
BFFI is always one of the highlights of the fly fishing and fly tying year, has been for a lot of years. By far the biggest and best show in Britain it’s been a great honour to have been invited to demonstrate at it for the last couple of years.
Along with the great fly tyers on tyers row the trade stands often have new materials and great tyers of their own to demonstrate them…. every year I come home having learned something new or improved in some way. It really is the show with something for everyone. Continue reading BFFI 2014
My preferred way of tying Sparkle Gnats and Griffiths Gnats has long been to wrap the body herl and hackle around the thread before winding the whole lot up the shank to form the body. There are a few advantages to doing it this way 1. It makes a stronger body. 2. If you use a good genetic hackle and just palmer it up the body it can act like a propeller and impart a lot of spin to the fly…. not good…. wrapping the hackle around the thread prevents this. and 3. The hackle footprint is a good bit more messy, like the fly in general, I like the slightly more chaotic look of the fly.
Continue reading Sparkle Gnat Step by Step
Continuing to play around with the new Semperfli Nano Silk Ultra 30D thread I thought I’d have a go at a little buzzer with it, the fly below is the result.
Hook: Mustad R30 #24
Thread: Semperfli Nano Silk Ultra 30D Grey
Rib: Semperfli Nano Silk Ultra 30D Red
Cheeks: Glo Brite No7 & No2
Breathers: Tag ends of the body thread folded other to give three lengths then cut to size
Body Finish: Clear Cure Goo Hydro
I remain very impressed with this thread, very strong and incredibly fine, I had to fold it over three times to get enough density of thread just to add breathers to a #24 fly. Same goes for the Clear Cure Goo Hydro, I thought I’d toil to get a thin even coat on a fly that size but it was a breeze. As I mentioned before in previous bog posts I’m not really one for tying or fishing tiny flies so this was more an experiment for me than something I’ll be tying a box full of and casting to Trout…. that said the thread and the Hydro makes the tying that bit easier so never say never.
Jim.
Probably my all time favourite fly, since it first found its way into my fly box well over 20 years ago it’s caught me more fish than any other fly I tie. If I was allowed one fly and one fly only I would take this one. Created by Craig Mathews it’s an evolution of Caucci & Nastasi’s Comparadun which in turn is an evolution of Fran Betters’ Haystack, in terms of translucency of the shuck though it’s very similar to Fran Betters’ Usual. Not a bad heritage all in.
Continue reading Sparkle Dun Step by Step
Early in the Trout season streamer flies can be particularly effective, Trout are hungry and baitfish imitations represent a good meal for a hungry fish. A lot of my early season streamer fishing is done on larger rivers like the Clyde with #4 – #10 longshank Woolly Buggers but Trout will chase and eat streamers regardless of where they live so for my local tributaries I scale down to smaller flies. On the smaller streams where the fish dont have so much time to follow a fly and be enticed by its action I pay a little more attention to profile while still allowing for some movement in the flies materials.This fly fits the bill and catches more than its fair share of fish.
There are a few fly tyers who really excel at the small stuff, Hans Weilenmann and Andy Baird jump to mind quickly. These guys tie simple elegant micro flies but also some really beautiful tiny flies and they tie them with a high degree of skill, I’m afraid I’m a bit more basic. What I look for in any fly that’s below a size 20 is just simplicity, if I can get the size and shape right I’m happy. If it’ll float for a decent period of time with no floatant applied so much the better as oil slicks around the fly stand out even more when the flies are so small.
So on to a couple of basic fly patterns that cover my needs. Aphids and Caenis.
Continue reading Aphids and Caenis Step by Steps
