4 replies to this topic

[Daxrkara]

Second Full dress Salmon fly on the books !  10 wings later and just shy of 2 weeks. Another step in thousands, I'm very happy with how this one finally came together. The wing finally set up last night and I pushed through to the end, I'm happy to be moving forward and I learned a lot with this one,  I think the head is way to big, the wing could use a bit more curve and could be higher from the body. The Tailing and veiling could be more defined and less....sprawled out. I'm sure there is more ! thank you Jim and Ted for all of your insight and suggestions on my first and I would still appreciate anything you have to say on this one !  thanks for looking !

 

-Dax   IMG_2276.JPG   176.18K   90 downloads

[jgogg]

Progress!  As a matter of proportion, you started the tip tinsel farther around the bend than is traditional.  If you use your thread in bobbin as a plumb bob, the thread should be no farther towards the bend than the barb.  Even shorter is common.  Then, the butt will fall around the hook point.  Also, the wing is probably long for the hook shank length.  There is a line drawing in Kelson that is a good indication of traditional proportions.  You can likely find it on the internet.  I'm not sure you should worry much about head size right now.  There is a school of thought that as long as you don't use too many thread wraps, the head will be the size it has to be to cover the materials under it.  There are a few things you can do to keep the stack as short as possible:  1)  Wet the wing barbs at the tie down before finally tightening down the wing.  2)  Put things beside the wing rather than on top of it that can be done.  (This will make the head wider rather than taller.) 3)  Use fewer barbs in the wing.  4)  Use barbs from feathers that have thinner barbs.  (Goose, swan and florican are thinner than turkey, for instance).  5)  Finally, there is the more modern technique of staggering the tie down of materials at the head so that there is less "stuff" under the head.  

[ted patlen]

looking good...lots of adrenalin ......RELAX and enjoy the trip.

 

the wing (nice job) isn't the only part. Let's just think, you spoke about not being happy with the tail and topping which means you're on your way into the world of "what is good"?  That is a long, difficult and rewarding quest.  

 

You have color, textures and in the case of crests glossiness that are very different from bird to bird  and if the birds were healthy or not.

 

body hackles, collar materials etc.   barb length, thickness, fluffiness, taper, coloration, and in the case of guinea or teal, the  type and  size of the patterning.

 

The only way to understand it all ( nobody can) is to play.  trying different styles, etc will cone along.

 

to appreciate the subtle qualities of tying I suggest you use cheapo bare hooks and try different maneuvers.  

 

examples.... just make body hackles experimenting with tapers and shaft stiffnesses. how many turns of hackle will it take to make 4, or 5 or 6  etc turns then get a nice length of

fibers in the throat area.  

 

crests...come in many lengths.  chasing the correct length for a fly is time consuming at first.  try finding a crest for the topping that is exactly the length of the wing ...try not to cut them to length.  for tails, it's almost the same thinking.   again practice practice..etc

 

throats/collars. what length fibers? these feathers (like guinea) have short, heavy shafts some with longer more flexible shafts (rachis). they all have sweet spots to look for.

 

dubbing...what is sparse? heavy? 

 

tinse....widths and thicknesses

silk....do you use 4 strand? 1 strand?   

 

head size...this is arguably the most important factor when tying flies.  how many wraps are needed yo hold stuff in place? waxed? not waxed? size?  18/0 diameter threads versus 6/0...what the hell is a denier!!!!!!  

 

WHAT IS CORRECT !!!     Your idea of correct/wrong is entirely up to you.  you can consider this "style".  

 

how do you get to Carnegie Hall?

[geraldsherbrook]

Dear DAX, 

 

CONTINUE YOUR 'learning path' and please don't give up !!!

 

Geert

 

[Daxrkara]

Thank you guys for all the pointers and encouragement. Very excited to keep moving forward.