Dec 31, 2009

Fly Tying Stand

I cranked this out of a chunk of butcher block a couple of days ago for a friends Xmas present.

I added some tools just for a visual effect.

New Year Flies

Now with-in reason...
Everyone who is identified as a follower of my blog and sends me their address in the next week or so will get a spankin new fly for the new year. Please share with your friends as well.
Now you may think this is just a shallow way to promote my site and get more followers.
...I guess you would be correct.

jamesodurbinii@gmail.com

Dec 27, 2009

Merry Christmas

Picked up one of the new William Joseph magnetic series for Xmas.

Also received a new pike taper and a box of misc. goodies. Only four more months to wait.

Dec 19, 2009

Step by step instructions.

Tie a chunk of white hair to the hook. This is the most important step. This chunk of hair must be solid to the hook or the fly will try to spin on the hook shaft. Trim off excess after each step. Do not worry about the head being flat as we will correct that with the peacock herl.


Add a bundle of sparkle. This is tied with holographic tinsel.


Add a second bunch of white calf hair.


Add a small bunch of white super hair. A couple loops around all the hair at this point will pull the gaps in the hair together.


Add the white super hair.


Add the white Peglusi fiber.


Add the blue Peglusi fiber.


Tie in a chunk of blue super hair.


Add your blue calf hair.


Add some blue crystal flash.


Tie on the top calf hair.


Add the side flash. Blue tinsel and silver holographic scales.


Finish off with some peacock hurl. This completes the top of the fly and makes the head triangular. This was why we did not worry about the fur being cut flat.


Put on a rubber band to control the body and add eyes.


Add epoxy and spin.


Trim the body as long as you want. I prefer a nice taper from the end of the calf hair to the end of the tail. The super hair only needs to be a couple inches longer than the calf hair. It is only added to give the body a transition from the Peglusi fiber to the calf hair.

The finished fly.

Dec 17, 2009

BIG BIG BIG

These flies were more of an experiment to try and find out how big I could tie a fly and keep the proportions with the materials I have. The bottom is the best of the two in my mind. They are almost thirteen inches long.

Dec 15, 2009

More big flies


This green fly is tied from a new material from me called Yack Hair. It is long and pliable, but has very little bulk. I will have to fish it and see if it makes a difference in the water. The blue is tied with Peglusi fiber.

Dec 8, 2009

Winter is really here

Tonight we are expecting our first winter storm and around 10 inches of snow. Four more months before I can look forward to throwing some flies, but I am not daunted. Another batch is turning on the dryer as we speak. I have added some yellow, black over red and some blue flies to the list.

Dec 3, 2009

Realistic minnow patterns

I find the concept of the hard realistic head and the moving rear of the fly as an interesting concept. I will have to try and incorperate it into some new flies.

Dec 1, 2009

Fly storage

I have started storing my flies in these seal able plastic bags. They are just like the ones you find in retail fly shops. It keeps the fly's flat and display nicely for selling.

Barbless hooks

In my search for some more hooks to use, I came across these. I have been using octopus or bait hooks for a few years now. These will be my new hooks of choice. I already use Gamakatsu's exclusively, and the barbless fit the bill. They come in nickle, red and green.