Wyatt's flies

[Bob Wyatt]

Those are my ties Fred.  Hans takes the pix.  He's good, huh?

[drumgerry]

OK I tied a few tonight and I would say that they are on the skinny side.  Probably a little less hair than the wing in the photo.  A bit of judicious trimming certainly helped the wing profile but it remains to be seen whether my versions will do the business for me.  Next time I'm out they'll be getting a test drive so I'll maybe post back with any results - ie fish caught, whether they floated or sank and anything else which might or might not be relevant.

Thanks for all the great info guys - this thread rocks!

Cheers

Gerry

[Bob Wyatt]

Don't you worry Gerry, they'll do great.  It's a bit early for the big claret DH Sedge on the lochs right now, but if you are going to fish the rivers, a skinny one in a size 14 with a hare's ear body will do fine in an olive hatch.

In June and July, though, it willserve you well on the northern lochs.

Bob

[Wildfisher]

Those are my ties Fred.  Hans takes the pix.  He's good, huh?

Yes, the flies and the photos are great.  Indoor "still life" photos are among the most difficult to get right. I was always impressed with the quality of the tackle photos  Magnus takes for FF+FT. He told me how  he does it, uses  reflectors and stuff like that. I suppose it's like everything,  results reflect attention to detail and preparation.

On the DHE in the photo - is that hare mask dyed or is it natural? It looks much darker than the stuff I have

[Bob Wyatt]

Fred,

The hare's mask is natural.  I get a lot of it in New Zealand.  The place is hoaching with them.  They are considered vermin and shot on sight, so there are a lot of hare's masks lying about.  I take the best fur off the masks, all the nice dark spiky stuff.

When I get a lot of it I blend it in a coffee grinder.

[drumgerry]

OK Bob here's one for you!!  Which of your flies do you think deserves a season long spot on the cast??  Thanks for the info about the DHS being better for later on.  Would the DHE be a better bet at this time of year?  

Last night I was looking through "Trout Hunting" and especially at the pictures of the flies.  Fred's right to say they are fantastic images - and a real help when tying.  For the first time I noticed your DHE tied with stripped quill.  And having some dyed peacock eyes (from Dave Downie) I tied a few in his vintage claret shade.  And then gave the quill a coating or three with Hard as Nails.  For the first time I got the wing what to me looks like spot on - the right quantity of deer hair in the right proportion   .  It was a wee experiment but I wonder if it might work.  Whaddya think?  

Cheers

Gerry

[Bob Wyatt]

Gerry,

I like the DHE and Dirty Duster for the early season, but a sparsely tied DHS will do the business as well for the olive hatches.  

A small DHE is very good for the grannom hatch, just tie it with a nice dark hare abdomen.

The stripped quill body will definitely work, and is a decent buzzer pattern, but I prefer the hare's mask bodies to stripped quill for olive hatches, nice and buggy.


DH Sedge (photo Hans Weilenmann)
http://www.danica.com/flytier/

[drumgerry]

Thanks again Bob and now Allan (there's a Dynaking with your name on it (for as long as the demo takes anyway!) if you're ever down by Tamdhu).

Moving on now to the Dirty Duster - I think that's a fairly easy tie and certainly easier than the DHE and DHS.  I've tied one just now with Hare's Mask and Grizzle hackle.  My question is about the clipping of the hackle - do you clip it straight across to leave the hackle in a horizontal plane either side of the hook if you know what I mean.  Or do you extend the cutting upwards to give a wedge shaped hackle?  And I also wanted to ask if it'd be worth extending the principal to tying a few with some of the nice grizzle hackles I have dyed in various shades of olive?

It's not often you get a chance to quiz the originators of patterns about the finer points so this is great!

Cheers

Gerry

[Bob Wyatt]

Gerry,

Good questions.  You're on the right track there, definitely.  It's finer points like that make all the difference.


Dirty Duster  (photo Hans Weilenmann)
http://www.danica.com/flytier/

I do both. I clip the DD straight across, so the hackle sticks out to the side to make it ride higher (for fast water), and I also trim it as you say for a deeper 'hang', like the DHE.

The DD was originally meant as a 'DHE for Dummies', although I always think the DHE is dumb enough.  The D Duster is much easier and faster to tie, and it's become a real favourite among some of my pals.  I think Allan Liddle ties an olive version that he vouches for.

I tie it in Blue Dun and Grizzly as well.  The badger is my all time favourite though - I like the visual density of the black centre of the badger, and its 'halo' of transparent hackle.

It makes a good emerging buzzer in small sizes too, and a good variant is a black ostrich herl body with the silver badger hackle.  

Cheers,
Bob

[drumgerry]

Great stuff again Bob.

I think I'm one of the "dummies" in the "...for dummies" category!  

One last question re the DD - do you build up a wee thorax before winding the hackle through it?  Or is the clipping of the hackle enough to give a suggestion of a thorax do you think?

Cheers

Gerry