Flies Like The DHE An Over Simplification?

[Wildfisher]

The DHE has been around a while now and very, very  well publicised. Reading this and other fly fishing forums, it's not a fly that  a lot of folk use. Why not?  It's easy to tie once you have got the  hang of it although fair to say many folk have  bugger of a job getting it to float on anything but its side! Let's be honest, it's not a really popular fly, at least not as popular as one may  have though it would be.

Could it be that its main failure in becoming popular is that it attempts to oversimplify? Might it be that for many (if not most) anglers  having and using a variety of flies is part of the fun of the game? Personally I have had far more success with klinks and particularly standard parachute patterns (which are also easy to tie once you get the hang of it) but that might just be because I use them more and have far more confidence in them. I have a box of DHE's in various sizes and I can't recall having tied one on the whole last season.

What do you think?

[Wildfisher]

That might be part of it George, but I don't think it's a big factor. Even amongst fly fishers who tie their own it's not hugely popular – or at least does not seem to be.

[haresear]

The DHE is not a fly I have used a lot, but I did OK with it on rivers this season on a couple of days. I tend to use it in a size 12/10 when there are bigger flies around like March Browns. The deer hair wing is a bit bulky and chunky to my eyes for imitating the smaller olives. I prefer a snowshoe hare emerger or a sunk body F-fly or a Klink on a smaller hook for that job.

I do tend to try other flies first and mainly resort to the DHE when I'm fishing NZ style with a nymph tied off the bend of the dry. I find hanging a nymph off it forces the fly to sit right.

Like any fly, it is not always the answer. It is just another weapon in my armoury which gets occasional use.

Alex

 

[aliferste]

Cant tie DHE - can never get them to sit right - what I can tie though is a mean comparadun, which is essentially the same but on a straight hook - seems to do the job. If I need an emerger I use a klink.

Quite fancy seeing a walkthrough though of using snowshoes hare as a wing on an emerger though - if someone fancies doing it I would really appreciate it 

Anyway, I think it is possible to fish with half a dozen flies on a river for the season and get away with it.

[haresear]

Alistair,

Just follow this, http://www.danica.com/flytier/steps/dhe/dhe.htm

but substitute snowshoe hare and you should hopefully  end up with something better than this..  http://www.wild-fishing-scotland.co.uk/flydatabase/locationdetail.php?loc=1871

I'll bet you like I, have more than 6 patterns in the various boxes that we all own?

Alex

[Traditionalist]

Cant tie DHE - can never get them to sit right - what I can tie though is a mean comparadun, which is essentially the same but on a straight hook - seems to do the job. If I need an emerger I use a klink.

Quite fancy seeing a walkthrough though of using snowshoes hare as a wing on an emerger though - if someone fancies doing it I would really appreciate it 

Anyway, I think it is possible to fish with half a dozen flies on a river for the season and get away with it.

You might like these;

http://www.spooled.com.au/article:2:Ash_'Snowshoe'_Emerger

http://www.crosscurrentguideservice.com/rosenbauer.htm

http://www.orvis.com/intro.asp?subject=3197  ( I have done very well with this one! )

http://hipwader.com/2002/bunny-foot-emerger

TL
MC

[Tim]

Size 14 dark hares mask snowshoe emerger was far and away my river fly of the season this year. Stripped quill version an alternative. Caught fish on chalkstreams like the Meon, Dever and Itchen. The Barle and Little Dart in the South West and on the Merkland and Caithness burns. Barely tied anything else on before lunch and not a lot after.

I've never had an issue with getting them to float right. My theory is that the more wing there is the more likely you are to have problems. Mine tend to be skinny and scruffy with not much wing (certainly less than Alex's) and plenty of spiky thorax.

I've only ever had sporadic success with the DHE on lochs and have never been as convinced of it as I am on rivers...and confidence is everything. I'd take a dark claret sedge most times.

Tim

[.D.]

 :wall2

The F Fly is simple to tie (as said already) and popular. The various hackle-less versions of the Elk Hair Caddis do the same job for people who don't like CDC. And it doesn't make a lot of difference if some of the floatant leeks onto the body :wink:

Both of the above options are as simple and effective as it gets, and accordingly popular.

I'd say the main reason the DHE isn't that popular (though it seems pretty popular to me :?) is that there are plenty of other flies with a sunk abdomen that do the same job at least as well.

For an allegedly simple fly a lot of people do have problems tying it and getting it to fish right. All that stuff about only greasing the thorax, and spitting on the abdomen etc.

It isn't a great floater either.


Not a fan.

Whatever works for you though 

:devil;


.D.

[.D.]

Cant tie DHE - can never get them to sit right - what I can tie though is a mean comparadun, which is essentially the same but on a straight hook - seems to do the job. If I need an emerger I use a klink.

Quite fancy seeing a walkthrough though of using snowshoes hare as a wing on an emerger though - if someone fancies doing it I would really appreciate it 

Anyway, I think it is possible to fish with half a dozen flies on a river for the season and get away with it.

Just tie a Usual on a curved hook, but without a tail  . Don't make the abdomen too "buggy".


( I think it's only flies with semi-upright deerhair posts that people have trouble getting to sit right - hare foot fur tends to give a bigger spread of supporting fibres "off upright" on the "other" side if it does try to lean over).

Cheers,

.D.

[.D.]

.D.  the DHE is by far the easiest sunk abdomen flee to see from distance.  Even in small sizes it is fairly easy to spot from afar.

......................................
Cheers

Ardbeg

Ardbeg,

How can that be so?

You can use just about any material you like for the post on a klinkhamer style fly( including flared deer hair, ) - there are even variations on the theme using split bunches of calf tail. Or any colour of yarn you like.

I'm just using the Klinkhamer as an arbitrary example.

Best wishes,

.D.