What I've been tying
 

Howdy,

Even though my trip to Graham County, NC is 3 months away, I've been
spending a fair amount of time at the vise. While I was watching
basketball yesterday, I figured I'd get my little Optio S40 out and take
some photos so y'all can see exactly how good the macro setting is on my
camera. :-)

Some are regional flies, like:

Thunderhead w/synthetic wing:
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/thunderhead.jpg
NC Wulff w/synthetic wing: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/ncwulff.jpg
Secret Weapon: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/secret.jpg
Tellico: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/tellico01.jpg
Yellow softhackle whose name I forget:
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/softhackle.jpg
Variation on the "yallerhammer":
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/yaller.jpg
Another variation on the "yallerhammer":
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/yallerhammer.jpg
And a yellow palmer: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/yellpalmer.jpg

Others are standard ties:

Para Adams: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/adams.jpg
Para ant: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/ant.jpg
Beetle with a foam "indicator back":
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/beetle.jpg
Lime Trude: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/lime%20trude.jpg
Fluttering caddis: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/flutteringcaddis.jpg
Green stimulator: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/gstimulator.jpg
Royal stimulator: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/rstimulator.jpg
Yellow stimulator: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/ystimulator.jpg
Renegade: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/renegade.jpg

Enjoy!


Chuck Vance

Chuck, nice flies.
What camera set up did you use to photograph them?

--
Stev Lenon 91B20 '68-'69
When the dawn came up like thunder

http://web.tampabay.rr.com/stevglo/i...age92kword.htm

Nicely done flies and nicely photographed. They should work very well for
opportunisticly feeding trout in the relatively sterile waters where you
intend to use them.
One minor suggestion: for selective trout in relatively fertile waters (e.g.
Penns or the Henry's Fork) you should consider tying them much more
sparsely, especially the tails. Even though many of those patterns are
considered "regional", tied appropriately, they will work well almost any
where trout are present.

--
Bob Weinberger
La, Grande, OR

place a dot between bobs and stuff and remove invalid to send email
"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...
Howdy,

Even though my trip to Graham County, NC is 3 months away, I've been
spending a fair amount of time at the vise. While I was watching
basketball yesterday, I figured I'd get my little Optio S40 out and take
some photos so y'all can see exactly how good the macro setting is on my
camera. :-)

Some are regional flies, like:

Thunderhead w/synthetic wing:
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/thunderhead.jpg
NC Wulff w/synthetic wing: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/ncwulff.jpg
Secret Weapon: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/secret.jpg
Tellico: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/tellico01.jpg
Yellow softhackle whose name I forget:
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/softhackle.jpg
Variation on the "yallerhammer":
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/yaller.jpg
Another variation on the "yallerhammer":
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/yallerhammer.jpg
And a yellow palmer: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/yellpalmer.jpg

Others are standard ties:

Para Adams: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/adams.jpg
Para ant: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/ant.jpg
Beetle with a foam "indicator back":
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/beetle.jpg
Lime Trude: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/lime%20trude.jpg
Fluttering caddis: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/flutteringcaddis.jpg
Green stimulator: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/gstimulator.jpg
Royal stimulator: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/rstimulator.jpg
Yellow stimulator: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/ystimulator.jpg
Renegade: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/renegade.jpg

Enjoy!


Chuck Vance

"Conan The Librarian" wrote

Enjoy!



I did !!

Bob Weinberger wrote:

Nicely done flies and nicely photographed.

Thanks, Bob.

They should work very well for
opportunisticly feeding trout in the relatively sterile waters where
you
intend to use them.
One minor suggestion: for selective trout in relatively fertile
waters (e.g.
Penns or the Henry's Fork) you should consider tying them much more
sparsely, especially the tails. Even though many of those patterns
are
considered "regional", tied appropriately, they will work well almost
any
where trout are present.

Interesting. So which flies would you recommend that I watch the
tails, etc.? The reason I ask is because I tie "by the book"; I only
have a couple of trips per year when I get to fish for "wild" trout, so
I tie what I hope will work and only get to test the flies on those
trips.

The recipes for Wulffs of various types have fairly bushy tails, as
do the Stimulators. I try to make my mayfly imitations pretty sparse.

So do you recommend that the Stimulators and Wulffs be sparser too?

I appreciate your comments. That's just what I was looking for.


Chuck Vance

"Conan The Librarian" wrote
Enjoy!


Chuck Vance

Thanks for the pics -- nice tyes.

Do you have a recipe for that "renegade"? Looks like a nice fly.

Thanks,
Dan

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
ps.com...

Interesting. So which flies would you recommend that I watch the
tails, etc.? The reason I ask is because I tie "by the book"; I only
have a couple of trips per year when I get to fish for "wild" trout, so
I tie what I hope will work and only get to test the flies on those
trips.

The recipes for Wulffs of various types have fairly bushy tails, as
do the Stimulators. I try to make my mayfly imitations pretty sparse.

So do you recommend that the Stimulators and Wulffs be sparser too?

I appreciate your comments. That's just what I was looking for.


Chuck Vance

Chuck,
Over the years I have gravitated to sparser and sparser ties, and my success
has increased comensurately. Now one may have nothing to do with the other,
and my increased success may be simply due to improved fishing skills, but I
have had enough experiences, where simply going to a sparser tie brought
takes from fish that had ignored or given me refusals to a bushier tie of
the same pattern, to believe that there is often an advantage to going
sparse. I find this true even for Wulffs and Stimulators unless the flow is
very heavy and choppy such that the added surface area helps in flotation.
For instance, my own preference for stimulator tails would be at least a
third to a half less bulk than on those you pictured. Even on wets (eg. your
Secret Weapon & the Yellow Soft Hackle), unless I were fishing pocket water,
or over opportunistic trout, or under reduced visibility water conditions, I
have done better with flies that have 1/3 to 1/2 less bulk in the hackles
and/or tails than on the two shown. Of course none of this applies to ties
such as the Yallerhammer where its almost a case of "the bushier the
better".


--
Bob Weinberger
La, Grande, OR

place a dot between bobs and stuff and remove invalid to send email

Bob Weinberger wrote:

Nicely done flies and nicely photographed. They should work very well for
opportunisticly feeding trout in the relatively sterile waters where you
intend to use them.
One minor suggestion: for selective trout in relatively fertile waters (e.g.
Penns or the Henry's Fork) you should consider tying them much more
sparsely, especially the tails. Even though many of those patterns are
considered "regional", tied appropriately, they will work well almost any
where trout are present.

even here, sparser ties seem to do better. except when they don't... g

jeff

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...
Howdy,

Even though my trip to Graham County, NC is 3 months away, I've been
spending a fair amount of time at the vise. While I was watching
basketball yesterday, I figured I'd get my little Optio S40 out and take
some photos so y'all can see exactly how good the macro setting is on my
camera. :-)
(links snipped)
Chuck Vance

Hi Chuck,
Thanks for the pics. At a casual glance I suspect the Secret Weapon and
the Yellow Soft Hackle pattern might be "sneaky" effective. (allowing for
variations of colors) And probably as a dropper. But I haven't fished that
part of the US in many years.
Have fun.
BestWishes,
DaveMohnsen
Denver
(an aside, I'd use a little sparser hackle for the the right coast guys. I
use heavier sometimes for the Rocky Mountain areas. But I catch most of my
fishes with sometimes a sparser hackle)

Bob Weinberger wrote:

Chuck,
Over the years I have gravitated to sparser and sparser ties, and my success
has increased comensurately. Now one may have nothing to do with the other,
and my increased success may be simply due to improved fishing skills, but I
have had enough experiences, where simply going to a sparser tie brought
takes from fish that had ignored or given me refusals to a bushier tie of
the same pattern, to believe that there is often an advantage to going
sparse. I find this true even for Wulffs and Stimulators unless the flow is
very heavy and choppy such that the added surface area helps in flotation.
For instance, my own preference for stimulator tails would be at least a
third to a half less bulk than on those you pictured. Even on wets (eg. your
Secret Weapon & the Yellow Soft Hackle), unless I were fishing pocket water,
or over opportunistic trout, or under reduced visibility water conditions, I
have done better with flies that have 1/3 to 1/2 less bulk in the hackles
and/or tails than on the two shown. Of course none of this applies to ties
such as the Yallerhammer where its almost a case of "the bushier the
better".

I really appreciate your input. A wonderful side-effect of
following your advice will be that less bulky tails automatically equals
less bulky bodies, especially when tying with deer or elk. It's also
easier to handle smaller amounts.

So I'll tie up some more with your suggestions in mind, thanks.


Chuck Vance

Jeff Miller wrote:

even here, sparser ties seem to do better. except when they don't... g

Well, gee ... thanks. :-)

Seriously, do you have any suggestions on those ties? I was really
hoping that you or some of the other Nawth Cackalackians might have some
advice.


Chuck Vance

Daniel-San wrote:

Thanks for the pics -- nice tyes.

Do you have a recipe for that "renegade"? Looks like a nice fly.

The one pictured was tied on a #16 hook (TMC SP-BL100). It's black
thread, a gold tinsel tag, brown rear hackle, peacock body (wrapped in a
"rope" around the thread for durability) and creme front hackle.

Not really a lot to it. It fishes as a dry, and still works even
when it starts to sink slightly. There's even a wet fly version of the
renegade, IIRC.


Chuck Vance

Conan The Librarian wrote:

Jeff Miller wrote:

even here, sparser ties seem to do better. except when they don't... g


Well, gee ... thanks. :-)

Seriously, do you have any suggestions on those ties? I was really
hoping that you or some of the other Nawth Cackalackians might have some
advice.


Chuck Vance

chuck - i'm not a tier, but i also thought the dries a bit bulky,
especially the tails. i think almost all of those patterns will work.
not many of us swing wets in nc. most of us do very little nymphing
either. my preferred fishing is hiking up the stream, dry-fly fishing
the likely spots...3-5 attempts at the most-likely spots and move on. i
guess i'm as much of an impatient traveler on the stream as i am a
fisherman, though i've slowed a bit in the recent years. my go to flies
are parachute adams, elk hair caddis, humpies, stimulators, bwo, trudes.
if the fish are in the mood, they always seem to work. but, i've also
done well in the summer and fall with some of those stupid looking
western chernobyl-type things... so who the f**k knows. my
suggestion...don't obsess, start out with a parachute adams or ehc, have
fun, enjoy the scenery of our streams, and get your legs in shape. g

jeff

Jeff Miller wrote:

chuck - i'm not a tier, but i also thought the dries a bit bulky,
especially the tails. i think almost all of those patterns will work.
not many of us swing wets in nc. most of us do very little nymphing
either.

The same goes for me. I just figured I should have a few subsurface
flies in my box in case I get desperate. :-)

my preferred fishing is hiking up the stream, dry-fly fishing
the likely spots...3-5 attempts at the most-likely spots and move on. i
guess i'm as much of an impatient traveler on the stream as i am a
fisherman, though i've slowed a bit in the recent years. my go to flies
are parachute adams, elk hair caddis, humpies, stimulators, bwo, trudes.
if the fish are in the mood, they always seem to work. but, i've also
done well in the summer and fall with some of those stupid looking
western chernobyl-type things... so who the f**k knows. my
suggestion...don't obsess, start out with a parachute adams or ehc, have
fun, enjoy the scenery of our streams, and get your legs in shape. g

Hmmm, let's see ... my legs are about the only part of me that *is*
in shape, I always start with a para Adams, and I'm anticipating
sightseeing almost as much as the fishing.

Sounds like good advice to me. :-)

As for not obsessing -- gee, that would take all the fun out of it. :-)


Chuck Vance (seriously, thanks for the advice)