Howdy swappers!
Today I posted my contribution for the 2007-Swap to Joe. Normally I like to
add some text on the tags about the pattern - just for the fun of it.
Personally I like flies and the stories that are behind 'm, so I have this
weird (?) idea that I might do someone out there a favour with mine.
In this case this would be a matter of lots of text in combination with a
tiny simple fly, so I thought posting in ROFF would be easier.
This year's contribution is perhaps the most simple, easy to tie and
unsightly contribution ever:
*The F-fly*
Nevertheless I'll come up with this pattern because at the same time it is
one of the most productive dry fly patterns (at least on European waters) I
know. It can imitate small caddisflies, stoneflies, midges, emergers and so
on. It was developed by the Slovenian master Marjan Fratnik in the early 80's.
More as a concept than as an imitation of an exact insect. By playing with
the body-colour and size it can imitate a lot of species.
At the same time it is indeed easy to tie and cheap. All materials Fratnik
used were thread and CDC fibers. Basicly this is the whole fly, allthough
there are lots of personal variations using dubbing or CDC for the body
and/or the head. Keep in mind, however, to tie the body slim and slender. I
have tied the swapfly (imitating a yellow sally) in my most successful way
as follows:
Hook: thin wired dry fly hook (e.g. TMC 902bl size 16) in small sizes 16 to
20.
Thread: tying-silk with colour to match the desired bodycolour (e.g. Yellow
8/0).
Attatch thread to the hook and wax it (this helps to keep the bodycolour as
you wish it should be - silk will change in colour when wet).
Form a thin body with some layers of silk over allmost the whole of the
hookshank. My personal variation: on the last layer I simply touch the waxed
silk with some fine dubbing (e.g. Orvis AntronHare yellow). This gives just
little more colour and fuzzyness to the body - I doubt however if this is
necessary for the succes of the pattern. Fratnik even tied the pattern
without a body.
Next tie in one ore two tips of CDC-feathers on top as a tiny wing pointing
backwards to a point slightly beyond the body.
Form a small head with the thread and whipfinish.
That's all. Easy as that. This way it's possible to tie a whole hatch of
flies in a very short time.
Some comments:
Don't make the fly too bulky. It should have a slender appearance.
For the same reason: don't make the wing too large. Two points at the max.
Allthough Fratnik says one can cut the wing to the desired length it's much
more natural to just use the tips and let the individual fibers uneven if
they are.
Be carefull with laquer on the head. It can ruin the CDC easily wich makes
the fly unusable. IMHO a good whipfinish will do.
This fly floats in the surface (I think that's the trigger of it's success).
Do not immediately change flies when it starts to sink as it will catch even
more fish when floating just under the surface.
The best way to refresh it is using DryShake or something like that. Never
use grease or oil, this ruins the wing.
This yellow version brought me a lot of trout and grayling over the years,
so I thought it was about time to honour the simple F-Fly by making it my
contribution to the swap.
There is lots ofadditional information on the web about the pattern. For the
most complete book about CDC-flies I humbly recommend the book by Leon
Links, named "Tying flies with CDC" edited by Merlin Unwin Books in the UK.
Hans van der Stroom
