Green Drake Spinners

Okay, also called the coffin fly. Big assed bug, and therein lies the
problem. Who uses what for the extended body? I've just ordered some white
porcupine quills. I've also seen a 4X long #4 streamer hook with a dubbed
body. Thinking about doing the same, but just wrapping it in white foam
(better floatation).
Any other ideas?

--
Frank Reid
Reverse email to reply

Frank Reid wrote:
Okay, also called the coffin fly. Big assed bug, and therein lies the
problem. Who uses what for the extended body? I've just ordered
some white porcupine quills. I've also seen a 4X long #4 streamer
hook with a dubbed body. Thinking about doing the same, but just
wrapping it in white foam (better floatation).
Any other ideas?

I'm using size 8 2xl dry fly hooks (Orvis 1638, TMC 5212, Mustad 94831).
Also a few 10s. Not bothering with anything fussy or fancy - a standard
Catskill style dry, a big honking one. Tying them with a cream colored body
(a little light olive and tan mixed in). Fishing in the dark, I expect that
to be close enough for either duns or spinners.
--
Stan Gula
http://gula.org/roffswaps

"Stan Gula" wrote in
news:j%Wde.19646$3h7.6262@trndny05:

Frank Reid wrote:
Okay, also called the coffin fly. Big assed bug, and therein lies
the problem. Who uses what for the extended body? I've just ordered
some white porcupine quills. I've also seen a 4X long #4 streamer
hook with a dubbed body. Thinking about doing the same, but just
wrapping it in white foam (better floatation).
Any other ideas?

I'm using size 8 2xl dry fly hooks (Orvis 1638, TMC 5212, Mustad
94831). Also a few 10s. Not bothering with anything fussy or fancy -
a standard Catskill style dry, a big honking one. Tying them with a
cream colored body (a little light olive and tan mixed in). Fishing
in the dark, I expect that to be close enough for either duns or
spinners.

My best night ever on Penns was during a coffin fly fall. I bought a local
pattern, basically a big white feather tied onto the hook. Worked like a
charm

Scott

"Frank Reid" moc.deepselbac@diersicnarf wrote


Okay, also called the coffin fly.

try a feather ( duck breast feathers work great) reversed. Leave a couple
fibers sticking out for tails and it makes a very light weight extended body

here is a quick look at what I mean on a real ( western :-) Green Drake ....
it could be tied a bit more compacted and slimmer to good result, but a fish
ate this one last year

http://www.kimshew.com/reversed.jpg

"Larry L" wrote in news:bC4ee.698642
:

http://www.kimshew.com/reversed.jpg

That's essentially the fly I was talking about, but mine had no dubbed
body-- just the reversed feather tied on near the thorax. I can't remember
what the hackle was.

I stole the fly off of a friend who picked some up at flyfisherman's
paradise on the way into camp.

Scott

"Scott Seidman" wrote

That's essentially the fly I was talking about, but mine had no dubbed
body-- just the reversed feather tied on near the thorax. I can't
remember
what the hackle was.



probably a 'two feather may" .... I added some dubbing to try and help hold
a giant wing and some hackle in place .... and, I recently got some dubbing
closer to the feather color ... ah, for the next time ( hopefully late June
'05 ) G ..... but it probably isn't really needed, the link posted by
flyfisher@ shows the fly ..... it's a good "big mayfly" tie

For more on the two feather mayfly go to
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...40703fotw.html

Dave

On Tue, 3 May 2005 21:41:13 -0400, "Frank Reid"
moc.deepselbac@diersicnarf wrote:

Okay, also called the coffin fly. Big assed bug, and therein lies the
problem. Who uses what for the extended body? I've just ordered some white
porcupine quills. I've also seen a 4X long #4 streamer hook with a dubbed
body. Thinking about doing the same, but just wrapping it in white foam
(better floatation).
Any other ideas?

wrote:

For more on the two feather mayfly go to
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...40703fotw.html

Cool looking fly, but aren't they very (one-fish) fragile?

JR

JR wrote in :

wrote:

For more on the two feather mayfly go to
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...40703fotw.html

Cool looking fly, but aren't they very (one-fish) fragile?

JR

I seem to lose them in bushes about the same rate I lose my other dry
flies!

Haven't found them to be overly fragile, but then again, I don't get too
upset about a fly that gives up its life for a fish.

Scott

"JR" wrote


Cool looking fly, but aren't they very (one-fish) fragile?



No, they aren't that fragile .... duck feathers are actually pretty tough.
But remember they are ( by yours truly anyway) used to imitate the big
drakes (green, brown, gray and hex ) in the dun stage which means you are
fishing to rising fish and maybe the biggest ones you'll see rise that year
.... you don't cast these things over and over to search the water, in
general, and the fish you do cast to are worth tying something special to
please.

Now for 'float' One big problem with the drakes is that most style ties,
if dressed big enough, become heavy and sit low in the film creating a very
poor 'foot print' for a dun. That is why this very light weight feather
body is so nice, these flies, well tied, ride on the tips of the hackle (
tied thorax dun like ) yet are still huge .... they give a good 'foot print'
and a good through the window view of a huge wing ( a key point with western
Green Drakes and why I use big hen feathers for the wings and dubbing to
help keep them upright ) and body.

This is one case, imnvho, where 'shape and look in the vise' is nowhere near
as important as 'float' .... i.e. how high and how much of the fly floats.

In Frank Reid's case, wanting a spinner fake, it would be even MORE
important, since a dun floating too low because it's too heavy might be
taken as emerging, but a spinner is a very light weight empty shell ( see
through white in the coffin fly it's so empty? ) that very likely barely
shows a 'foot print' on the water but is still very big ...overall weight
becomes a key design feature