Teal Blue & Silver

[flyfisher17]

Here's a fly I just tied, still pretty new to tying so take it easy .



Never tried this fly before and i had some trouble with the wing, must have went through about 5 feathers before i was happy enough with it .

I've watched videos on youtube from davie mcphail etc, on how to fold teal/mallard wings but I just cant do it right, not sure if its the feathers or if I'm just doing it wrong.

I'd appreciate any help/feedback,

Thanks.

[Ephemerella]

It's my favourite fly for herling, or shoalie sewin. Slightly rough and ready, but they are the ones that catch fish. I like it. Rolled wing is how I get with home shot wigeon; perferct proportion.

Is it oval gold ribbing? I like solid silver, never thought of changing other than I sometimes use red silk/varnish for the head.

[flyfisher17]

Nope the rib is just silver wire, must be the lighting .

Originally Posted by Ephemerella

It's my favourite fly for herling, or shoalie sewin. Slightly rough and ready, but they are the ones that catch fish. I like it. Rolled wing is how I get with home shot wigeon; perferct proportion.

Is it oval gold ribbing? I like solid silver, never thought of changing other than I sometimes use red silk/varnish for the head.

[dabhoy]

Nothing wrong with that wee fellow
Good to see some fresh blood posting up their flies we all have to start somewhere.

[wingman]

Very nice, my favourite seatrout fly is that, you'll get better with the wing rolling, the larger the feathers the better, if theyr'e too small theyr'e a pain in the a*"e, well done.

[flyfisher17]

Thanks for the replies, I think it was a larger feather I used, the smaller ones kept falling to bits.

[salmoman]

One of the Seatrout classics and a pretty damned good tying too.
Admittedly, not one of my favourites, but I do like it on the dropper.

Wings do take a bit of practice but you are definitely a quick study looking at that one.
Keep up the good work.

[mancfly]

Thats a good tying whether newcomer or not, flyfisher17, well done! Teal wings are notoriously difficult! Great photo too!

That pattern was the first one i ever tied, i was 11, so that would be 1962. All i had to go by was one of Tom Stewarts '50 favourite flies' series, i liked the colours, and used dads materials while he was at work. Unfortunately, Tom didn't state that you need to strip off the fluff from the hackle before tying in! I still remember dad coming home, laughed and put me right. That was the start of the addiction!

Keep up the good work, very promising!

[maharg]

Pretty good there my man.
As already stated teal is murder to get right. a lot of it is down to the quality of the feather, and anyway even the best wing ends up a mess after a couple of casts. And the fish dont care

[shpeil]

If I'd tied that, I'd be happy to fish it.

Not that the fish care, but I'd be particularly happy with:

- the overall proportions
- the way the tippet tail size has been chosen so that the middle black band is joined onto the end of the body while still keeping the tail in proportion
- that the wing isn't sticking up in the air.

For my next one, I'd be looking to:

- pinch and loop the wing slightly closer to where the hackle winding ends to avoid that tiny gap between the hackle and the back of the head
- trim the teal slightly closer then wind the thread from the front to avoid the cut ends sticking out by the eye
- fold the hackles back when winding and put one turn in front of the other to avoid catching the earlier wraps with the later wraps (think that's why you've got a couple of fibres hung up but I'm not sure), and
- carry on working on the wing.

All that, of course, would be entirely for my personal satisfaction, no other reason, and is just what I would (try to) do. Certainly not meant to be discouraging as I think the fly is good. At some point I'll get myself a camera and then you'll be able to tell that I have all these things i want to change about my own tyings - especially those teal wings which are a complete pain.

One tip I read on here - if you have a teal/mallard feather that's gotten a bit twisted/split, you can repair it by steaming it above the spout of a boiling kettle. It turns unusable feathers into useable ones.

All t'best

Neil

PS a bit of spit will keep the tip of the wing together for long enough to take a photo!