Why's it so good?

[peepingcaddis]

I catch more on this than on conventional mayflies, on tough river fish, any idea why?

[silversedge]

Gay troot?

[sage]

Hi Steve.

How are you keeping?

I think it's because the fish don't read the same books as us

If it works keep using it, you know what it's like with the grayling flies, sometime just because it different.

[peepingcaddis]

Gay trout, inspired!
Fish don't read books either, but this thing just has something that they go loopy for.
Very interesting.

[gus262]

I do well with pink dry flies - a lot smaller than that though. I have a wee pattern that I fish in the #16 - 20 bracket:



I've always nurtured a theory that it has something to do with the way pink absorbs part of light spectrum and reflects other parts. Insects have evolved camouflage, light absorption plays a part in camouflage , and I can't help but wonder if that's why pink flies do well. It never works as well during the brighter part of the day - that's when the duns, olives and harelugs come into their own - but early doors and late evening, I do very well with my wee pinky.

Louis Mountbatten came up with a pink that he used to camouflage his destroyer fleet, and I believe the army use pink on vehicles in desert terrain, precisely because of its ability to absorb light. There might be something in it, but it's difficult to apply a fair test to gather quantifiable data on something like this. Anecdotally, at least for me, pink's a great fly colour when the sun is low.

[peepingcaddis]

Brilliant Gus, and I love that little fly, a spinner?

It has to be with the light and the way it's absorbed at the surface?

[gus262]

spinner...emerger... whatever's trapped in the meniscus at the time

I reckon the light absorption has something to do with it, yeah. Magenta is pretty much half and half blue light and red light, and the light at dawn and dusk has a definite reddish glow to it. If only I'd paid attention in physics lectures, instead of reading Trout and Salmon or trying to chat up Alison, I might be able to elaborate more fluently!

[andypandy]

Originally Posted by silversedge

Gay troot?

hahahah I was gonna suggest that too!

Andy

---------- Post added at 02:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:21 PM ----------

Originally Posted by gus262

I do well with pink dry flies - a lot smaller than that though. I have a wee pattern that I fish in the #16 - 20 bracket:



.

Can i ask how you tie the cdc wings in on this pattern? After all the years i have been tying its one thing i have never done.

[A. Fluker]

Originally Posted by peepingcaddis

this thing just has something that they go loopy for.
Very interesting.

Pardonnez-moi ce que tu veux dire?

[gus262]

Originally Posted by andypandy

Can i ask how you tie the cdc wings in on this pattern? After all the years i have been tying its one thing i have never done.

I tie in two or four (in two pairs) CDC feathers depending on the size. Tips pointing backwards,fibres stroked upwards (dampening helps), and on the sides of the hook. Just a couple of turns across the bottom third of the feather and not too tight. Then, grab the butts and with a bit of manoeuvring, cross them over on top of the shank - the tips will swing out sideways and you can figure-of-eight another couple of loose-ish turns to keep them like that. Pull the butts so that the fibres continue to be squeezed into a more dense bunch and until you're happy with the length. Then pull on the thread properly tight and apply four more figure eight wraps to really lock them in. Trim the butts off, then, apply some fine sparse dubbing and figure eight a thorax with the rope - at this point I stroke both wings upwards, and the dubbing keeps them like that. If you look at the fly head or tail on, the profile should be like a shallow 'V' shape. Make sense?