Holberton - Winged Wet

[s fontinalis]

Was perusing some other blogs and forums today and i came across this fly.

I had most of the materials in my supply to tied it so i gave it a whirl
Differences is used from the original pattern are in italics
This is tied according to the Don Bastian interpretation.

Hook: Kamasan B175 Size 6
Tip: Gold tinsel (Silver Tinsel)
Tail: Barred Mandarin (woodduck), crimson, & yellow (goose) – married, with peacock sword *
Ribbing: Gold tinsel (Silver Tinsel)
Body: Rear ½ orange floss, front ½ peacock herl
Hackle: Crimson
Wing: Peacock sword topping Crimson, yellow, and barred Mandarin (woodduck) – married

Couple things to note.
This is the second time I've tied winged wets. The other, a Fontinalis Fin, did not come out anywhere nearly as well.
The tail on the right facing side (first pic) split after i tied it in, i didn't want to remove it afterward to try to fix it.
The rib material is the wrong color and too thick. I didnt have gold tinsel but really wanted to practice winged wets.
The peacock sword topping it too high. It should lie flatter over the wing.
The head cement literally flew out of the nozzle on my applicator bottle and bled into the hackle. In future i'll be applying cement with a bodkin on these flies.
This is not a showcase fly, i'll be fishing this sucker!
Tying in the married wing was a breeze compared to the Fontinalis Fin. It stayed in shape, and I managed to see the mechanics of getting the right tie in. Consider it burned into my memory.
I think i got the dimensions pretty decent.

The pictures aren't great, the light is poor -(i'm working on a light box)



I hope you guys like it. Comments and critique welcome.

[arkle]

I first saw this pattern in Ken Sawada's book 400 Wet Flies & it's about the most complex one in there. It's very different in styling from our standard wet fly style & as such there's no easy way to tie it.

A few things I'd try to aim for would be to shorten the tag a bit & try & use a metal tinsel as it gives you a bit more control as you can apply more tension so it will "bed in " better & be much more resistant to trouts teeth. Also wind this in the opposite direction to the body, as thish will also help. Perhaps another strand of peacock in the tail & shorten the rear of the body, so that the front is a bit more visible.

The main thing to aim for, in my humble opinion, would be to lower the wing, so that it lies closer to the body. This can seem the most daunting area, however it's not to difficult to overcome. Finish the front of the body a mm. shorter, then build up a few turns of thread to reduce the hight differential. Try & tie the w/duck & other quill feathers in so that they point down instead of up, this will also help give the appearance of a lower wing & finally the hackle. Try 3 smaller "clumps", rather than one underneath, that will help the balance of the fly. A couple of coats of varnish helps as well.

As I say, this is not an easy fly by any standards & you've made a good job of it.

[flytire]

definitely not an easy tie and it wouldnt have been my choice for a second fly

i'm pretty sure the don bastian interpretation would have 5 wraps of tinsel (as would the dr burke painted fly in the book 'trout')

heres a good example

FlyTyingForum.com - Holberton

here is the ray bergman collection as tied by don bastian

Ray Bergman Collection | Hatches Fly Tying Magazine

[dabhoy]

For the sake of tying Im sure its a usefull exercise and quite enjoyable.
I really like the look of classic salmon flies but dont think I could ever bring myself to fish them as they are works of art.