Fontinalis Fin - Round 2

[s fontinalis]

So a while a go i tied my first winged wet, a Fontinalis Fin. I tied this shortly after trying my first Jock Scott. It was recommended by various sources that I take a step back from the married wing salmon flies and try smaller and somewhat simpler patterns to work on dimensions etc.
This is the first Fontinalis Fin:

Tied with a lot of the wrong materials (tail, throat), poor winging, and not very well proportioned or neat at the head, but a reasonable first attempt none the less.

I've since tried my hand at the Holberton which i posted yesterday, and last night i revisited the Fontinalis Fin.
Here it is FF2.0



Still not 100% perfect since the throat is still the wrong color (it should be grey) and slightly off center, and the wing on the first photo slipped down somewhat over the body.
This time i also gave the head two coats of head cement and it looks TONS better.
The wings i believe are very well proportioned in relation to the tail and hook bend and from above you can see how they spread out nicely. Whether this is a desirable trait i'm not sure, but i like it. It gives some symmetry to the fly. Unfortunately the wings also became unmarried (Divorced???). A minor detail i suppose, but in the interests of being perfect i'd like them to stay together long enough for a photo. Also, these wings are duck, where as the Holberton were goose.

Now i have 3 wets for the box, 2 Fins and a Holberton. Maybe i do another Holberton, but i think a Watson's Fancy might be my next target.

Hope you enjoy, and as always comments, suggestions and critique are very much welcome.

[dabhoy]

Not a fly I am familiar with but look like they are coming along well
The wings look very good on the 3rd picture

[MARAZION MIDGE]

Seems to take me back to my roots, that type of fly, would fit into anyones wet box 30 years ago.
Nice
Mike

[s fontinalis]

Originally Posted by dabhoy

Not a fly I am familiar with but look like they are coming along well
The wings look very good on the 3rd picture

This is one of 6 wet flies based on the fin of a brook trout. In old times, fishermen used to impale brook trout fins on hooks as bait, and fish ate them up!
There are 6 different flies, but all very similar. If you're interested you can read about them here.

Originally Posted by MARAZION MIDGE

Seems to take me back to my roots, that type of fly, would fit into anyones wet box 30 years ago.
Nice
Mike

Its a shame not many folks have a wet box these days...Nymphs have all but taken over.
I'm starting my own wet box with these and i'll fish them for sure this year.

[GuyFromLaw]

What a difference.