Karmic balance restored?

[SharkeyP]

In response to Icky's recent stillwater patterns I thought this unabashed stockie-basher might attempt to redress the Karmic balance by posting a few river flies I've been tinkering with since receiving the Mike Harding Guide to North Country Flies, two copies of Malcolm Greenhalgh's Fishing Flies and his Fly Fisherman's Handbook for Christmas.

First up a simple bead-head shrimp pattern with a Christmassy twist, the shell-back is a piece of Quality Street wrapper:


An Olive Shuttlecock:


A Waterhen Bloa variant with Starling hackle:


A Partridge & Orange:


And a jazzed-up overdressed variant with hot orange Seal's Fur (thanks Gerry) and hot head that might interest a Rainbow.


SharkeyP

[ickypimp]

Nice wrappings sharkey, love the HE shuttlecock, the spiders are brilliant ans sparse, i would shorten the bodies on them a little bring the end of the body in line with the point of the hook.

[1973dereks]

good stuff sharkeyP, really like the shuttlecock nice and busy around the thorax area

[noeyedeer]

Looks like you've mastered the sz14's then

Thursdays tying task: Grayling Fiddler on sz16 Grip BL11011.

PS: You can have a few wraps with my Pearsalls Primrose if you want to do more Waterhen Bloa's too.

[SharkeyP]

The Bloa is with Pearsall's yellow, darkened with a rub of cobbler's wax. The P&O is a 16 (B170) but you can help me with a few small Waterhen, Woodcock and Snipe feathers if you like. Swap you for a metre of blobby fritz?

Grayling Fiddler sounds dodgy!

Thanks for the encouragement Icky and Derek, much appreciated.

SharkeyP

[Scratch]

Nice work Sharkboy! Spiders can be deceptively tricky to get perfect eh? You've done a fine job though. Would concur with the input about slightly shorter bodies. Othewise, spot-on. The proportions, sparseness and overall look and feel are very tasty. Just the right amount of hackle, and a nice length. Nice and sparsely dubbed too. Maybe just a tiny bit of attention to laying the thread and the finishing? Super stuff on the whole

[SharkeyP]

Cheers Scratchy,
thanks for the feedback. Yes, Spiders are deceptively simple but tricky. Nowhere to bury your mistakes, and the hackles are pretty fragile to wind on.
I've only tied a dozen or so to date, so there's a long way to go before I'll feel like I'm nailing it. These examples were rushed up in response to ickypimp's sinful stillwater excesses.

As for body length, t'Rochdale Cowboy seems to recommend ending between hook point and barb and most of the illustrations in his book do just that. I'll try a few shorter and hopefully at some point I'll be able to have fished them enough to know which the fickle Trout prefer.

I hear for the Clyde style they put on more hackle but fewer wraps of silk and they catch well enough. What Harding's book has taught me is that it's possible to experiment using some very old templates.

Have you any tips for favourite hooks for Spider patterns? These Grip 11011BL are labelled Dry Fly but I think they look pretty good.

SharkeyP

[ickypimp]

Originally Posted by SharkeyP

......As for body length, t'Rochdale Cowboy seems to recommend ending between hook point and barb and most of the illustrations in his book do just that. I'll try a few shorter and hopefully at some point I'll be able to have fished them enough to know which the fickle Trout prefer....

SharkeyP

Not saying they are better just traditional, Have a look at Pritt and Edmonds & Lee, if you want both books as PDF's please pm me ...

[SharkeyP]

PM sent Icky.

SharkeyP

[noeyedeer]

Originally Posted by SharkeyP

The Bloa is with Pearsall's yellow, darkened with a rub of cobbler's wax. The P&O is a 16 (B170) but you can help me with a few small Waterhen, Woodcock and Snipe feathers if you like. Swap you for a metre of blobby fritz?

Grayling Fiddler sounds dodgy!

Thanks for the encouragement Icky and Derek, much appreciated.

SharkeyP

So tomorrow's tying nite will be "traditionals only" then?

Well done on the 16's - you clearly have a knack for it eh?

After a few of my own experiments with F Fly's, Flymphs and spiders I'm ready to go halves on some #18 and #20 just for fun (I can bring a BIG magnifier from work too to help my myopic affliction).

PS: Concerned about thaw by Sat- Parsonage was still frozen solid with snow on top this morning