This fly is very popular in Scotland, As it was Conceived by two anglers in 1932, Who used to visit Loch Harrary in the Orkneys Regularly. The Created this fly to imitate the countless number of bees that were blown onto the lake. It has changed from its oringal dressing slightly as it used to have a red cock hackle and no red tag under the tippets.
I have fished with this pattern on very hot summer days and i have caught a few fish with it. When the fishing was slow and nothing was feeding i looked this up and started tying it. When i tested it i had already caught two cracking fish with it. Its an easy pattern to tie and should be in your fly box when conditions get bad and slow.

Hook: Down eye, Size 10-12
Thread: Black 8/0
Tail: Golden pheasant tippets with red wool
Body: Peacock herl
Hackle: Black hen (some prefer red)
head: Black with whip finish.



1. Take the thread down to the bend of the hook.


2. Now at the bend of the hook tie in a few fibres of golden pheasant tippet feathers.


3.Now tie in some red wool.


4. At the same point tie in the peacock herl, Wind the herl up the shank to the eye, Leaving room for the hackle and head.


5. Tie your hen hackle in by the tip. Fold hackle backwards so when you tie in the hackle the fibres stand back.


6. Give your hackle 2-3 turns around the shank and tie it off.


7. Create head and whip finish.

This is what the fly should look like.



Hope this helps
Matt

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Cromie

nice flee cromie , this is the black ke-he . the original kehe has a red game hen hackle
cheers col

Well some prefer red and some prefer black. Some people even use red game but anyway i thought black hackle looks best

__________________
Cromie

Hi Cromie, take this as constructive criticism.
Firstly if you are going to do Step by Step get the basics of the fly correct.
You appear to me to be doing what your have been warned about in the past & that is "Running Before You Can Walk" Fly tying takes years of practise & whilst I commend your enthusiasm you really should take a step back &
Watch & Listen for a while.

KE HE Points to note (your fly)

1. Thread choice is fine 8/0 & starting proportions are about right but note hook shank showing through in places.
2. Tippet lengths are fine but be a bit more choosy about the feather. The red tag should be below the tippets, yours are neither above or below, more side by side. Original may indeed not have had a tag, just tippets, but modern dressing always have the tag & I certainly prefer it this way. Note the large "bump" where you have tied in the tail. Think about tighter turns, less off them & do not cut materials at the same place (Step)
3. Herl body is untidy, looks like you have started OK been left with some herl & just wound it on to use it up. Fly body should be bulky but uniform.
4. Hackle whilst "not wrong" was originally Rhode Island Red though later versions at the time had a hackle from a Rooks feather but nowadays you can get away with a black hackle. But look how long you have made it. On a traditional wet fly you want to thing about a hackle length finishing somewhere between point & barb. Hackle winding is fine if a bit sparse.
5. Look how far back you have finished from eye, too much. Some herl is showing through thread. Try and cut materials as flush as possible. If their are some errant fibres the whip finish should cover them.

The name KE HE came from the first two surname letters of the originators.
David Kemp & Bernard Heddle & hails from the 1930s. Not a modern pattern as many today think.
So hope you take this as I intended it......constructive.

Still anyone that questions Hans Weilenmann about thread choice will give me a laugh anytime.............Hans. An up & coming fly tier perchance?
Tight Lines

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"The Future's Bright The Future's Wet Fly"

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ukflydressing A UK based fly tying site packed full of flyting tips and photographic step by steps. Now with added fly fishing section.

Alan,

Perhaps you should have added a picture of your Ke-He to support your comments, so here goes:



Cheers,
Hans W

Hmmmmm...........

Thought long and hard about this, but what the hell.............

The lad is doing his best, and is to be commended for it. he will learn, given time and encouragement.

His hackle proportions don´t seem that far out to me. These are a matter of taste in any case. There is no standard length. This is a hackled fly, on a winged fly they would probably appear too long.

http://www.flytyingworld.com/PagesE/...tippedkehe.htm

I often prefer sparse flies as well.

The fly pattern is often given as the " Black Ke-He", with hen hackle.

This is a good example of the original, although sometimes the red wool is tied beneath the tippets.

http://www.fish4flies.com/img/Flies/...He%20Brown.jpg

There is no herl showing through the thread, I blew the image up;



The head is Ok with me. Crowding the head is a mistake many beginners make.

Constructive criticism is all very well, but it should be done kindly.

I didn´t see anything to laugh about.

Also, if somebody is unable to dress a half-way decent fly after a week, he might as well give up. Anybody who needs years of practice must be bloody hopeless.

There are two ways to avoid the "bump" when tying in the wool, or floss. One is to tie the wool in and take it up the shank to the same point as the herl tie-off, and the other is to build the body up with floss after tying in, and before winding the herl. hardly anybody does this nowadays, and because nobody sees the bump, except on a step by step, nobody cares.

I would have no problems fishing with that fly, and I don´t imagine the trout would either.

The herl body could be more even, and the tying in of the floss and tippets more accurate, but apart from that I can´t find anything much wrong with it.

Obviously it is mostly experienced fly-dressers who do these "step-by-steps", and one can not really expect the same standards from a young lad who is only just starting to dress flies.

Could the fly be "improved" as far as appearance goes? Certainly, but the fish couldn´t care less about that either.

Cromie, when you are tying these things, tie at least half a dozen, and preferably a dozen, before you show a step by step. I would take long odds that this is the first such fly you tied. It is practice which makes perfect.

TL
MC

Nice fly there Cromie, I have been using the KeHe down here in the Cotswolds on and off for a while now, I have caught a few fish on it, mainly in the colder months and fished deep.

Highlander, nice points there about the correct receipe for this little fly, looks like I might have to make a few alterations to mine also!



Tightlines all!

Hans,Forgot about that one. Ok fly, proportion is OK. Head leaves a lot to be desired.
As Scotfly respectfully (ok happy now) I'll be getting Cothi on next about my grammar. In his PM points out hackle is slightly too long but Upstream says there is "no accepted standard" so must be ok then.
Anyway it is a short barb.


Course reports: could have done better.

Tight Lines
PS Meant to say it is my fly & I will tie it any bloody way I like......did I just say that.
Yes I did

__________________
"The Future's Bright The Future's Wet Fly"

Mike,

Like you, I have thought about the merits of posting comments, and if so, to what aim and where to place focus.

Top marks for Matt on the enthusiasm and dedication front. Leeway on the basis of youth and impulsiveness. Constructive criticism on the level of tying, where I would think (and hope) Matt also realises he has still a ways to go before the results can be used as reference material on proportions and techniques.

Here is the rub - if one posts to a public forum, one by definition also opens up the floor to comments. One cannot expect the comments to be selective, and by definition 100% complimentary. What I may post I would also say face to face. With due respect, but frank, and with each critical comment I would also try to add a constructive element.

I think the posts this thread to date have been sometimes critical, but also frank and with respect, supported by constructive elements. He (Matt) will surely live

Cheers,
Hans W