They were all tied on sz16 Kamasan b175's a stout short wet fly hook if you're unfamiliar with the model.
Looking at the photos was a bit of an eye opener to me, I'm sure the trout would't give a damn but I do and if I'm not confident in the fly I tie on, my results will suffer.
What surprised me most is that the first pheasant tail I tied looked pretty good to the naked eye, I have 20/20 vision. The photo however doesn't do it for me, the body is too thick although I was frugal with thread wraps and used 17/0 trico thread, the thorax looks too bulbous and squat and the head huge although the eye isn't crowded.
I tied a few more to try to remedy the flaws. I trapped the pheasant tail barbs for the body on the near side of the hook and the ribbing on the far side with the same turn of thread, bound them down the whole length of the shank keeping them on their respective sides using thread tension, elongated the abdomen a little and shortened the thorax. Then I used a marker to make the thread black so it blends in more and becomes part of the body.
Tonight I tied a similar one and used 5.5x fluorocarbon for ribbing.
Anyway probably way to OCD for most, but I like to get things right before I commit to tying a few dozen.
K
GRHE- Hares poll dub, CDL tail, XS gold embossed oval tinsel 3 turns, 5PT barb wingcase, 17/0 trico thread sz 16 kamasan b175
GR possum FB, uni fluoro org 8/0, natural possum dub, CDL tail, XS gold embossed oval tinsel 3 turns, small opal tinsel , sz16 kamasan b175
PT1- CDL tail, sm copper rib, pt abdo, CDL speckled hen barbs for the wingcase, siman dk peacock dub, 17/0 trico thread, sz16 kamasan b175
PT2- CDL tail, sm copper rib, pt abdo and wingcase, dk claret possum thorax, 17/0 trico thread blackened with marker, sz16 kamasan b175
PT3- Dk speckled CDLhen tail, 5.5x fluorocarbon rib, pt abdo and wingcase, black possum thorax, 17/0 trico thread blackened with marker, sz16 kamasan b175
kids these days ....
