howsitlook

[lykos33]

Well, I told Mark I would post a pic if I ever thought a fly actually looked good. I know it does not compare to some of you old pros work...gimme time , I guarantee with time practice and quality material, I will get there...

reduced pic2.jpg

these are the hackle and such I used plus 6/0 olive Uni Thread on a 12 streamer hook from Mustad(I've no idea what kind they are ...do you?)

reduced pic1.jpg

Comments and critiques welcomed...its the only way to learn without a teacher sitting over my shoulder rapping my knuckles...LOL!

[Soft-hackle]

Hi,
Not bad! You need to get the hang of wrapping bodies smoothly. The hackle work looks pretty good. KEEP PRACTICING! It took me a while to get it all together.

Mark

[letumgo]

Nice to see you posting here, lykos33, and it is nice to see your fly as well. First off (and most importantly), I can guarantee your fly will catch fish just the way it is. In terms of feedback, I would suggest adding a small thorax just behind the hackle of the fly. The thorax helps hold the hackle fibers away from the body of the fly when it is drifting in the current. The thorax could be dubbing, or the ever popular peacock herl.

Play around with different types of hooks to get one that makes you happy. It looks like the one that you are using is a model 9671 (2XL streamer hook). There is nothing "wrong" with this hook, but I have grown to like shorter shank hooks better for soft hackle flies. The nice thing about the hook you used, it that it gives lots of room on the canvas for creating the abdomen/thorax of the fly. I have seen a huge range of hooks used for these flies. Don't be afraid to experiment and find out what you like in a hook. If you look through the patterns on this site, you can see which hooks (along with make and model) that may interest you.

I would also suggest moving the hackle closer to the eye of the hook. Han's wrote a wonderful article on hackling flies, which may help you (see the link below).

http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwhackle/

I learned a great deal about tying these flies by watching Mark and VERN-O give tying demonstrations at one of our local fly shops. As they will both tell you, vice time, practice and patience are the key.

I hope this was helpful. I look forward to seeing more of you creations in the future.