FLYMPH FORUM

Hi NeoDoc,

Welcome.

The fly is nicely tied, but in my eyes can be a bit better balanced by:

Using fewer barbs in the tail
Lengthening the body slightly
Using finer ribbing material
The blue in the thorax may be intentional, or not

Just a few minor tweaks will make for a great looking fly.

Cheers,
Hans W

Great start! ...and welcome to the Flymph Forum.

I will just reiterate a bit on Hans' post. The greatest help will be to just get a grasp of the proportions and it will fall into place. Mostly it is just bringing that body back further, maybe to just above the hook barb. The head looks nice, the tail and hackle length is good, the thorax and spacing of the hackle is good. The density of the tails on the flymphs I tie is purposeful depending on where and what I am fishing for, but historically Hans is right, most of the patterns call for just 2 or 3 barbs.

NeoDoc, Howdy;

WELCOME !!! The fly looks great. Hans and Carl are some of the bestest tyers around (IMO).
Please don't let their critics put you off the site. Great effort on your part is being willing to
throw one up along with your intro.
Huge amount of reference material down at the bottom of the main menu, kinda like the foundation
for the forum. Settle in when you have some time to spare (is there any .... really ).
Please come on back ... often, join in some of the conversations and enjoy the journey.

hank

hankaye wrote:Please don't let their critics put you off the site.

Hank, you make us sound like horrible boogie men

The request was for constructive critique, after all

Cheers,
Hans W

Hello neodoc.
Nice looking first up addition to the forum. I have no doubts that this pattern as it is will catch fish and who are we as humans to know exactly what fish are looking for in a meal?
Take note of Hans & Carl's suggestions, they are WAY better experienced tiers than most the rest of us put together, but otherwise, just keep tying and keep at the vice. Shape and form will come to you quickly over the Winter as you tie more of the style.

Can I ask what type and size of thread you are using? You might like to try some of the very fine #12 to #16 tying threads that are available and that will make your thread wraps through the thorax area a little less dominant.
A slightly longer body and finer rib and you will be knocking this pattern out of the ball park.

Keep it up.

Using Pearsall silk so not much choice there - could try twisting it for the head; I'll get some thinner tinsel. I'm using Clarke block to make dubbing body. All comments are appreciated. Thanks.

A great start indeed! Welcome to the forum. I can't make any suggestions other than the ones already made by these fine gentleman. Stick around and don't be afraid to ask questions. We have a great group of people here.

NeoDoc wrote:Using Pearsall silk so not much choice there - could try twisting it for the head; I'll get some thinner tinsel. I'm using Clarke block to make dubbing body. All comments are appreciated. Thanks.

Pearsall's is not as fine, nor as suitable for flattening, as some of the synthetic threads, but that does not mean bulk cannot be managed.

Here is one example video - there is no hiding when doing a skinny pattern such as this spider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuK61AFV0NU

Cheers,
Hans W