FLYMPH FORUM

I re-read the book Wet-Fly Fishing (Vernon S Hidy/Sports Illustrated) today and decided to tie Leisenring's Red Hackle exactly as described in the book. First one told me I wasn't paying attention to the instructions. It was a very nice fly but it didn't say either Leisenring or Hidy. I read the manual once more and realized that had skimped on translating 1/16th of an inch properly. The next one turned out much better. I really like the maroon silk.

Hook I was using was Mustad 94840 size 12 and I found it to be at least 1/16th of an inch too short for my eye. What hook do you use for this pattern? I found that Messeena don't take orders anymore.

This pattern ought to have been posted on the forum but I've had no success in searching ("words too common").

dd

daringduffer wrote:
This pattern ought to have been posted on the forum but I've had no success in searching ("words too common").

dd

The "Red or Brown Hackle" was one of My Twelve Favorite Flies tied by JL and given to Richard Clark (of Clark block fame) in 1949. Lance has a wonderful photo of it.

dd, Howdy;

Stefan, did you, by chance, try a Google Search?
https://www.google.com/search?q=Leisenr ... 8&oe=utf-8
There are a few pages and some may give a Hook for you to try.

hank

I think a Mustad 3906B or Allcock W173 would work. The Allcock's are a little longer than Mustads.

Bill, I hope to see that photo some day soon.

hank, it was too late last night to hit mr G. I have done some goggling today (found a Red Hackle tied by a Hat, old or new). I noticed that in the 1941 issue of TAOTTWF, Leisenring prescribes crimson or claret silk. In Wet-Fly Fishing, Hidy writes "Wax a 12-inch piece of claret or maroon thread...". I don't have the 1971 issue, and don't know what it says.
I don't know if there is a better way to search this forum. I have come up empty more than once.

Narco, I thought of 3906B, but have none for the moment. I have never held an Allcock's hook, unfortunately. I have mounted a Tiemco 3761 in the vice, just to see what happens. Maybe a Daiichi 1560 would work. Haven't handled one of those either. Same goes for Umpqua U103 Nymph.
Partridge E1A Hooper might work: Anything works, but I wanted to achieve special proportions, just because...

(1560).

Have not yet found a photo of J L:s Allcock's #1810. I'm open to more suggestions...

dd

Partridge G3A?
I would be thinking about a Kamasan 830, possibly a B200. The 830 are 2XL. The 200 is a medium wire and what I would call 1.5 XL.
I think the Daiichi equivalent to the 830 would be the 1710.
The B200 is a deep water nymph hook and is a TD eye, 2X strong wire, forged 2XL with a Sproat bend. Not sure if it has a Daiichi equivalent.

dd, Howdy;

Stefan, the directions in the 1971 (Third printing), edition of TAofTTWF&FTF mentions 1/16th of an inch
as the set-back from the eye when starting the thread.
As for the recipe for the Red/Brown Hackle it is given as follows;
Hook 12,13, 14.
Silk Crimson or Claret.
Hackle Red Furnace.
Rib Narrow gold tinsel.
Body Bronze-colored peacock herl.

Just to throw more onions in the soup ... there is also a Gray Hackle given as the that recipe.
Hook 12, 13, 14.
Silk Primrose yellow.
Hackle Yellow or creamy furnace.
Rib Narrow gold tinsel.
Body Bronze-colored peacock herl.

hank

hankaye wrote:dd, Howdy;

Stefan, the directions in the 1971 (Third printing), edition of TAofTTWF&FTF mentions 1/16th of an inch
as the set-back from the eye when starting the thread.
As for the recipe for the Red/Brown Hackle it is given as follows;
Hook 12,13, 14.
Silk Crimson or Claret.
Hackle Red Furnace.
Rib Narrow gold tinsel.
Body Bronze-colored peacock herl.

Just to throw more onions in the soup ... there is also a Gray Hackle given as the that recipe.
Hook 12, 13, 14.
Silk Primrose yellow.
Hackle Yellow or creamy furnace.
Rib Narrow gold tinsel.
Body Bronze-colored peacock herl.

hank

Thanks hank. I'm curious of two things here. If the Gray Hackle uses what I interprete as a badger hackle, why call it gray/grey? Is the overall impression gray?
And, further, had Pete Hidy changed his silk colour preferences (maroon, not crimson) when putting together Wet- Fly Fishing in 1961? It goes without saying that he wouldn't have changed Jim's original text in the 1971 issue of "The Art of...". Or would he; in the original 1941 text it says "Yellow or white creamy furnace".
I have a white creamy furnace cockerel. When I'm done with the Red Hackle I will move on to the gray one. White creamy furnace (light badger) makes more sense as gray hackle.

(I took the liberty to use Kingfisher medium tinsel instead of narrow, and my tinsel wasn't flat either. It looked very good though).

dd

daringduffer wrote: If the Gray Hackle uses what I interprete as a badger hackle, why call it gray/grey? Is the overall impression gray?

The standard pattern (in Bergman, etc) used grizzly. In fact, it still does (google "gray hackle peacock")

Badger at the time was also called "gray list"; it's a pretty much a natural substitute.

Mataura mayfly wrote:Partridge G3A?
I would be thinking about a Kamasan 830, possibly a B200. The 830 are 2XL. The 200 is a medium wire and what I would call 1.5 XL.
I think the Daiichi equivalent to the 830 would be the 1710.
The B200 is a deep water nymph hook and is a TD eye, 2X strong wire, forged 2XL with a Sproat bend. Not sure if it has a Daiichi equivalent.

Jeff, this is what Partridge says of their current version of G3A:

Wet Heavy Supreme
WET HEAVY SUPREME
Sat, 09/03/2013 - 00:00

Partridges new 'Wet Heavy Supreme' (G3A/L) has been received well so far since its launch in late Feb early March.

The Wet Heavy Supreme is a very strong hook ideal for successfully landing that once in a lifetime trophy trout.
It is a throwback to the old Partridge G3A, which set the standard many years ago for strong trout hooks. A key change is that this new iteration of the classic has a standard shank length.
For more information please check out these links

Fly Fishing & Fly Tying Review
Trout & Salmon Review

The original G3A sure looks good. It doesn't say anything about being XL, but the new one looks XS in comparison.

G3A old.

G3A/L new.

Measurements for the new model (from https://mistpool.com/product_info.php?p ... anguage=sv:

Size Total length Gap width
#4 24,4 mm 8,5 mm
#6 21,5 mm 7,7 mm
#8 18,9 mm 6,8 mm
#10 16,0 mm 5,8 mm
#12 13,5 mm 5,0 mm
#14 11,4 mm 4,3 mm
#16 10,0 mm 3,5 mm
#18 8,4 mm 3,0 mm

I will have to check your other suggestions too. Thanks for your help.

dd