FLYMPH FORUM

Still needs work on actual taper but overall I'm pretty happy with this one. Tying in the Lisenring style where the hackle is tied in first is still a little weird to me. It's not "show" quality, but I think it's a very fishable flymph.
Hook: Partridge L5A/UE
Thread: Sheer 14/0, blue dun
Body: blue dun dyed hares ear spun on ash colored silk with a touch of natural hares cheek
Hackle: jungle cock spade

You better believe it's fishable. I'm with you on the hackle being tied first thing, it does seem weird.

Awesome choice in the hook too, I'm a fan of Partridge hooks.

Good looking fly pattern. I have a Dun colored hares mask as well. I will tye something along the lines of your example with it.

I am the opposite. I learned to hackle a pattern by tying the feather in first. Any other way feels weird to me.



Good job.

Gettin’ there indeed!

Excellent combination of materials. The dun fur goes really nicely with the ash silk and jungle cock hackle.

Well done.

Howdy All;

I'm in the same camp as DUBBIN, hackle first but then I
learned to tie from the folks on here, so, gotta admit
... it does make a very nice transition.

hank

Nice.
Flies don’t need to be show quality.
I think particularly for nymphs flymphs and soft hackles….
Shabbier the better..

Hackle first is just weird.

...but then again, when I've tried it, it seems to help me with my proportion control. Will I concede that this is a superior method? Probably not; old dog, old tricks, ...but it sure is fun to read about.

Mike62 I come from a background of being totally obsessed with tying classic North County spiders so I learned to tie a sparse hackle very last with very little room. I will say that tying the hackle in first and wrapping down a portion of the stem, then butting your rib right up to it on top makes for a nice even underbody. Or wrapping down a portion of the stem, bending it over back towards the hackle and wrapping down a second layer to build taper into the thorax region is very handy.

To my eye, one of the signature characteristics that separates a flymph from a regular soft hackle is having the hackle wrapped in fairly open spirals, almost palmered trough the tapered thorax. It's very natural looking and pleasing to the eye. But I struggle with that and knowing where to leave my thread after I form the body so all my hackle ends up wound at the head, looking like a normal soft hackle and defeating the purpose of tying in the hackle first.

I like tying the hackle in first, then winding the thread through the hackle as I advance the thread forward. I like the idea of having the thread reinforce the hackle. Whether it be a spider or flymph.

DUBBN wrote: ↑Wed May 11, 2022 6:59 am I like tying the hackle in first, then winding the thread through the hackle as I advance the thread forward. I like the idea of having the thread reinforce the hackle. Whether it be a spider or flymph.

I agree. This makes a durable fly. I've fished a brown hackle peacock tied this way. Most of the fibers on the peacock herl and hackle were gone but the fly didn't come apart.