William: I only dyed the amber grizzly hackle. I don't know about you, but the olive and olive browns have always been the most difficult for me to get right when it comes to dying. For these colours (and hot pink cerise) I will buy pre-dyed for the time being.
The Western green drakes are far from "Sparse" in real life. Here is a small one that a friend managed to capture when fishing. Below that a shot of the nymph. The adults can get upwards of 1 & 3/4". I find that the problem with designing a pattern for them is not imitating legs and wings, but the very thick short abdomen. In spite of the full appearance, the hackle on the fly above looks incredibly translucent when wet.
Vern-o: For the drakes I always use floss or thread for rib. Wire or oval tinsels are both garish and don't mimic the muted rib on the natural. Thanks for the compliment.
Aaron
BTW The lead wrapping is not the usual for a soft hackle, but getting this large hackle to break the water tension is difficult hence its inclusion.
