FLYMPH FORUM

John's recent submission inspired me to sit down and tie up some triple threats. Love the pattern, but have to admit I often forget to add them to my box each season. I changed them up a bit this year with a pearl rib and for dubbing I used the Bird's nest mixes up front in the thorax.

Ginger Olive Spectral

I would allow those in my box too. I have experimented with pearl rib on my EHC:s. I tie those without body hackle and have found that 'my' grayling respond better to but a tag of pearlscent tinsel than they do if I rib the full abdomen. At least that is how I perceive it. Sometimes the ribbed ones catch but more often not. When I tie on the more discrete offering I have better success. I know it could be due to circumstances I am not aware of but it is difficult to act upon those.

Very nice flies.

dd

Very nice touch, Carl, even if the ribbing is synthetic.

Do you consider changing the name of a fly if it has other components such as dubbing material, hackle material, shape of hook, etc., than the original? I guess variant covers it.

A Stillwater fly fishing club I know about considers all curved hooks to be a waste of time and only tie on straight hooks yet call out the patterns the same as those tied on curved ones. Slattery describes 3 different color combinations for the triple threat, but only one hook shape. (I believe)

Any comments? Beautiful flies! Thanks for sharing. I am tying more spectral flies and hope they are more effective.

Thanks gentlemen. I was informed though my fractions are off a bit. 3/5, 2/5 is correct. I might be pushing 2/3, 1/3 on some. I had never been graced with a Triple Threat tutorial so I wasn't aware of the specifics.

Yes Bill, walking the line of the dark side I am.

dd, I have always had good responses from the pearl tinsel, whether it is a tag or ribbing. I started tying my EHCs with no dubbing just pearl bodies, hackle and hair with very good returns. All the Fade patterns I tie also have a pearl rib. I use very narrow pearl tinsel though and keep it fairly subdued. It shows up prominent in the photos but not so much to the eye.

To me paparex if the design is similar, especially if the original pattern was the inspiration then it is just a variant. I always try to error on the side of crediting the original. There are too many patterns out there today to keep them straight. I tie what seems to be a hundred different versions of a green-butted skunk. Different materials, different sizes, different hooks but everyone you can look at it and say it's a green-butted skunk just a different variation. Unless it is simply an attractor, I definitely don't worry about color too much as what is in everybody's water is a little different. Look at how many variations there are in the march browns all over the world.

Yes, I hear you Carl (had missed your response). I doubt you had tied them that way if they didn't work for you. May my grayling be more 'educated' than your prey? I doubt that too. If I try my ribbed ones more than I have done I might get a different outcome. But, like you, I prefer to use what works for me.