Squirrel's nest

[Terrestrial12]

Ok guys last one I promise and I'll sit back down and let the grown folks talk. To be clear I'm not really a big fan of all the modern jigged flies or tying variants of patterns I consider sacred. That said, here is a mash up of 2 of my favorite nymphs of all time. Dave whitlock's red fox squirrel nymph and Cal Bird's birds nest. This is another fly that will catch any species in any water.
I
Hook: 60* jig hook size 12
Bead: Black nickel tungsten
Hackle: teal flank from Cal Bird's personal collection
(Done in Bird's "thumb roll method)
Abdomen: Whitlock's SLF dubbing in the color "Abdomen" mixed with red squirrel guard hair
Rib: fine copper wire
Tail: same teal flank
Head/collar: same as dubbing, heavier on the guard hairs

[DUBBN]

At times I like a real fuzzy bug. This one looks great.

[Mike62]

What Wayne said.

[hankaye]

Howdy all;

As one that used to use quite a few jigs in my past (still do), I've found that by opening
the gape so that the hook point is aimed above the eye, the hook-up rate increases. Some
but enough to make the difference between a 'good' day and a 'really good' day. YMMV.

hank

[ronr]

T12... I respect your feelings about the classics. Afraid I may be guilty of degrading their purity from time to time. Mostly because I don't have a material or because I'm just not as geared to only tying the original patterns. I don't name flies I tie and try to give credit to those that inspire me to deviate from a pattern in some way.
That said, I really love to see others interpretations of classics and that's one reason why I love to join in on the fly swaps in this group. I really like the patterns you are sharing and hope you don't mind my taking liberties when I shamelessly copy them.

Thanks to Dougsden, I've too become a bigger fan of Whitlock's patterns. I'm still trying to learn his method of dubbing, which when done right yields a beautiful, buggy body.

PS.. my tying group last night got to see your flies posted on the forum and all gave them great reviews.

[ronr]

Howdy all;

As one that used to use quite a few jigs in my past (still do), I've found that by opening
the gape so that the hook point is aimed above the eye, the hook-up rate increases. Some
but enough to make the difference between a 'good' day and a 'really good' day. YMMV.

hank

Hank.. agree about the issues with the upturned hook point on some jig hooks. My solution has been to find longer shank hooks and go to smaller beads. How exactly do you open the gape on your hooks?

[Mike62]

T12... I respect your feelings about the classics. Afraid I may be guilty of degrading their purity from time to time.

I like the way you phrased that. I myself am guilty of the same, though my crimes might rise to 'assault'; I beat the ever livin' shite out them sometimes. In the end, I always have to admit that there's a reason they're 'classics', and give them the proper respect and treatment they deserve.

I love to tie; tweaking a pattern is in my DNA. *sigh*

[DUBBN]

T12... I respect your feelings about the classics. Afraid I may be guilty of degrading their purity from time to time.

I like the way you phrased that. I myself am guilty of the same, though my crimes might rise to 'assault'; I beat the ever livin' shite out them sometimes. In the end, I always have to admit that there's a reason they're 'classics', and give them the proper respect and treatment they deserve.

I love to tie; tweaking a pattern is in my DNA. *sigh*

I too am guilty of changing the make up of the classics. If they are sacred, then I bathe and emerse myself in the sacrilege that is, changing a classic just for the fun of it.

[ronr]

One thing I try to do when I've blasphemed a classic is pay homage to those from the past with a wee dram of a good single malt.

[DUBBN]

One thing I try to do when I've blasphemed a classic is pay homage to those from the past with a wee dram of a good single malt.

I get fancy too