Li'L Dorothy Variations

[hankaye]

DUBBN, Howdy;

Wayne, only the 2 extream close-ups of the last 2 showed up ...
the first 2 only have a X in the empty square. ?????

hank

[DUBBN]

I dont know Hank, they are showing up on my screen.

[hankaye]

Wayne, Howdy;

Ok, Now they are showing up
They be some purddy skins. I just
have more than I can use myself right now...
For folks such as me with limited storage space
I wish they'd sell 1/2 skins. I ain't as proflick as
a lot of ya'll are.

hank

Rockies just won

[JohnP]

Nice looking flies and nice hackle. I was working on some variations after reading Jeff's posts, but mine are nowhere near as nice as yours. Good job, my friend.

[DUBBN]

Spring Run-off starts any day now, and I am looking forward to it. The rivers are currently running lower and clearer than I have ever seen them. I have had to resort to using the size 24 to 18 flies to have any success. Normally on the Freestone rivers I do not have to use anything smaller than a size 16 this time of the year. Drought conditions have changed that way of thinking this year (for me).

This time last year I was having great success with the Peacock and Partridge in size 10. Not so this year.

I plan on taking the Li'l Dorothy through her paces as soon as the water starts to rise. Fish her through run-off, then fish her through the PMD hatches of June and July. Fishing three flies at a time makes it easy for me to take this approach. I plan on pairing her with the Tups quite often. I am curious to see how the fish will react to the Tups with a tail, compared to the Li'l Dorothy which has no tail. Of course, I will compare her with the Peacock and Partridge, Muskrat, and Hares Ear Soft Hackle as well. I know many scoff at my experimenting, but I enjoy it. Even if is an exercise in futility to most .

I am going to tie another half dozen Li'l Dorothy variations today. This time I am going to use the "Split Thread" technique for the thorax. To quote Mark Libertone , "The thorax is rough and when wet, should slightly veil the abdomen giving the impression of a cream colored fly with an orange cast to the abdomen." In my opinion the Coats and Clark thread I am using is brighter than Marks original thread. Using the split thread technique should veil the abdomen a bit more than just roughing the dubbing up with Velcro. In my opinion that should tone down the looks of my pattern a bit, yet retain the orange cast.

You know something? Odds are I am over thinking all of this. It's probably so, but I am not fishing this weekend, and it's raining again. That leaves way too much time to think.

[DUBBN]

Split Thread

[Mataura mayfly]

Nice work.
If it were me..... and this is no knocking of your last effort with the split thread...... I would pinch the thorax fibres, pull them over the abdomen and trim any long stragglers to the length of your thread body, so they cloak- but do not trail.
But that is just me. If you leave them long, you will get the illusion of a tail- or shuck....... which is not a bad thing maybe?

On the subject of tails, Mark did not design one, but one may or may not be an advantage. I have captured plenty of tail-less duns/emergers and have seen many a natural nymph sans tail filaments, so they do occur naturally without tails and the fish do not seem to mind.......
Who is over thinking what now? It is raining here as well.

[DUBBN]

I'm gonna leave the fibers long. It's easier to trim them off at the river than add them. There have been times when a tail has caused fish to short strike my offerings. Simply biting the tail off corrected that. Yes, "bite".

[redietz]

I'd say leave them long. With a fly tied without a tail unless you're imitating caddis pupae, you want something trailing behind the body.

[Mataura mayfly]

OK, I'm outvoted.... you know I am going to have to go tie some with longer thorax fibres now........
I am possibly contradicting myself anyhow, as the wool yarn I am using for abdomens on this pattern has small trailing fibres of a translucent nature that may give a tail impression when swept back by current action.

I think the tail debate has a lot to do with water conditions and where the fly is fished. If it is rough and turbulent the trout may only have a very short period of time to decide "food or flotsam". In slower and calmer waters a more "perfect" imitation may be required.
I have watched trout feeding in fast water and it is a very busy hustle of take-decide-swallow or eject, they literally snap up everything that is around the correct size and colour, deciding after the taste and texture test if it is a food item or not.