Sulphur Transition Soft-Hackle

[Eric Peper]

That is a great looking pattern William, I am sure if you do your bit and get the presentation near enough the trout will not hesitate.
Pretty sure I have seen similar style/colour pattern flies from Eric, perhaps he might chime in with his experience?

Very similar to the fly in my avatar. I've been tying this one for PMDs and sulphurs for, I'd guess, about 7-8 years. My favorite time for using it is when the PMD hatch gets started and is interrupted by a high wind. Fishing these little guys just subsurface can be very effective. Here's a better shot.



Mustad 3906B in 16 or 18 with either Mearns or Valley quail hackle. I'm not sure which bird it is as the skin was unmarked in a "bargain bin."

Eric

[William Anderson]

Wow, thanks again for such kind words.

Eric, your pattern is just the ticket. I like the hackle on this very much. The Eastern sulphur nymphs have striking mottling (not anything you don't know) and I thought the golden pheasant tail fibers, with the lemon duck tails, offered the contrast that made for a good match. I hope to fish a pad hatch with you someday.

w

[Eric Peper]

The taxonomists have made a strong move toward unifying east and west and reducing the fly dresser's ambivalence. The east/midwest sulphur and the larger, early western PMD have now been classed as the same species Ephemerella dorothea (Could be that damned Drunella, I suppose.) with the added sub-specific label of infregquens given to the PMD. Twould seem the same dubbing could be used for both with impunity. I suspect I'll still want to add a touch of orange to the thorax of my sulphurs tho'.

BTW, I often tie that design a bit more "flymph-like" using a dryfly hook with either a grizzly or muddy dun hen hackle palmered over the thorax.

Eric

[letumgo]

muddy dun hen hackle

Now that is something I would like to see. Eric, are you able to post a photo of your "muddy dun hen"? I'd be very interested in seeing what it looks like, so that I can keep an eye open for one in the future. If you need help posting the photo, send me a PM and I'd be happy to help out. If you send me the photo, I could post it for you too.

[tie2fish]

The taxonomists have made a strong move toward unifying east and west and reducing the fly dresser's ambivalence. The east/midwest sulphur and the larger, early western PMD have now been classed as the same species Ephemerella dorothea (Could be that damned Drunella, I suppose.) with the added sub-specific label of infregquens given to the PMD. Twould seem the same dubbing could be used for both with impunity. I suspect I'll still want to add a touch of orange to the thorax of my sulphurs tho'.

BTW, I often tie that design a bit more "flymph-like" using a dryfly hook with either a grizzly or muddy dun hen hackle palmered over the thorax.

Eric

Standard Eastern sulphur patterns, especially a nymph not unlike Eric's and William's and a Size #16 comparadun, produced very well on both the Firehole and the Madison last June.

[Eric Peper]

muddy dun hen hackle

Now that is something I would like to see. Eric, are you able to post a photo of your "muddy dun hen"? I'd be very interested in seeing what it looks like, so that I can keep an eye open for one in the future. If you need help posting the photo, send me a PM and I'd be happy to help out. If you send me the photo, I could post it for you too.

"Muddy dun" is what I call the hen hackle I used in these two drake "flymphs," Ray. It's not what Charlie Collins called it, but I can never find the package with the "official" name. Those are the feathers in the background. Dug out the package, and Charlie calls it "Bronze Sandy Dun." To me it looks "muddy."



Eric

[letumgo]

Thanks Eric. I will definitely be adding that to my 2015 hackle wish list. I am hoping to visit Charlie some time next spring.

By the way, the flies are fantastic!

[Eric Peper]

Wow, thanks again for such kind words.

Eric, your pattern is just the ticket. I like the hackle on this very much. The Eastern sulphur nymphs have striking mottling (not anything you don't know) and I thought the golden pheasant tail fibers, with the lemon duck tails, offered the contrast that made for a good match. I hope to fish a pad hatch with you someday.

w

William, I apologize if your thread got hi-jacked here. I love these transitional softhackle patterns, and I try to tie most of my "user" flies with this in mind. I'm still trying to figure out a good way to incorporate CDC into them as I think this is a really "magic" ingredient for flies because of its extremely high "wiggle" factor in the water.

I like the woodduck flank because it gives a look of segmentation as does the ribbed PT abdomen. The burst of "dun" body color in the thorax is a trigger more because of the contrast I think than because of any special replication of the natural's color. I guess what I'm suggesting here is a fly that includes a number of trigger features may be productive even tho' it may not be taken because of any particularly good representation of the natural insect. The "motion" that CDC would add would add to this would be helpful I think.

BTW, all of this comes from the fact that my single most productive dryfly pattern over the past two years has been Hans Weilenmann's CDC & Elk. It produces irrespective of what natural insect is on the water, and I am firmly convinced its productivity comes from the motion the CDC fibers give the fly plus its suggestive silhouette. The only fly that challenges it is a decent, properly sized spinner pattern when a spinner fall is in progress.

Just some idle thought on a Sunday AM.

Eric

[DUBBN]

I did well with Erics pattern (variation) as well. It and a Tups variation along with some no name emergers did very well when the Yellow Sally, and PMD's emerged.







Took close to a dozen trout with this fly before I had to replace it.

[hankaye]

Eric, Howdy;

Just keep on idling, , very interesting thoughts drifting there.
I still remember you mentioning that you manage to incorporate
a touch of Olive in your flies as well ...

hank