Group Shots from the Den

[tie2fish]

Here are a couple of photos that our friend Dougsden sent to me recently. I know what they are, but will let Doug add the details ...

Doug's Iso Nymphs in a Box.jpg (191.21 KiB) Viewed 5786 times

Dougs' Red Fox Squirrel Tail Nymphs.jpg (190.93 KiB) Viewed 5791 times

[Roadkill]

Great flies!!
I wonder if the undulating hook is any more effective than the straight shank?

[DOUGSDEN]

Good evening friends!
A special thanks to pal Bill Shuck for posting these recent photo's! I have been having a cow recently trying to figure out the right path to get to the forum with pictures. Ray T. has also been a tremendous help and again, thanks to both of you for incredible help! I will get-r-done soon, just some technical things to work out on my end!
The Iso's are part of a new box I am trying to fill. Each pattern is a super weighted nymph (my preference on these particular ones) based on the Walt Dette pattern found In Eric Leisers great book! I normally weight my nymphs rather lightly but these I wanted loaded to reach some big bluegills that insist on living in really deep waters! The pattern calls for a bunch of lead wrapped from one end to the other and doubled under the thorax! They are a blast to tie and should produce just like they did years ago when I first tied them!
The Whitlock Red Fox Squirrel Hair Nymphs are for our pal William! At Roscoe #1, he really took to them and even photographed them. At the time, the box was not nearly as full as it is now and I still have plans for other variations yet untried and untied! I guess I will have to create another box for the over flow! I have been working on most of my anemic fly boxes trying to bring them back up to a reasonable level of completeness! The swimming nymph hook? It does pretty good! The real producer is a size 14 "basic nymph" design usually tied on TMC's 3761 or 5262! These are real killers on most waters. The swimming nymph design really shines in the springtime when the bluegill tend to come out of the deeps and spread out and recolonize typical summertime areas! A true wet pattern (no lead and on lite wire hooks) is very well received by most surface feeders throughout the year!
I hope you folks enjoy the fruits from my den. I have been branching out and tying different patterns such as streamers and drys (Bill showed me how to master the parachute dry recently and it was a blast and so easy to do) and nymphs and yes, lots of experimenting with flymph designs and color combinations. It's been a busy time in the den and I love it!
The next pattern to go into the heavy weight nymph box? You will have to tune in and see!
The mad scientist in the den,
Dougsden

[William Anderson]

Doug, I first saw this post on my phone and wanted to reply when I got on my machine. I had the same response this time when I saw that Whitlock Red Fox Squirrel Hair Nymph box. I've tied some of these, not many because they didn't turn out like yours and I wanted to revisit these. This is an exceptional set. I love it. Beautifully done and nicely photographed. Thanks, Bill.

The Iso's are cool too. I need to scroll through but these Dette nymphs surfaced recently and yours are immaculate. Weighted should really do you very well. Another killer set. You're attention to detail is fantastic. Thanks for sharing these. I always love to see your tying.

w

[Old Hat]

What a great couple set of flies. Doug your tying is top notch as always. I never go out with a lot of heavy nymphs, but always go out with a couple in the box, "just in case". Those iso's are wonderful.

[letumgo]

Purdy flies, Doug! (understatement )

Wow...

[Mataura mayfly]

Doug, excellent work my friend! Thank you Bill for being the techie that enables us to share in the bounty from the Den.
Just so happens I might have the ability to replicate the Red Fox Squirrel nymphs......

Doug, what is the hook of choice for the heavy weight Iso's? Do you feel the entire shank wrapped with lead and then the thorax doubled encroaches on the hook gape?
There is a specific Stonefly nymph they tie/use on the West Coast of the South Island here (I will have to do some reading to come up with the specifics.....) but instead of wrapping, they cut short lengths of lead wire and stack them on top of the shank- lash them down with thread and cement in place. This allows you to add a lot of weight, but not close the hook gape. Only downside I see is the weight only on the top of the shank should make the hook sink "upside down" and ride point up....... but that may not be such a bad thing when bottom bouncing?

Anyhows, exceptional display of time well spent in the Den- beautifully presented. Well done to you both.

[tie2fish]

Doug, excellent work my friend! Thank you Bill for being the techie that enables us to share in the bounty from the Den.
Just so happens I might have the ability to replicate the Red Fox Squirrel nymphs......

Doug, what is the hook of choice for the heavy weight Iso's? Do you feel the entire shank wrapped with lead and then the thorax doubled encroaches on the hook gape?
There is a specific Stonefly nymph they tie/use on the West Coast of the South Island here (I will have to do some reading to come up with the specifics.....) but instead of wrapping, they cut short lengths of lead wire and stack them on top of the shank- lash them down with thread and cement in place. This allows you to add a lot of weight, but not close the hook gape. Only downside I see is the weight only on the top of the shank should make the hook sink "upside down" and ride point up....... but that may not be such a bad thing when bottom bouncing?

Anyhows, exceptional display of time well spent in the Den- beautifully presented. Well done to you both.

There are a couple of lead tricks that will keep the hook point both open and down: 1) lash/glue the pieces of lead to the sides only of the hook shank, and 2) make regular around-the-shank wraps of lead, cover them well with thread wraps (coat of Flexement or other rubber cement optional at this point) and then squeeze the result from the side with a pair of needle-nosed pliers to flatten it out. This produces a nicely shaped weighted underbody.

[Ruard]

Excellent work Doug WOWOWOW

greeting


Ruard

[DOUGSDEN]

Jeff,
The hook that I used on this particular pattern was Tmc's 5263 in sizes 12 &14! This hook is a round bend nymph hook that is 3x long for sure and (I think?) 2x heavy! I haven't had any trouble "closing the gap" with these hooks as far as materials and lead weighting goes! Interesting observation!
Bill, thanks for the insights into lead weighting as you described here! The flattened lead would make a more realistic abdomen on these patterns and others like them! I simply dubbed over the round lead segments (I did soak them pretty good with water based head cement - Loon Outdoors brand I believe - to both seal the lead and make the dubbing stick a little bit better!) which made the waist a bit fatter (like mine) but did not present any concerns about the narrower gap and it's hooking abilities!
Good questions fellows! Please keep them coming!
Dougsden