Mataura mayfly wrote:
Do you think the length of the thorax fibres will help hold the the wet hackle off of the abdomen some? Or will the Hare fibres fall back and cloak the abdomen themselves, kind of along the same lines Mark Libertone was aiming for with the thorax on the Lil Dorothy (least that was how he explained it to me)?
Thank you folks for the kind words. I was a bit hesitant to post these patterns. I am still trying to get use to photographing outside. My studio (diffusser box) is gone since we are packing in anticipation of selling our house.
I have seen Flymph patterns when they are put in water, and when photographed in the still water (clear glass), they really do not look that much different to me than when they are dry. When taken out of water, they do get soggy looking much like the fly in the second photo below.
When I am using flymphs, I have noticed that when the pattern is at my feet, submerged in the river, the hackle sets out as if it were not wet at all. When current hits it, it takes on a tear drop shape as the hackle and split thread collapse around the body.
As you know, I nymph with these patterns most of the time. They are being pushed by very strong currents at some part of the drift on every cast, Add that I usually hook in to mud, moss or slime that covers the flie and for lack of a better word, "slimes" it. I believe that most of my patterns the hackle completely envelopes the body of the fly, and becomes very important as to the coloration of the natural. Still, with all those conflicting currents, strong and weak, I believe the hackle gets pushed all about, giving off movement, hence the appearance of life.
I think the split thread thorax may do two things for the pattern.
1. Add a different color or hue to the pattern near the head. A sort of transition from hackle color to abdomen color. Perhaps even a halo effect.
2. The material in the split thread is of a different density than the hackle, there for should undulate in the current in a different manner than the hackle. Perhaps that is acting as a trigger for the fish.
I used a lot of words like, believe, think, perhaps and opinion. I really do not have any evidence of what the split thread technique actually does during the drift. Just guesses and opinions.
Oh yeah.... 3rd reason I use the split thread technique.... I enjoy tying them.
