Hook for the Red Hackle?

[hankaye]

dd, Howdy;

dd, Howdy;

Stefan, the directions in the 1971 (Third printing), edition of TAofTTWF&FTF mentions 1/16th of an inch
as the set-back from the eye when starting the thread.
As for the recipe for the Red/Brown Hackle it is given as follows;
Hook 12,13, 14.
Silk Crimson or Claret.
Hackle Red Furnace.
Rib Narrow gold tinsel.
Body Bronze-colored peacock herl.

Just to throw more onions in the soup ... there is also a Gray Hackle given as the that recipe.
Hook 12, 13, 14.
Silk Primrose yellow.
Hackle Yellow or creamy furnace.
Rib Narrow gold tinsel.
Body Bronze-colored peacock herl.

hank

Thanks hank. I'm curious of two things here. If the Gray Hackle uses what I interprete as a badger hackle, why call it gray/grey? Is the overall impression gray?
And, further, had Pete Hidy changed his silk colour preferences (maroon, not crimson) when putting together Wet- Fly Fishing in 1961? It goes without saying that he wouldn't have changed Jim's original text in the 1971 issue of "The Art of...". Or would he; in the original 1941 text it says "Yellow or white creamy furnace".
I have a white creamy furnace cockerel. When I'm done with the Red Hackle I will move on to the gray one. White creamy furnace (light badger) makes more sense as gray hackle.

(I took the liberty to use Kingfisher medium tinsel instead of narrow, and my tinsel wasn't flat either. It looked very good though).

dd

Stefan, you ask some very interesting questions, I have neither the experience
nor the materials on hand to look over to be able to even hazard an uneducated
guess. I went and visited with Mr. Google and could only find more confusion. I will
have to visit a "For Real" fly shop someday, nearest is 150 miles away, to actually see
what the differences are between Furnace and Badger, or is it as simple as the color
of the stem.
As far as to why is one called a Gray I have absolutely no idea as to why a lot of the
colors have the names that they do. I seems that more than a few colors used are
carry overs fro the colors that are used to describe horses, which also make no sense
to me.
I'm glad to see that you are making progress with the hook. , .

hank

[wsbailey]

This link to another forum has a good comparison picture at the bottom of the page:

http://www.sparsegreymatter.com/viewtop ... +W173#p557

[Mataura mayfly]

This may or may not help. http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... ale#p59649

[daringduffer]

If the Gray Hackle uses what I interprete as a badger hackle, why call it gray/grey? Is the overall impression gray?

The standard pattern (in Bergman, etc) used grizzly. In fact, it still does (google "gray hackle peacock")

Badger at the time was also called "gray list"; it's a pretty much a natural substitute.

Thanks Bob. I bet J L had a bad internet connection. Followed your advice, found this http://donbastianwetflies.com/tag/gray-hackle-peacock/ photo:



"Gray Hackle Peacock – Size #10. This one is on the “short list” of soft-hackle patterns. Tied and photographed by Don Bastian".



I wonder why they called badger "gray list". I have seen it called "yellow furnace" and "cream furnace".

dd

[daringduffer]

This may or may not help. http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... ale#p59649

Jeff - somehow I missed this back then. I love this stuff. The measurements (page 14) were handy. I will study this further.

Thanks,

dd

I had not studied this page for years: http://www.ronnlucassr.com/hook-uk.htm. I have linked to it before.

[daringduffer]

This link to another forum has a good comparison picture at the bottom of the page:

http://www.sparsegreymatter.com/viewtop ... +W173#p557

Gimme more, gimme more...

dd

[daringduffer]

How about this one:

Gaelic Supreme - Jim Bashline's Down-Eye Wet Fly Hooks
Gaelic Supreme Hooks
Wet Fly Hooks
1X Long, Standard Wire, Up Eye, Forged, Sproat Bend, Green/Bronze Finish
25 hooks per pack
https://www.detteflies.com/bashline_wet_down




dd

(The eye is closed on opposite side).

[wsbailey]

http://soft-hacklejournal.blogspot.com/ ... s-for.html

[daringduffer]

Thanks, Bill. Good reasoning. He always seems to know what he is talking about. I am just trying to find a hook to tie a few J. L. Red Hackles on, and get proportions I like. I guess that I could make it on the 94840 if I choose smaller/finer peacock herl, but I liked the meaty appearance of what I used. What I failed to achieve was the typical tapered Leisenring head that master Shuck use to tie. I'm in good company though. The Red Hackle tied by Allen McGee on flymph.com has the same head as mine. Nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't what I was striving for.

dd

[wsbailey]

That's the kind of thinking that leads to great looking flies.