A Black Gnat - soggy

[William Anderson]

This is claret Pearsall's silk, crow herl and black hen. (What did we decide to call the tail's deck feather barbs?)
The hook is the TFS 2500 #14 from The Fly Shop catalogue. There was some question about the quality of these hooks considering how inexpensive they are. What a bargain. They are strong, not brittle and sharp, and the color is fine for lots of patterns. The proportion and straight eye make this is a pretty compelling spider hook.

[tie2fish]

Very nice body work with the crow, W. It will take me a bit to get used to the "Grip look" on a spider hook, though.

[redsedge]

Thanks for the positive comments on The Fly Shop's hooks, Will. That thread, though, doesn't look like my Pearsalls claret - more like scarlet.

[William Anderson]

Very nice body work with the crow, W. It will take me a bit to get used to the "Grip look" on a spider hook, though.

Thanks, Bill. The angle of the hook is deceiving as it really doesn't have the Grip curvature, just a straight shank. I guess the hook point comes up a tad. I do like the strength and wide gape of this hook. I really want a pile of the partridge spider hooks with the straight eye, short shank and wide gape. They just look elegant.

[William Anderson]

Thanks for the positive comments on The Fly Shop's hooks, Will. That thread, though, doesn't look like my Pearsalls claret - more like scarlet.

It could be that the underwater pics put light on the fly more evenly and appear a bit brighter which surprises me every time. I own cardinal, scarlet, claret and dark claret. I like this pattern better with dark claret, but I had few lengths of claret cut in 1 1/2" lengths for another pattern so I tied a few with the claret.