Turkey tail

[Stendalen]

Hi

Stumbled across an article written by Mark Libertone a few years back. Man! I really liked Mark's tying style. A bit of roughness to his style that I like.

In the article he describes Leisenrings version of Black Gnat. Could anyone help me with "...herls taken from the dark, black-brown V-shaped section on the top of a turkey tail." Where on the tail are these taken and how does this feather look like?

Mark also wrote: "This is one of, in my opinion, Leisenring's most effective flies. I always carry some with me, and before leaving the water, always give it a shot. It's paid off many times." Thats why I would like to do an exact replica of the fly to have in my box when I come to Pennsylvania in May

Cheers
Martin

From http://globalflyfisher.com/patterns-tie ... gless-wets written by Mark Libertone in 2006:
The Black Gnat
Hook: standard wet-fly 12-18
Thread: Red or Claret
Hackle: Iridescent Starling
Body: two or three herls taken from the dark, black-brown V-shaped section on the top of a turkey tail.
Rib: (optional) Fine green wire.
Note: Leisenring's original pattern did not include the ribbing. I added this myself to strengthen the body.

[Roadkill]

Martin,

I don't know if the V shape is more pronounced near the center of the tail feathers but I am sure that the black section on this Cinnamon Tip feather would work.
Use some barbs between the Cinnamon tip and the barred body of the feather.



Don't be afraid to use Black wing feathers from a Crow or similar bird like Big Jim also used! I also tie the Black Gnat body with black Ostrich herl or peacock.

[hankaye]

Stendalen, Howdy;

Martin, I know that the black Crow Secondary feathers work very well. I tyed some for the swap,
and did some for another swap back in IBF Swap #16, Oct. 2011, anyway, the ones for
the present swap are tyed without the green wire the earlier ones have the green wire, seen here;
http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... &start=210
I just wrapped the tying thread and Crow fibers together then counter-wrapped the Green wire.
In the present swap I twisted the fibers with the thread (used dampened finger tips), with no wire.
I'm thinking that the twisting acts as a reinforcement on it's own. We'll see later .
I got my Crow wings from Jim Slattery, he does carry more than just a ton of Whiting's birds.

hank

[William Anderson]

Martin, an excellent question. I've actually spent some time today looking over dozens of marks flies and remembering what an impact he made on my pursuit of these flies and my deep appreciation for Leisenring. Mark was one of finest tiers I've met. I didn't realize he has substituted the turkey tail for the crow herl. It's a brilliant shade of black/brown with a very slightly longer herl knap, if that's a description you'll understand. It's a fuller body but it would be very easy to understand making the substitution if a turkey tail were closer in reach than the crow. I too love this pattern very much.

Bill, that's an excellent pic to illustrate the area in question. Very recently Bill Shuck took advantage of this section by tying the Swedish soft-hackle pattern (starts with a K, somebody help me out) and used the tan portion at top to create a beautiful tan tag which changes abruptly to the deep brown/black body herl. Exceptional.

[Old Hat]

I like to use pheasant tail dyed black. A little easier to come by and has that nice sheen to it as well.

[UC Steve]

It's my understanding that the material Mark Libertone describes is as Roadkill illustrates. On some turkey the dark bar near the end of the feather describes a chevron shape -- possibly a characteristic belonging to a particular breed. Years ago, before the internet, I read something by Mark Libertone describing the turkey tail version, & started tying it that way, liking the bronze & texture of the turkey. The buff or rusty band beyond the dark bronze begs usage, & my first session with the turkey I tied some Knekestorparen, not knowing what they were. I've been carrying the LBG for about forty years & have found it a universally effective AP pattern. Particularly good in conditions where standout profile is more important than color match -- right up against dark during heavy sedge hatches it is killing.

[tie2fish]

Martin, an excellent question. I've actually spent some time today looking over dozens of marks flies and remembering what an impact he made on my pursuit of these flies and my deep appreciation for Leisenring. Mark was one of finest tiers I've met. I didn't realize he has substituted the turkey tail for the crow herl. It's a brilliant shade of black/brown with a very slightly longer herl knap, if that's a description you'll understand. It's a fuller body but it would be very easy to understand making the substitution if a turkey tail were closer in reach than the crow. I too love this pattern very much.

Bill, that's an excellent pic to illustrate the area in question. Very recently Bill Shuck took advantage of this section by tying the Swedish soft-hackle pattern (starts with a K, somebody help me out) and used the tan portion at top to create a beautiful tan tag which changes abruptly to the deep brown/black body herl. Exceptional.

Knekestorparen

Knekestorparen.jpg (161.12 KiB) Viewed 8603 times

[William Anderson]

Bill, that's the bomb. Knekestorparen. That's the one. I love that pattern and did you go the next step making the original pattern into a twisted body with the brown silk? What can a guy say, just spot on. Beautiful.

Steve, like you I've carried my version of Leisenring's BG for a number of years. Probably less than forty, more like 6-7, but still wouldn't want to be without it. It's my go-to dark fly when that's what's needed. Looks like I've some options to fool with. What I like about the crow is how slender the profile remains, as pheasant and turkey create a more plush texture, but them many of my favorite softies are tied with turkey, pheasant or goose. Now to the vise to put some black pheasant, dark turkey and turkey twist Knekestorparen's together. I'm not old enough to have settled on a pattern and you fellas don't make it any easier. Now more variations are in order.

[tie2fish]

I was remiss in not mentioning when I posted the above Knekestorparen photo that my inspiration to tie this Gunnar Johnson pattern came from OC Steve, whose wife is Swedish and who can actually pronounce the name properly . And, if memory serves me, ScottP has also posted his version of this pattern in recent months.

[UC Steve]

It might be fair to the Knekestorparen's originator to say that the original pattern actually calls for a mottled secondary with buff tip, not the black-banded primary shown here. The body of Knekestorparen is mottled brown with a buff tip.