I enjoy fly tying as an end unto itself. So, lately I have had the desire to concentrate on tying flies that I like to tie and that I like to look at. I think that the desire to catch fish and to tie elegant flies do not have to be mutually exclusive.
I haven’t talked to him about this, but Jean paul Dessaigne may have a similar viewpoint regarding his flies. When I started clicking through his website it inspired me. I think his flies are just beautiful and elegant. Some are very naturalistic, others more flamboyant – but all of them make me want to get the fly tying vise out and get to work. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but the flies that he ties are just refreshing.
I especially like the use of hare’s fur that he presents – using hare guard hairs for soft- hackle in this fly:
This fly from Jean Paul Dessaigne uses hares' fur for the soft-hackle. Click pic to go to Jean Paul Dessaigne's tutorial for this fly.
Using hare guard hairs for legs on this nymph:
La Dyna: Using hare guard hairs for legs on this nymph. Click pic to go to Jean Paul Dessaigne's tutorial for this fly.
This nymph below is just a unique fly – I haven’t seen anything quite like it before.
La boumboum: I just love the look of this nymph. Click pic to go to Jean Paul Dessaigne's tutorial for this fly
Please go check out Jean Paul Dessaigne’s Website – there are beautiful pictures of his flies, step-by-step tutorials and instructional videos. The only “problem” is that it is all in French. If you don’t speak French, you can use Google Translate, to get a pretty good translation of the web pages. This won’t help with the videos though.
Hook: Standard Light Wire Dry Fly or Stout Wet Fly Hook, sizes 10 to 20 Abdomen: Yellow Floss Rib: Fine Copper Wire Thorax: Hare’s Ear Dubbing Collar: Hungarian Partridge
Notes: Use light-wire standard dry-fly hooks for some and stout wet fly hooks for others. This will give you the ability to fish in the surface film, or deeper depending on the hook.
The thorax of hare’s ear dubbing should be dubbed large enough so that it can support the soft hackle -the thorax is there primarily to prevent the partridge hackle from collapsing against the body.
I like the effect of using a copper rib for the appearance of segmentation – not all tyers do this. I feel more confident fishing it with the ribbing though.
Make sure to tie the partridge in very sparse – stripping the hackle fibers from one side of the feather can help to keep it sparse.
Fishing Notes: I haven’t fished this color variation as much as the Green and Partridge. I include it though because I’ve had success with it during yellow crane-fly activity. I haven’t yet used it for the Sulphur Hatch, however Dave Hughes in his book Wet Flies, recommends it for this.
Hook: Standard Light Wire Dry Fly or Stout Wet Fly Hook, sizes 12 to 20 Abdomen: Green Floss Rib: Fine Copper Wire Thorax Hare’s Ear Dubbing Collar: Hungarian Partridge
Notes: Use light-wire standard dry-fly hooks for some and stout wet fly hooks for others. This will give you the ability to fish in the surface film, or deeper depending on the hook.
The thorax of hare’s ear dubbing should be dubbed large enough so that it can support the soft hackle -the thorax is there primarily to prevent the partridge hackle from collapsing against the body.
I like the effect of using a copper rib for the appearance of segmentation – not all tyers do this. I feel more confident fishing it with the ribbing though.
Make sure to tie the partridge in very sparse – stripping the hackle fibers from one side of the feather can help to keep it sparse.
Fishing Notes: I’ve used this fly successfully for both Blue-Winged-Olive and caddis hatches. In the case of the BWO hatch, I fish it dead-drifting just below the surface – generally with no added movement.
For caddis hatches I fish it in more varied ways: dead-drifting, swinging, rising. Let the situation dictate the action – try different tactics till you figure it out.
Hook: Wet Fly Hook, sizes 6 to 14 Body: Burgundy or Red Floss* Rib: Peacock Herl* Tail: Golden Pheasant Tippets, Ringneck Pheasant substituted here Wing: Female Golden Pheasant Tail (traditionally), Turkey used here Throat: Partridge or Similar *Other recipes call for a peacock herl body with a floss rib. The effect is similar, and maybe a little more robust.
Created in the 1870’s by James Hardy of the Hardy Brothers tackle company. I guess it was his favorite. I liked this pattern as soon as I saw it. It has that combination of red and peacock herl that fish seem to love. It may become a favorite of mine as well. I could imagine it with different color floss bodies and maybe an antron wing.
I originally found this pattern in The Art of Fly Tying by Claude Chartrand. This is a nice little book. I wouldn’t reccomend it as your first fly tying book however. But it makes a nice addition to your library. I particularly liked the a section on extended body techniques. Also I was inspired by the good selection of classic streamers and wet flies in the pattern index.
Hook: Wet Fly or Streamer Hook, sizes 8 to 16 Body:Black Chenille (use ultra-chenille or dubbing for small sizes) Tail: Brown Hackle, alternatively golden pheasant tippets Wing: Calf-tail (traditionally), antron used here Collar: Brown Hen Hackle
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