Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Classic Wet Flies, Part 3

I've been at the vise pretty regularly over the past week or so, and, in addition to restocking the dry flies I've been going through, I've also made time to tie more of these beautiful patterns, most from Bergman's book.

Any deviations from the pattern as listed in Trout are noted.

Esmeralda

Tail: Brown Mallard
Body: Green Floss
Rib: Yellow Floss
Hackle: Brown
Wing: Slate

Fern


Tail: Brown
Body: Pink Floss

Hackle: Brown

Wing: Slate


Flagger



Tag: Gold Flat Tinsel

Body: Yellow Floss


Rib: Gold Oval Tinsel

Hackle: Dun
Wing: Slate

Hardy's Favorite

Tail: Golden Pheasant Tippet


Body: Peacock

Rib: Red Floss

Hackle: Brown
Wing: Mottled Turkey

Note: This patten is not shown in Trout.  According to Bob Petti's Classic Wet Fly page, it's from Helen Shaw's book, which is on my list of must haves.

Indian Yellow


Tail: Ginger


Body: Light Brown Floss (Golden Brown shown)

Rib: Yellow Floss
Hackle: Ginger
Wing: Mottled Turkey

Irish Turkey




Tail: Yellow


Body: Green Floss

Rib: Yellow Floss
Hackle: Brown
Wing: Mottled Turkey




Last Chance


Tail: Scarlet Mallard Quill Slips


Body: Yellow Floss

Rib: Black Floss
Hackle: Brown
Wing: Slate

Light Caddis

I tied this one from memory, without referencing the pattern, and there are a few key deviations from the pattern, however, I feel the fly turned out really nice given my skill level, so I'm still putting it up here.  Like the Hardy's favorite, this pattern is also not shown in Bergman's book, but rather a pattern that I saw on Bob Petti's page over at Global Fly Fisher, which he referenced from Helen Shaw's Flies for Fish and Fishermen.

Tag: Silver Flat Tinsel (none shown)


Tail: Golden Pheasant Tippet

Body: Peacock

Rib: Orange Floss
Hackle: Brown
Wing: Slate (Mottled Turkey shown)

I know these flies are far from perfect, but I'm having fun tying them, and my skills are improving, albeit slowly.  From this group, I think the Esmeralda, Irish Turkey, and Light Caddis turned out the best overall.  Over the weekend, the Indian Yellow caught a fish: a stream-raised brown, stocked as a fingerling a few years ago, in a small water filled with similar fish, proving that even somewhat ugly ties will still fool fish.  Aside from my own inexperience, though, I think these, and all the other classic wet patterns are really among the most beautiful flies...not quite so elaborate or gaudy as the full dress atlantic salmon flies, but with a simple, elegant look, and they're practical enough that they will actually get tied on, as opposed to some of the intricate salmon flies, which belong in a shadowbox, and not in the water.

Please, as always, leave comments!  

2 comments:

Tommy Boivin said...

Hi Mark!

Thanks for these awesome pictures. Nice tying, your flies look really neat, they'll catch fish for sure! My favorite fly from Bergman's Trout is the Grizzly King (pattern available on GlobalFlyFisher). I'm looking forward to see the pictures of this incredible fly!

Thanks again!
Tommy Boivin

Mark said...

Tommy, thanks for the comment. Though I've not attempted the grizzly king as a slip-winged wet, after your comment, it might be on the to-do list! I did tie up a grizzly king hairwing steelhead streamer that is pictured here on DotD, however!

Thanks for reading!

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