Project for a good tier

I found my Bob Jacklin style Green Drake pretty effective in late June. His has an olive/green body with a yellow ribbing of silk.

I caught the Green Drake, below, while fishing the hatch. I noticed the body is more like an olive/green/yellow body ribbed in a light brown......

Anyway, I am trying different combinations to more nearly represent the body of the fly.

I would LIKE for a really good tier to help me out on this. Not with suggestions, but with a photo of a completed fly and the dressing used. I want a fly tied in Compardun style.

Below the photo of the actual Green Drake is my first attempt (shown wet) as it might appear to the trout.

Anyone interested in helping??

Thanks,
Byron



http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5dac2d02.jpg


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psfa9da573.jpg


Second attempt (dry)



http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psac38f795.jpg

It'll be a couple of days days but I think something could be done. Could you give me an idea of size please.
Cheers,
A.

Alan,
Thanks. These, I usually tie on a size 12 dry fly.
Thanks
Byron

I'm not one of the good tyers but had to try to tie a couple. Interested to see the flies that are posted.

Ronnie

Attachment 12139Attachment 12140

Another try...............


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps30224d0b.jpg

Byron, I was also fortunate enough to fish the green drakes, on a different river than you though. My flies are tied like the sparkle duns from Blue Ribbon Flies except slightly greener. To me the underside is greenish olive with a yellow segmentation.
Gene

One more I tied today.

Attachment 12156

Gene, thanks for that. I too tie and fish Sparkle Dun patterns for both the Green Drake and the smaller Flav.

I was just looking at something a little different.

This one I tied this morning, is one that I think I like and am anxious to try it and compare its efficiency against other patterns.
Ronnie:
Nice job, appreciate your suggestions.

One I tied this morning - from the side and from below:

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psc162f8b8.jpg


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psc82e98a8.jpg

Nice tie Byron, as they all are. I'll stay with my yellow rib but I'm interested in adding the hackle. The tail is that moose or yearling elk?

Thanks Gene. In this one, the body is brown with a yellow/olive dubbing rib.
The tails are moose mane.

I really like your last fly Byron, nice tying.

Have you considered extended body replicas al a Duck's (Duckworth's)or Norm Norlander's instruction? Google away, I'm on the wrong computer. Seems a good strategy to keep it less heavy and accurate in representation .

Gordo7,
Thanks for the suggestion. I am personally not a big fan of extended body duns. i like the float I get from Comparadun style flies.

Byron.....Nohting like matching a particular hatch. Good luck with the challenge. :)

Attachment 12158

My final take on a Western Green Drake

AlanB: Awaiting your version.
Thanks,
Byron


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psae0718de.jpg

Not sure I understand the brown rib?

Sort of explained that in first post with the pic of the insect. Actually, this is a brown body with an olive/green ribbing.
Let me know if it doesn't, Gene.
Thanks,
Byron

I understand the top of the fly appears to have a brown rib on the top. My concern is what the trout sees, the bottom of the bug. Next year grab one and hold it up to the sky and see how bright the body gets. I did that years ago with a Hendrickson and noticed a whole different color. I now tie them quite a bit different especially for bright sunny days. Just another question why does Jacklin and Mathews just to name two use bright yellow for a rib. Another question, do you catch more fish with the green drake dun or emerger?

Gene,
If you look at the photo of the fly from below, it appears quite bright (to me anyway).
Didnt mean to upset anyone, just trying to copy the insect. The comparadun pattern rides low, like the insect. I think the bit of brown might help. The brown doesn't show much on the bottom of the fly. I believe the Green Drakes vary a bit in coloration from watershed to watershed.

must tell you that Jacklin originally tied his with a light dun hackle before switching to olive. And, he ties some of his with a bright olive deer hair short tail.

post a pic of your version, please.

Forgot: I catch more trout with the dun when the hatch is on and the trout are snapping at them. I catch more on the emerger before and after the hatch.
thanks Gene

Here is a photo, which shows a bit of the under portion of a Green Drake.


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps56c852b5.jpg


Here is one of Bob's Green Drakes with the olive tail:

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psfbd61734.jpg


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psc82e98a8.jpg

This is my eastern Drake pattern, which does fairly well for me.

West Branch Drake

Attachment 12171

Byron, not trying to be argumentative, but just pointing out that a bug appears different when viewed against a bright sky. I think that is why most tiers use a yellow rib, the bugs yellowish segmentation really stands out. In a cup your fly looks like a duplicate of the natural. I haven't started adding pics yet maybe in the future.
Gene

Here is Quigley's film critic Green drake http://www.flyfisherman.com/2013/07/...#axzz2bmljDOoj

Your could change the color of the wire to match your naturals

Actually, as with my 1st pattern for the sake of Byrons challenge, where I was looking at something completely new....a light/dark segmentation can be achieved with either a light or dark in the rib. Either way, the segmentation and color transition is reflected. I usually use yellow flat-waxed for my Drake ribbing when applied. But the West Branch pattern has been my go-to for quite a while now.

Ralph

I did a search on the web for Rene Harrop Western Green Drake patterns. I came upon this posting. I can't verify that it is true to Rene Harrop's patterns. Frankly, it almost looks more like the Brown Drake..............
What I can verify is that Rene Harrop knows the Green Drake hatch on the Henry's Fork as well or better than anyone. He is probably nationally recognized as the best tier of patterns for the Henry's Fork and environs.

Anyway, here is the pattern I referenced.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps31794074.jpg


I think all will be surprised to see Harrop's Green Drake Cripple at Hans Weilemann's website:

http://www.danica.com/flytier/rharro...reen_drake.htm

Not a good job of tying. Did this in a hurry. Sort of an alternative which may address the issue of the bottom of the fly.
A marking pen would be better, but that is something I, personally, draw the line at.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2a36fd08.jpg



http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psc0069256.jpg

Personally that is closer to the one I would fish. Not fond of marking pens either. Harrops cripple is just that, it only shows or reflects the thorax emerging, so that is no surprise to me.
Gene

This was the first Green Drake pattern offered to me by an unkown gentleman that was nice enough to help a young struggling flytyer many moons ago (1989'ish) on a Pennsylvania stream. The only guidance he gave me was "Creamy Olive and Yellow Rabbit", being the blend of dubbing. It served me well on the west coast for many years also. Since I didn't know the mans name, or many pattern names at that time, I called it the "Fishermans Drake". At the time I had never seen a hackled comparadun before, nor a clipped bottom to dry fly hackle. Look familiar Byron? I think of that gentleman each time you post one. :)

Any way, here it is both wet & dry.

Attachment 12174Attachment 12175

NJT
I like it. If you fish in the East, the Drakes are different color than the Western Green Drakes.
I am reminded of the "Coffin Fly" tied by the Dette's which has a white body - representing the spinner life cycle........The Western Green Drake does not appear in that color in the spent version. Bob Jacklin says that he originally tied the Green Drakes (even out West) with dun hackle due to his having come from the East.

A Coffin Fly I have in a shadow box which was tied by Mary Dette

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0a7565cb.jpg




Do you fish out West?

Here are three views of my size 14 Flav (Small Western Green Drake) in a Sparkle Dun Pattern.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psb764b62a.jpg


From above, with a light brown topping


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps955e19b5.jpg


From below


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psc627a46d.jpg

You are correct, the coffin fly patterns very closely match much of the Eastearn Hatch. Although the coloration changes quite a bit from the Green Drake hatch on Big Pine Creek to Penns Creek. Big Pine is more of the classic Coffin Fly version, where I find bit more Olive and darker hues in the Penns Creek and other regionally known hatches.

The Fishermans Drake was originally handed to me with Dun hackle and Olive bucktail. However while in the Northwest I leaned towards a cree or Dark barred-ginger hackle which has become the norm now.

It's been awhile since fishing the West, but I lived in Washington State for 12 years through the 90's and fished much of the Northwest. The Green Drake hatch is a bit different. Mainly darker. A good friend used to fish the hatch with what he called an "Olive Adams". He switched olives for the brown, with a medium olive abdomen.

Many hatches are missed quite a bit. :)

Very nice!!

Still waiting for AlanB's version which he said is coming soon.
Decided to tie one using Snowshoe Hare for wings and abdomen.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3c730fca.jpg

I think all the ties are quite good if not excellent and I would keep the wing and hackle as it is, but they should be changed because based on the picture of the actual fly - they are not ribbed either brown or yellow - they are striped. I think the underside is all yellow (light olive). If the fly is to be ribbed, I think it should be yellow ribbed with brown. BUT -
I think it would be more accurate to tie in 3 dark brown hairs for the tail leaving the butts not tied down. Then trap the three hairs with every other wrap of the LightOL dubbing to make the alternate striped effect on the dorsal side.
I would comply with a picture but I just got back from 4 days of bass fishing in central Ontario, so can't get out the tying kit just now.

Thanks Greg. Look forward to your version as well.

The use of snowshoe hare in this version was just to see if the materials would work. In the next iteration, I would use a bright olive dyed hare for the abdomen. Didn't have one available today.

I sure like the float capabilities of snowshoe and don't see it used much in fly patterns.

I just re-watched a DVD done by the Harrop Family of Idaho. In it, Rene introduces his son, Shane, who demonstrates a Mayfly CDC Dun. In this case, a Green Drake. For the body, they use an olive dyed goose primary feather "quill" (as commonly called).



http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psd4118816.jpg

Still awaiting AlanB's pattern of a Small Western Green Drake.
I thought I might apply the Zelon to such a Flav pattern for the faster water.

While tying this, I was reminded of a ribbing technique I learned from Bob Jacklin that I never see the "famous" tiers employ in their videos which involves ribbing a fly.
Bob's tip is to make at least one wrap of the dubbing BEHIND the ribbing material before dubbing forward. His belief is that it made the ribbing more "natural" looking. I try to remember to do that when ribbing a fly. Not sure how much difference it makes, but he made a point of mentioning it, so I follow that advice.


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psf06ec295.jpg


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7b5ad0b3.jpg

I think Jacklin's idea regarding ribbing can be seen in this fly.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2d3d313c.jpg

Just to keep Byron happy here is a version with apologies to Marc Petitjean.
Attachment 12330
Cheers,
A.