Will "give it a rest, already" after this one. Really into the Snowshoe though!

[Greg H]

Greg,
The "tail" on this one is actually zelon material. It is a sparkle dun pattern, thus it isn't actually a tail, but a shuck which has not yet detatched. That is why the sparkle dun is so effective. It represents an "emergent" dun, if you will. One that is still stuck with its shuck and therefore is more available to the trout. The other reason the sparkle dun is so effective, I believe, is that it floats low on the water's surface.

I'm with you all the way on this plan - my response to your 'question' thread certainly amplifies my feelings. Glad to see you come over the the (dark) snowshoe emerger side.

[Byron haugh]

Greg,
Here's another belief of mine that is not accepted by most tiers of the sparkle dun. When trimming the shuck on sparkle duns, most tiers cut the shuck quite short. If you think about it, the shuck on the insect extends from the tail end to over the thorax. In fact, when the insect first breaks through the shuck, it is at the thorax. Thus, there is a very good argument for having a trailing shuck which is nearly the length of the entire shank of the hook rather than just the abdomen.......................

[AlanB]

Byron, I'm with you on the length of the shuck. A friend of mine gave me a sparkle dun with a small red dot (from a marker pen) in the shuck. Said that it represents a touch of blood from the failed hatching. It makes a huge difference. I found it also works if you just include a couple of rogue strands of red in the shuck material. I've never tied it with snowshoe, but the deer hair one is a superb pattern here.

Cheers,
A.

[pittendrigh]

where are you?

This post/question came immediately after a post I made about hunting show shoe rabbits. So was it directed at me? Sandy?
I'm Bozeman, Montucky. :=)) Hawaii? You're lucky as a hare! I just got back from Kauai, where there are still some (although not many) places most people don't go to. What a wonderful place.

[Byron haugh]

Good to hear you enjoyed Kauai. Funny, you travel here and I travel to Montana every year to fish!!!!