Rockworm Spider

[Hans Weilenmann]

Rockworm Spider
Hook: Kamasan B175 #14
Thread: Gudebrod 8/0, olive
Hackle: Whiting Farms Coq de Leon hen, light pardo - undersized
Rib: Wire, gold fine
Body: Nylon floss, 'hard' green


Cheers,
Hans W

[lastchance]

Nice, Hans. Do you fish that near the stream bottom?

[Hans Weilenmann]

Nice, Hans. Do you fish that near the stream bottom?

Kinda. I fish it on a dropper, suspended from the bend of a dry.

[Allan]

Hans,

Nice simple pattern that probably would do well when and where the green worms are suspended by filaments from trees.
cheers,

Allan

[WarrenP]

Are my eyes failing me or is your wire, for the rib, flat instead of round? Really good looking fly....

[Hans Weilenmann]

Are my eyes failing me or is your wire, for the rib, flat instead of round?

Well spotted, Warren. It is faceted wire:



Flattened sections provide a subtle glint.

Cheers,
Hans W

[Allan]

Hans,

I almost commented about the way the wire laid on the body and thought you had inadvertently twisted it but I didn't want to sound picky. Wait, I do! LOL. When someone ties as great as you do you deserve to be picked on, LOL Again.
How come you didn't counterwind the wire?

[AlanB]

The wire Hans used was (he informed me some time ago) from Veniards. It is no longer available, a friend of mine has a Veniards trade account, and it isn't listed. However, square wire is available from www.wires.co.uk you will have to trawl round to find it. Unlike Hans' wire it isn't twisted to form the facets. That would be an easy thing to do though, for the small quantities needed in tying.

What would be the point of counter winding the rib? The pitch of the floss and the rib are so different that the rib couldn't pull down into the floss (if Hans wound the floss so loosely that it could, it would be, I can assure you, deliberate. There isn't even a turn of thread on one of Hans' flies that isn't deliberate.)

Cheers,
A.

[Hans Weilenmann]

What would be the point of counter winding the rib? The pitch of the floss and the rib are so different that the rib couldn't pull down into the floss

Alan has it right on this - "counter ribbing" or "counter winding" are rather ambiguous concepts. The key thing is the different pitch the respective materials are wound.

Cheers,
Hans W

[Allan]

Hans & Alan,

Don't get me wrong guys. I don't particularly like counter wrap(winding) a ribbing. I was under the impression that Hans used that method when the body was wound with a material that needed protection. Completely agree that a slightly different angle of the rib (what I believe you're calling 'pitch') offers even better protection and looks much better. Sometimes, not often, wrapping the material to the bend, securing it with the rib material and then wrapping it forward works too.
Anyway, I like that fly with the rib as is.
cheers.

Allan