James and all,

I am contemplating working with duns and spinners more frequently in my fishing. Regionally, this entails Missouri and Arkansas, my home haunt so middle west not midwest, not south. Most of these waters do not have prolific Mayfly hatches; nymph and emerger fishing is more productive at all times. Further, the trout feed on Terrestials, crayfish etc with a heavy influence of caddis flies.

But Mayflies are troublesome in the dry fly form. I have used Carl Richards techniques for many years, influenced by John Betts. Later on I came back to the quill flies which in my earlier fishing career I only purhcased, never tied.

So then my fly tying melded Betts, Richards and Best into a scheme that has been successful(Though now I have been seeing a lot of realistic flytying (For fishing not for presentation) abeing touted by Fly Tyer
Magazine and so on....there is now a discussion board site realisticflytying.com.
At any rate, the directions for tying the
thorax using the method of hackling the fly is very troublesome. Have you included or refined the technique?

I was thinking that in a lot of cases the thorax fly could be tied on a smaller hook using an extended body method for the abdomen which would be light, and give the apparance that you present in the "Just Flies" article. I have yet to figure out how I would do that to be able to use quill which I dearly like to use a la AK Best.

Anyway, I thought this might start a discussion of this and Mr. Marinaro's "In the Ring of the Rise" and your work on this fly.

Regards,
David Bell