Thorax Flies and Comparaduns

[Joe Billingsley]

I've always read and heard that for selective trout use Compara-duns and Thorax duns. Compara-duns show the trout an excellent wing silhouette and Thorax duns are more imitative than traditionally tied Catskill-type dries (let's ignore parachutes, no-hackles, and other styles for now).
But don't a mayfly's wings run parallel to their body instead of perpendicular like a Compara-dun's do? How does the Compara-dun show such a great wing silhouette? And, aren't the mayfly's wings and legs a little closer to their head than a Thorax dun's wings and hackle are tied?
Just curious about your ideas.
Joe

It was a dark and cold stormy night....at the 1999 FAOL Fish-In, in Hill City South Dakota, when JC ran his slide show on Dry Fly in a unheated shelter at the campgrounds.

I consider that the best 2 hours of learning, while trying to keep warm...

Vincent Marinaro was mentor and friend of JC, and JC was involve in Vincent's "In The Ring of The Rise", during the writing an editing.

JC's "Flies Only" is a continuation of Vincent's two books...("A Modern Dry-Fly Code", and "In The Ring Of The Rise").

It is an honor to be able to call JC a mentor and a friend of mine.

Through FAOL, I have come to know many great fly anglers, fly tiers, and fly rod builders, and fortunate to be able to beside refering to them as mentors, being able to also call them friend. I do not think any other forum exists, that would have made this possible.


~ Parnelli
Chartered Member of "Friends of FAOL"!

Down in the meadow in a little bitty pool
Swam three little fishies and a mama fishie too
"Swim" said the mama fishie, "Swim if you can"
And they swam and they swam all over the dam





[This message has been edited by Steven H. McGarthwaite (edited 14 July 2005).]