Memorial Day streamer tye fest

[kelkay]

Thank you Jeff. I am going to explore a bit more in this avenue. I find it very interesting.
Kelly

[JeffHamm]

Hi Kelkay,

I forgot to mention sizes. In New Zealand, these can be tied quite large, size 2 down to size 8 or even 10 for some of them. A Hammil's Killer, in size 10, is probably taken as a damsel fly nymph, with the larger sizes probably taken as a greenish bully (small fish with big head) or maybe even a koura (crayfish)? I've heard people suggest that the Mallard's are probably taken as a smelt since the side feathers tend to collapse into a nice streamlined shape. A lot of the older books really talk up the Lord's Killer (woodcock) as one of the best, but they also go on to point out how much of a pain it is to tie becaues of the number of feathers you have to tie on.

Oh yah, another pattern is the Kilwel number 2:
Tail black squirrel
Sides: grouse feathers (black and dark brown mottled feathers)

- Jeff

[kelkay]

Thank you Jeff for all your data on this. I find this extremely helpful. I think that fly in the photo is just beautiful. I am going to have to play around with this, and I was already on the right track and didn't know it...rotfl. I am planning to tie at the Texoma Tie In, and I may have a couple for people to see then. I tie a wide variety of flies, and I have to decide which ones I need to show, a little taste of my tying. I have been tying for two years now, and still have a whole lot to learn. (I have been fly fishing the same amount...started both about the same time)

[JeffHamm]

Hi Kelkay,

I tied up a Lord's Killer today for the first time. This is tied on a Mustad 3366, size 8. It required about 4 or 5 feathers per side to really give it some body. Basically, tie in a pair, dub some body, tie another pair, dub some body, tie another pair, etc, Each pair is slightly forward of the previous. It is a pain to tie, and I'll be furious if I lose this on a bush during the first backcast! :0 But if you get the hang of getting the feathers to sit nicely, it would be a very pretty fly. I don't tie killers very often as I find the feathers want to splay out rather than sit nice and flush to the body. This one isn't too bad, but they aren't sitting perfect either.



- Jeff

P.S. Oh yah, just remembered one more pattern, an Orange Witch
tail: black squirrel
body orange wool
sides: chuckar

[kelkay]

That looks cool. I ended up tying Crappie Candy today. But I will be tying more of these style of flies in the next day or two. I understand what you mean about all that work, it would be a shame to lose it right off the bat. Now I know what chukar looks like too. These flies are really cool. I wonder if bass will like them as well as trout.

[jeffro]

Howdy JeffHamm,what sorta Fish would you fish for with this Beautiful fly over in New Zealand ?

[JeffHamm]

Hi Jeffro,

These are used to fish for trout. In the 1800s, brown and rainbow trout spawn were transported to New Zealand. The Rainbow all came from the Russian River in California, at least that's what I've just read in a 1950's book by Hintz (Trout in Taupo). There are some brook trout as well, but they are very rare and usually exist in rumour only in the North Island. I've not met anyone yet who has caught one. These "Killer" style flies were developed here in New Zealand. There are 4 general styles of New Zealand "lures", the Killer being one of them. The others are the Matuku-style streamer, where the feathers for the "wings" are bound to the top of the hook shank by the rib; the "double hackle", which is wingless, has a squirrel tail tail, and a hackle mid-section as well as at the head - the red setter is the most well known, but I've submitted it as a "Just old flies and stuff" article a while back and presented "Fletcher's Fuzzy Wuzzy" as it was the original; finally, there's the Pukeko-style, which encorporates feathers from a New Zealand bird, the Pukeko, and they are tied in flat on the top of the fly to create a sort of beetle shape - I think Craig's Nighttime is listed in the Fly of the Week archives. The trout grow very large in New Zealand, with fish over 10 lbs common, and there are always some exceeding 20! These lures are often tied on large, heavy hooks as it was illegal in the Taupo area to add weight to the fly or the line or to use lead core line. Since the trout's primary food was small fish (smelts, bullies, and ianga) or koura (crayfish), they were best fished for with patterns that immitated sub-surface food. I tend to tie mine in the size 10 range, though, as the modern sinking lines will get you down well enough.

- Jeff

[jeffro]

Very Interesting Thank You Sir.....I bet its really Nice there......I just cant imagine a 20lb trout on my Fly Rod.
Do you use a Spey Rod ?

[JeffHamm]

Hi Jeffro,

I use a 5 weight most of the time, though I have a 3 weight for a few of the small streams I fish. I have an 8/9 weight as well, which doesn't get used much these days. I don't fish the areas where the real monsters lay, so typically I'm fishing for fish up to 3 lbs. Mike T on this board fishes Taupo quite a bit, and there are some bigger fish there. He's used some two handed rods. Anyway, New Zealand is a very nice place. I'm originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, which is also a really nice place too!

- Jeff