Playing with a concept...

[Buddy Sanders]

I was quite interested in the spider pattern that appeared in the latest Fly Tyer magazine.

Tied some of the spiders. Look great, but not something I have a huge application for. Did manage to startle my family with them .

The concept of how the body was created, however, peaked my interest and appears to have some potential.

The bouyancy of deer hair is desirable in many floating applications, but spinning/trimming, especially on smaller flies, is a bit of a pain. Not to mention time consuming.

This concept of 'folding' the hair started me 'thinking' (dangerous, I know). Hopper bodies, for sure. I've tried these, and the flies look good. I especially like the mottled colors you can get with the white thread/colored markers.

Caddis probably. I tried measuring the hook length to get the correct length of hair (3X the shank length) to get two 'body' layers and the wing from the same bunch of hair. Needs some tweaking, but works in principle (the first fly is certainly fishable, but I'll shorten the bunch a tad on the next...).

What about bodies for small dries for rougher water? Bassically it's the Humpy idea, taken farther. BUT, you could conceivably tie up the bodies on the hook (tails installed) first, in batches. Color and 'seal' the bodies, then add the wings/hackle as a final step. Should float like a cork.

I've not had any of these 'prototypes' wet yet, so it may not be as effective as I think it will, but the concept intrigues me.

Anyway, I know there is little 'new' in fly tying and I'm sure others have explored this. With the expertise here, I was hoping for some devil's advocates to point out any pitfalls or problems I'm not seeing.

I certainly love playing with this kind of thing...

Thanks,

Buddy



------------------
[url=HTTP://HOMETOWN.AOL.COM/RSAN2708/INDEX.HTML:39027]HTTP://HOMETOWN.AOL.COM/RSAN2708/INDEX.HTML[/url:39027]

[Thwack]

Deer hair 3x the shank length, folded back and forth a couple times? Hmmmm, sounds a bit like the Tom Thumb fly found at:

[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/042902fotw.html:1bf98]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/042902fotw.html[/url:1bf98]

By sheer coincidence, I was checking out that fly earlier today. Otherwise, I never would've made the connection.

Having just picked up some deer hair for fifty cents per patch (5"x5" approx), I have plenty to experiment with and was considering trying the Tom Thumb when I finish tying some hoppers for a swap.

We have been tying Hoppers, Mayflies, Beetles, Spiders, Frogs, Damselflies, Honey Bees, ants, Yellow Jackets etc, etc. for years. They, when sealed float like bobbers.

In fact our entire business depends on it.

David Martin