I just finished tying a realistic hellgrammite and thought I’d share it with everyone.
Anyone else dabble with realistics?
[This message has been edited by OLB (edited 14 July 2006).]
Another one I recent;y tied that I’m proud of is this stonefly nymph
Nice stuff. You coming to the ‘Fish-In’?
Mantis posts on here regularly.
Ya know, I think so!
Great Alex, look forward to meeting you. Hope you bring some of your ‘bugs’ with you… 
Send an email to the LF and we will put you on the ‘I’m going list,’ for Michigan. We are too, members of the Anglers of… etc… very dedicated bunch. 
OLB,
Really nice work. I consider myself a pretty good tyer but I don’t even come close to those flies. Excellent job! 8T
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.
Nice work!~ Keep it going. Lot of fun this realistic stuff…Bob
Very nice indeed! My work doesn’t compare, but lately I’ve been tying up some of the hyper-realistic micro ants (sizes 26 and 32) like those of Takeshi (www1.odn.ne.je-bambriarsilk-index.html.htm). If I weren’t on dial-up, I’d include a shot or two. They do everything but carry off lunch (at least his do–so far mine look real, but more like an ant would look after being washed downstream a ways). I haven’t tried fishing them yet (too hot out for now), but it really isn’t necessary, since it was mostly an exercise to see if I could actually do it–endless fun, maybe I’ll try 'skeeters and gnats next!
-CC
Those look cool. How well do they work? I generally go for more “buggy” looking flies because they seem to have better action.
OLB, are you tying those with Photoshop?
I blame Mantis for my addiction. :lol:
I was going toward realistic stoneflies this winter. Just my version of cabin fever. The only way to snap out of it was this:
John Koch took the photo. It is realistic in the sense that it has all the butterfly parts, but mimics nothing found in nature.
Maybe next winter when I’m feeling a bit crazy again I’ll go back to the ‘real’ realistic type.
That is a great butterfly! The JC nails on the wings are a nice touch.
Thanks. They visually tie in the colors in upper and lower wings.
I gotta say though, that helgrammite is the bee’s knees.
You bet, I love tying realistics. I especially enjoy tying woven bodies. Here is an example of my mayfly.
Garren
I have tied them in the past. Like most just to see that I could do so. They take to much time now day’s as I tie for a living and just do not have the time to play with flies. The flies you folks have done look fine. May I suggesst you take a look at a book by “William F Blades” Title “Fishing Flies and Fly Tying” Copyright 1951 and the reprint 1962 By Stackpole Company.
Mr Bates was so far ahead of his time in tying. I think you will be amazed at the flies this man has tied. Now remember this is the 40’s and 50’s. I might also add that he is the fellow that taught Ernie Schwiebert to tie. Just a heads up for you folk’s that like this type of tying. There are minnow’s that look like they will swim off the page and mayflies that look like they are ready to mate, nymph’s and more. Ron
Thanks for the book suggestion, I’m always a sucker for a new book.
Bill Blades was indeed ahead of his time. Thread and , was it Ducco cement, for the extended bodies. It was he who inspired Poul Jorgensen to tie realistics, such as his Michigan Mayfly…Poul spoke highly of Bill and always gave him credit for certain techniques he used and then expanded on. Poul corrected me one time when I had written an article and given credit to the reversed hackle leg to P.J., Poul, telling me later that it was something he had learned from Bill. I was unaware Schwiebert learned tying from him too I would have to research that a bit. Interesting. Of course all three of these gentlemen are gone now. Never really knew Bill but did see a lot of Poul and Ernie. Where did the time go…
Atleast we’re lucky enough that those guys shared some of there vast knowledge on tying and flyfishing before they passed.
I haven’t read any of Jorgenson’s work, but when I got into flyfishing and tying last year, the first thing I did was go to the local library and got Schweibert’s “Match the Hatch”, I read it several times and really gained alot from it. I since have read everything I could get my hands on that he wrote and even though I never got the chance to meet him, I feel like I knew him.
Mantis- Just so you don’t have to look to hard Take a peek in Schwiebert’s book “Nymph’s” on page 118 about 2/3 of the way down the page it say’s “Since my fly-tying was learned just after the Second World War from William Blades, and his Fishing Flies abd fly Tying”
There is another place in one of his book’s were he tell’s of his father sending him to Blades to be taught. Just can’t remember which book it was in. Ron