Collier's Wet-wire 1870 Coachman SBS

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Interesting fly from Colorado tyer Dennis Collier.

hook - Orvis 1512 #10
thread - UTC 70 woodduck
bead - 7/64 gold
tail - golden pheasant tippets
body - brassie wire hot orange
thorax - peacock herl
wing - antron white
hackle - hen grizzly

Part 1

mash barb, slide bead on; jam in place with a few wraps of .015 non-tox

start thread, wrap to point above point

measure (gap width past bend) some gp fibers; tie in

wrap wire forward; helicopter end, cover with thread

tie in a hank of antron over the bead

tie in some peacock herl; wrap to bead, tie off/trim

fold wing back, tie down with a few wraps

2

Part 2

tie in (folded) hackle by tip; stroke fibers back while wrapping, tie off/trim, whip, SHHAN

trim wing

Regards,
Scott

3

Excellent tie, Scott!

I have a question about this type of hook. Does the design impart some kind of action to the fly? Does it wiggle on it’s own when retrieved?

4

Allen,

Thanks. Haven’t done the bathtub test, yet, but I’d imagine a bit of up-and-down, especially if tied with a loop knot.

Regards,
Scott

5

If you don’t have any swimming nymph hooks, but you do have some of those “natural bend” irons like a Dai Riki 270, Tiemco 200, etc, you can roll your own. Takes about 10 seconds (including time to mash the barb):

before

hold hook against a metal rod of some sort (my vise stem works great)

clamp eye securely against the stem with a pair of pliers; push away against the bottom of the bend until you get the curve you’re looking for (only 2 hands so I can’t show the process in action)

ready for action

Regards,
Scott

6

Thanks. I’ve heard of doing this before; it is what I’m planning on doing to produce a “few” of this shape hook for experimentation.

7

Very nice tie, Scott. I’m curious about your experience with that style hook. Used the Tiemco swimming nymph version years ago and was struck by a poor hook up rate, and a lot of long distance releases. Gave up on them and haven’t used them for some time. Wonder if you or others have experienced that.

8

Jay,

I don’t have much experience with them; saw a pic of the fly on Hans’ site and thought it was a cool look. I’d just as soon tie it on something like a Dai Riki 280, a hook I have a lot of faith in.

Regards,
Scott