Comments please

Since I am no longer a fly fisher at my age, I limit my continuing efforts to tying,especially at classes for beginners. I recently received some turkey primary feathers sold as biots strips but coming as full feathers. Now what to do with these very long quill pieces opposite the shorter biot pieces. Stripping off three of them I tied them on as a tail for a Cream Variant. I added several more, simply tied on as a bunch, and wound on a quill body. Now simply adding a creaam hackle, I had some of the best looking Cream Variants I’ve ever tied.
My question, Is there anything simpler for a two material fly?

I think I have you beat. One material, grizzly hackle full palmer over a thread covered hook.
It is here: http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw/2198fotw.php
And oh yes, it really works.

I have to agree with LadyFisher, It is simple and it has caught me a lot of fish… I use it in the Fly Tying Classes that I teach. John

Seems to me Ray’s key words are…“for a two material fly?”:confused:

Sorry, LF, but…

Hey Duck -

The tying thread is a material, so LF’s fly is a two material fly, unless of course you count the hook, but Ray didn’t so I guess LF doesn’t need to either, and neither of them counted the thread, so I guess Ray’s fly is a three material fly.

If you want to get it down to a hook and one material, there is my t.c.t.k. ( midge larva ). And it does catch fish.

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/091007fotw.php

Of course, if you don’t count the thread as a material, the t.c.t.k. is a “no material” fly.

Not to take away from Ray’s fly in any way, which I would surely like to try, nor LF’s, which no doubt is a real winner, but I think the gist of the thread is simple flies ??

John

The Worthy.

[LEFT]Not counting hook and thread.

Wing - Olive Superhair or olive bucktail.
Eyes - Silver bead chain.

[/LEFT]

how about this one The Usual
Tail: Small bunch of hair from rabbit’s pad.

Wing: Larger bunch of hair from rabbit’s pad.

Body: Underfur from rabbit’s foot dubbed on thread

Hey John,

I have to respectfully disagree…literally he said 2 materials…you know you’re stretching with the definition of hooks, thread, etc. …

but I stick with my assertion that Ray was saying he had a TWO material simple fly…

I will await Ray to say otherwise and if he does then admit my error or say I told you so…

Bottom line …we have gone down the …what is the simplest fly many times …I think we are onto 2:rolleyes:

I will have to agree. Thread is a tool not a material.

Thanks for the responses . I also forgot the Sally Hansen’s and the wax and yellow dye Danville put on their thread. I was trying to be simplistic again, having also wondered why full dressed salmon flies were so complex (but beautiful). Realizing that spawning salmon are said to not eat, those patterns are designed to scare them into striking out of aggressiveness. But then a lot of the flies we deal with are for show, not for fishing. I call those “Petting Stuff”

Hey John,
Now I don’t know whether to say I was wrong or I told you so:D:D:confused:.

Anyway to belabor this and flip flop [just a little]…I suppose when one ties a simple chironomid with just thread it becomes a material:shock:

Ray,

Here are two flies, each tied with one material (other than hook & thread)

One hen saddle feather is used in this One For All

One short section of a pine squirrel ‘zonker’ strip is used for this Squonker

Cheers,
Hans W

Duck -

Ray’s a real gentleman - he let me off the hook, so to speak.

Hans -

Thought about putting up a photo of my version of your “Squonker,” but since it uses both a p. s. zonker strip AND THREAD, I wasn’t sure if it qualified as a one material fly or a two material fly. I do mine in sculpin olive and wrap the zonker forward from mid-shank. It is a very productive pattern.

John

John,

Thought about putting up a photo of my version of your “Squonker,” but since it uses both a p. s. zonker strip AND THREAD, I wasn’t sure if it qualified as a one material fly or a two material fly.

As Ray referred to his pattern using turkey barbs and hackle as a two material fly, I think it is a fair assumption that the thread was excluded from the list. Ray can correct me if I am mistaken.

Cheers,
Hans W

Hi,

Here’s a simple red damsel fly pattern of mine that (other than the red thread) only uses pheasant tail fibres (for the tail and thorax) and a few turns of furnace hackle:

Many spiders are just two materials as well, a dubbed or floss body and a soft hackle at the collar.

And this hare and copper nymph is extremely popular here in NZ, and simple to tie (rough dubbing of hares fur, ribbed with copper wire):

Hmmm, you know, a lot of really successful flies can be made with just one or two materials.

Here’s a generic wee wet that is just yellow floss body, and partridge feather for wing and throat. The head is the tying thread in rusty brown. One could add two or three fibres for a tail as well.

  • Jeff

Hmmm, looking at that last one a bit more closely, I might have used a different partridge feather for the throat hackle, but using the same as the wing would work too.

I spent one season fishing mainly one material flies.

Here’s my thread only fly. One version uses two colors of thread, another version thread only, and another, thread colored with a marker. I had a lot of fun fishing this fly tied on a size 18.

http://www.edengelman.com/ThreadOnly/ThreadOnly.html

One of my favorite one material flies is the knotted midge by Vladmir Markov

http://www.markov.baikal.ru/keep/8m/knot.html

Ed

The JW Bucktail is a 2 material fly that catches a ton of LM, SM, and Rockies. I use a white feather instead of deer hair for the “collar”. I got this from Harry Murray’s book on SM.

http://www.flyfishohio.com/Adventures_in_Fly_Tying.htm

scroll down.

Hans

The One For All is a great looking fly.

I’ll have to try tying up a few.

Thank you

Ed

Hans

Thank you for posting the “One For All” an the Squonker.

I’ll have to try tying up a few of each.

Do you have details for the “One For All” on your website? I was unable to find it.

Thanks again.

Ed