This is a Mardi Gras swap for freshwater and warmwater flies. Flies need to have purple, green and/or gold in there somewhere. It can be majority of the fly or just a splash of gold flash or wire. It just can not be made out of lint. :lol: Inspiration can be from an old pattern or new: http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/schedule.php
There will be spots for 12 tiers since Mardi Gras always starts twelve days after Christmas, but we all know the planning and celebrations are going on now. Flies are due to me middle of February. I’m targeting for no later than 15 Feb, so I can get them in the mail, and you can have them on Mardi Gras (this year it’s the 20th).
Normal rules apply: self addressed stamped envelope, good box, toe tags with at least your name and fly.
1–DianeID: King Fly tied
2–Bassman: Mini Wooly Bugger received
3–White43: Gaudy Clouser received
4–Kahuna: Mardi-Nymph received
5–Ol Blue: Mardi-gras Damsel received
6–Flyster101: Hermosa Shads received
7–Thwack: Bourbon Street Nymph received
8–Alberto: Krewe Slider
9–Gardenfish: Sage Blossom received
10–Crstan: Bead head soft hackle received
11–George Emanuel: Mardi Gras Streamer received
12–Extremely Low Budget FF: Bug-Eyed Streamer received
Ok DianeID your last Mardi Gras Swap was fantastic so if you will have me I will get in with One of my Simple Mini Wooly Buggers. If that is ok. Thanks John
Thanks for joining, John. Actually, I’m not sure which Diane/Dianne did the Mardi Gras swap last year, but it wasn’t me. Hopefully, this will be just as fun though.
Sorry about that Diane, sometimes I do get you too mixed up. But I still think you run some great swaps. It is always a pleasure to be in the fly swaps with you. John
Got room for a “Bourbon Street Nymph”? If so, please add my name to the list and I’ll get busy sorting out the details.
I haven’t been to Mardi Gras since I think the mid-1980’s when I graduated college (LSU - Baton Rouge) and moved out of state for my first real job. A Mardi Gras themed swap should bring back some fun memories.
Twack–you’re in. Thanks for joining. The weather map, as I’m tying, was showing purple and gold with the incoming storm. It must be an LSU sign! Does the nymph go with a New Orleans Fizz or just set with a bottle of Maker’s Mark? :lol: Good luck with your team and Sugar Bowl.
Thanks! I’ve got the basic design in mind but need to tie a couple to make sure it will look OK.
Goes best with a hurricane of course (the drink, not the weather system called a hurricane…though if you get too much of either, you’ll feel about the same way).
I’ve tied up a few prototypes and like the results. I’ll be travelling home tomorrow so I probably won’t finish until at least the weekend.
Here’s the recipe (so I don’t forget it while I’m travelling) for the
Bourbon Street Nymph:
hook: TMC 200R size 14
3/32 Gold bead head
5 wraps of lead-free wire behind the head (.015 diameter)
thread: black 8/0
tail: chartreuse (green) biots
abdomen: charteuse ice dubbing
thorax: peacock herl
wing case: purple floss doubled up (bulky floss, not fancy skinny silky stuff)
I wanted the nymph to have some chance of being fishable and I’ve had good luck in southern Louisiana eons ago with Chartreuse so it’s the predominant color.
I edited the original recipe after tying some more. I deleted the legs since they don’t add to the color scheme and they were making me bulk of the head a bit.
I also figured out that using the floss doubled up instead of tripled up worked better.
Thwack, that sounds like an interesting fly. I’ve started playing around with colors and patterns, too. It’s warming up a little, and I need something new to test on the trout here.
We hit a cold snap here at home, so testing out a first try at a King Fly is on hold. (Fishing when it’s 25 degrees and a 10 knot breeze is not fun.) However, a buddy in Louisiana just told me he spent $1400 on his Duke outfit for a parade. Ouch. What would the King and Queen cost? However, this makes me feel well justified for the new items I bought for stream-side aids.
King Fly Test proved to be…cold. Maybe it was the high temp of the day hitting 29. At least the fly was hitting the water and not the ice on the bank. :lol:
Later.