In my attempts to recall a fly pattern my grandfather used, I tied up a few based upon different “possibilities”. Here’s the collection of “possibles”. I think the first one is most likely pattern we used.
Since I also like the look of these versions, I thought I would post them as well. Both look like they would produce.
Finally, Donald told me about a fly called a “Mason”, and posted a picture. I liked the look to tied one up. The above white bodied fly could be called a “Red Mason” (or more accurately a Cream Mason since the floss body is Uni Floss Cream).
Anyway, thanks to eveyone who helped and offered suggestions in my attempts to recover a memory.
Jeff, they all look like good producers, but I must say, that last one is a beautiful fly. I especially like the colors and the proportions of that one. You’ve been a busy tier for the last while, haven’t you? Very well done.
I’ve found a few good quality feathers amongst some materials my brother sent me. They really make a difference when doing the married wings! I’ve also been practicing building tapered bodies (from doing the bumbles). Sometimes they end up a bit thick, but I think I’m getting the hang of it and they are starting to turn out reasonably consistant. The Mason is the most recent one I’ve tied, and the blue strip is a single fibre. I really like the look of the pattern and am glad that it turned out nicely. Not all my attempts do (one gets to choose which flies they take pictures of! )
I’ve been tying a few flies everyday. Doesn’t take long to build up.
I have wanted to try married wings but have not found the courage as of yet. Very nice flies!
Please share your secret of time management of being a husband and father and finding time to tie. It seems these days my tying is limited to the hours of midnight to 7 am. :lol:
Good call on the wing orientation! I wish I could say I do that for a specific reason, but really, I just seem to tie them in that way by habit. Sometimes I remember to flip them over, and then I like the change in look. After awhile, though, I end up reverting to this way. I think it’s because it’s easier to measure the length of the wing against the hook shank with the straight edge down.
Well, the secret is that my tying bench is just a TV dinner table. I keep the tool box with all my stuff beside my chair. So, when Genesta is being put down to sleep, I grab some materials and tie one or two flies. Then, everything goes back in the toolbox (or the little one gets into it). We’re lucky because Genesta now goes to bed at about 6:30 and sleeps through 'till morning.
As for the married wings, if you can tie quill wings you can tie married wings. Putting them together isn’t too bad if you have good quality feathers (duck or goose quills). Make sure you are marrying slips both from the same side (left wing with left wing, right wing with right wing). You can tell if two feathers come from the same side because the quill will be offset from the centre line in the same way (the short side goes to the front of the bird). Also, if you look closely at the quill feather, you can see how near the stem the fibres are quite thick, like a biot you would wrap for a body. Then, as the fibre goes out toward the edge, you will see a ridge where the fibres all get thin. It’s the thin section you want to use, so before buying feather to marry, make sure the ridge is near the stem of the feather and you have lots of “thin bits”. Once you have your feathers, cut your slips, use a sewing needle to split your main wing slip and to separate out your 1 - 3 fibre slip from the other colour. Line up the tips, and the two slips should just attach to each other like a zip-lock bag (or velcro really). They go together easily if you have good feathers. Cheep feathers just won’t work well. It’s more finicky than hard. Once the wing is built, it ties in just like any other quill wing.
There ya go, that one works. Don’t let the Salmon Fly wings care you. There’s a section on wet fly wings further down, but the principle is still the same.
It’s not hard, but it does take a bit of patience and you are working with small bits of material. That just means a bit of practice and it will get easier. I should have mentioned the tutorial that LadyFisher and REE pointed you too. I’ve read that a few times, great tips in there.
Anyway, the only real difference to the tying of the fly is the building of the wing. Once the wing is built, it’s just another set of quill slips that you tie in as per normal.
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