I-Hate-To-Tie-This-Fly FLY SWAP

[Hairstacker]

I hear you guys . . . if my Matukas approach the quality of that Humpy, I will be one happy camper!

[Ben Kobrin]

I hear you guys . . . if my Matukas approach the quality of that Humpy, I will be one happy camper!

If any of my other 7 humpies approach the quality of that humpy I'll be a happy camper. I've tied another 5 since that one and haven't come close!

-Ben

[jburge]

I hear you guys . . . if my Matukas approach the quality of that Humpy, I will be one happy camper!

Boy, am I glad I'm not alone. I now have over a dozen Royal Wulffs (if you want to call 'em that) tied, but am not real pleased. How 'bout we definitely think of them as "fishing flies"?

If I muster up the nerve, I'll try to post a pic so you can see what you're in for

John

[jburge]

Well hey Ben, the good news is, your plan worked. Well, sorta. It's not that I "hate" to tie this fly, just that it has once again confirmed my love-hate relationship with calf hair and Wulff wings I got the Royal Wulffs done and hopefully y'all will like 'em.



The tails are long, so I'll forewarn everybody ahead of time. That's just me. I like the way they sit in the water, especially in some of the more turbulent streams I like to fish. I also wish I could get the tail to sit in a tighter little bundle, but maybe it's just the moose hair I'm using??? It's a little hard to see in this photo, but there is some copper wire ribbing too.

I'm always looking to improve, so if anybody sees anything that could make it classier, just let me know. Thanks!

John

[Hairstacker]

John, was it John Gierach who said that perhaps the perfect fly is one that is tied as intended? If you prefer longer tails on your dries, so be it. I think A.K. Best prefers longer tails on his dries too, so that puts you in pretty darn good company, not to mention the naturals are that way.

In any event, that is a beautifully tied fly, great job!

[nrvi]

It is great to see the fruits of your labor, they are looking good. I wish I could say the same about my woven stones.....you all may have to settle with ugly, but I will keep trying, still a little time left.

[Jay Murakoshi]

Sounds like everyone is talking about tying a difficult pattern. One of my favorite pattens to tie up was a Goddard Caddis. Natural deer hair, a couple grizzly hackle stems and trim the body to a cone shape with a sharp angle butt end

Jay

[jburge]

Thanks for the props guys And I never thought of it the way Gierach put it, Mike. But it's right. If the fly comes out the way it's intended, then hey, it's a good fly.

Can't wait to see this set. I think it's gonna be really nice.

John

[Ben Kobrin]

I hope everyone is enjoying their time at the vise. I can tell you first hand that jburge's time was well spent! His flies got to me yesterday and they are beautiful. He may call his relationship with calf hair love/hate, but for those of us that are going to enjoy the fruits of his labor it will just be love!

If anyone else has an update that they would like to share, we'd love to hear about how you are doing. In case anyone cares, my Humpies still suck.

-Ben

[jburge]

I hope everyone is enjoying their time at the vise. I can tell you first hand that jburge's time was well spent! His flies got to me yesterday and they are beautiful. He may call his relationship with calf hair love/hate, but for those of us that are going to enjoy the fruits of his labor it will just be love!

Ben,

THANKS! Hopefully (if this weather keeps up) we can be fishing all these flies very soon

John