Saving Bits And Pieces Of Scrap Materials

[SST_Flies]

I have amassed close to 10 fly shops worth of material over the years. However, within the last dozen or so years, I've been in a habit of saving clippings and scraps of materials I thought I could utilize for future use in small plastic bags. After an adult beverage or two the creativity really kicks in and I start playing around with different dubbing mixes and ideas. If the fly looks promising it finds a corner in the fly box and the recipe is written down and placed in the bag. Should the fly produce favorable results I'll mix larger batches and whip out a dozen or so flies.

You'll see below that deer hair is perhaps my favorite material!)

Filoplume Hare's Ear (Great lake or slow water pattern.)



Black hare's ear mixed with purple Arctic Frost. Collar is black deer hair



Cased Caddis

The body is a mixture of black, brown, and natural deer hair mixed with dark hare's ear. Body is clipped to shape. Leave a few black deer hairs in place for the legs. When wet this pattern looks like the Real McCoy



Caddis emerger

Leftover Z-lon (shuck and over wing) and clear Antron fibers under wing). Black and brown deer hair was mixed with pearl blue Ice Dubbing, clear Antron and hare's ear to create a very buggy collar which surrounds the fly. This is a killer caddis pattern!



Enjoy!

John

[John Sv]

Beautiful flies. What's the hook in the first fly

[SST_Flies]

Beautiful flies. What's the hook in the first fly

Hends BL554 from Europe

[Darian]

Great looking flies!! Forgive me but the fly in the first photo reminds me of the beard on a Schnauzer dog....

[FISHEYE]

I love these!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Really nice flies and great photos as well.......thanks for adding some class to our little message board.

[befuddled]

My work is technical/scientific in nature so I've always refused to be a recipe driven fly tyer (read as "I make crap up"). I can't tell you the number of times I've gotten to my camping spot and pulled out my little travel box and it dictated what got tied for the next morning. I probably can't list the steps or components in a single fly that you'll find in a book or guide. Don't get me wrong, I will work on a pattern over and over until I get it the way I want it, I just don't have a set of instructions, more of an idea in my head. Keeps it stress free for me. Probably would drive some folks crazy.

[cyama]

SST Flies John your blog is really cool. I like the fifty shade of a hares ear and the scrap materials flies. I tie a lot of hares ear soft hackles, but they didn't seem to make the list... Sometimes I just gather up the scraps and try to invent some flies as well. Just about every time I go to a river I have some experimental flies... I have yet to go so far as befuddled and carry all my materials to the river or lake to tie flies for the next day. I have on several occasions wished I had at least some of my fly tying stuff to copy the fly of the day. Pyramid is kinda that way. Fish seem to eat something different week to week and the flies are pretty easy to tie.

[bigfly]

"I have on several occasions wished I had at least some of my fly tying stuff to copy the fly of the day."

I carry my tying stuff with, for this reason.
Several times at Pyramid I pulled a rabbit out of my hat........
One of the best moments was a ladybug fall....I didn't have one in my box.
Tied one up and fished a dry beetle to piggies rising.
Apparently I was either the only one who noticed, or the only guy with materials and vice.
I enjoy whipping up one fly with lunch, and then fishing with only one fly till the fish say uncle.
And some of the best tiers, tie "trash flies" that work.
A. Burk and I used to do dueling trash flies..........let the creativity roll!!!!

Jim

[SST Flies]

SST Flies John your blog is really cool. I like the fifty shade of a hares ear and the scrap materials flies. I tie a lot of hares ear soft hackles, but they didn't seem to make the list... Sometimes I just gather up the scraps and try to invent some flies as well. Just about every time I go to a river I have some experimental flies... I have yet to go so far as befuddled and carry all my materials to the river or lake to tie flies for the next day. I have on several occasions wished I had at least some of my fly tying stuff to copy the fly of the day. Pyramid is kinda that way. Fish seem to eat something different week to week and the flies are pretty easy to tie.

Thanks! The blog is coming along.. I have so many ideas, but never enough time. Videos are coming shortly as well as re-doing some of the pictures. I think I am down to a baker's dozen to complete the 50 Shades...