Easy flies for beginners

[wernerm]

Gerrit,

What makes the split thread method more effective than just using a dubbing loop?

[Gerrit Viljoen]

Less bulk, less tying steps,more convenient,etc.

[Mike Taylor]

And here's my adaption of Kobus Kriel's deadly fly that won him the B nationals a couple of years ago. He fished it as a control fly in pocket water and also as a streamer in the pools.

I didn't have all the materials that he used and so I adapted it to look similar. I've tied it this way ever since. As it was his competition fly, I'm not going to say what the differences are. My version seems to work really well in streams, 'though I'd have to see Kobus fishing it to see if it was as good as his.

Once again, easy to tie and with common materials.


Hook: #10 Knapek Jig hook.
Thread: Black sheer 14/0
Bead: Gold coloured Tungsten 3mm
Tail: Black Marabou
Body: Coarse peacock herl & copper wire.
Head: Orange crystal chenile
Hackle: Tan Woolly bugger

Use a jig hook. The strange orientation of the eye means that it swims upside down, and has an amazingly lifelike movement in the water

Attachment 12777

Slip on the bead. Tie on and wind the thread to the bend of the hook

Attachment 12778

Tie in a long marabou tail. Leave it longer than on a woolly bugger.

Attachment 12779

Tie in a piece of copper wire. Tie in a coarse peacock herl. wind the thread forward three quarters of the way to the Bead.

Attachment 12780

Wind the peacock herl forward to the thread, tie it off and snip off the excess. Wind the copper wire forward in the opposite direction to the herl. The wire almost disappears, but it strengthens the fly body.

Attachment 12781

Tie in a short piece of orange crystal chenile and a tan hackle by the tip.

Attachment 12782


Wind the thread forward to the bead. Wind the chenile to the bead, tie off and cut off excess.

Attachment 12783

Wind the hackle forward to the bead (about 3 turns) over the chenile.

Attachment 12784

Whip finish

Attachment 12785

[wernerm]

I found a nice video on youtube demonstrating the dubbing loop and split thread technique in one go, i can now see why you would use the split thread technique. Going to try that tonight.

It's 11 minutes so brace yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acX4N...=youtube_gdata

[Mike Taylor]

Gerrit, I've tied up a few of your Squassie flies. I still battle a bit with the split thread technique. Then I tried tying the fly using Tim Roslton's "cheat's soft hackle" technique instead. It doesn't give exactly the same look, but is easier to tie. What do you think of it? Tied like this it's more of a soft hackle than a caddis pupa.

Get the fly to the point where you've tied in the mallard.

Attachment 12792

Now cut a bunch of over-long partridge soft hackle fibres and tie them in with the tips facing forward over the eye of the hook. Try to arrange them all around the eye, not just bunched on the top.

Attachment 12793

Cut off the stubs behind the eye. Stroke the partridge fibres back towards the hook bend.

Attachment 12794

Now, holding them back, do a couple of turns of thread to hold them in place. Whip finish & varnish the head.

Attachment 12795

[Gerrit Viljoen]

Hehe nice cheat! Ja no look you will catch fish with that version sure thing.It's all up to you hey Mike, play around it will all work.

[poppernel]

Gerrit, I've tied up a few of your Squassie flies. I still battle a bit with the split thread technique. Then I tried tying the fly using Tim Roslton's "cheat's soft hackle" technique instead. It doesn't give exactly the same look, but is easier to tie. What do you think of it? Tied like this it's more of a soft hackle than a caddis pupa.

Get the fly to the point where you've tied in the mallard.

Attachment 12792

Now cut a bunch of over-long partridge soft hackle fibres and tie them in with the tips facing forward over the eye of the hook. Try to arrange them all around the eye, not just bunched on the top.

Attachment 12793

Cut off the stubs behind the eye. Stroke the partridge fibres back towards the hook bend.

Attachment 12794

Now, holding them back, do a couple of turns of thread to hold them in place. Whip finish & varnish the head.

Attachment 12795

How difficult can a split thread be.

[Mike Taylor]

Depends how many thumbs you have. The thread is called easy flies for beginners!

[gazzarowan]

haha...i like the fly mike.

good cheat for sure

[dtayl13]

Another deadly fly: Zonker

This version I learned from Aidan de Jager and it is now one of my favourite flies. The nice thing about zonkers is that they all work and there is plenty of room for experimentation.

Materials

Hook: Dohiku S #8
Bead: tungsten 3mm. Colour of choice.
Rib (optional): copper wire
Dubbing: Colour of choice usually same as the zonker you are using.
Wing: Zonker strip colour of choice.
Collar: Zonker fur any colour that will suit the colour of the fly.
Eyes (optional): 4mm stick on 3D.
Flash (optional): flash dubbing (shrimp pink, green, cinnamon in fact any other than black)


Step 1
Place the bead on the hook, start the thread and wind to the bend. Tie in a piece of copper wire.

Attachment 12824

Step 2
Tie in a length of zonker strip at the bend. It should be noted that you will often have to halve the diameter of the zonker strip, especially for the smaller sizes. This is done quite easily with scissors but a sculpel also works well.

Attachment 12825

Step 3
Dub the body, being careful to leave a couple of millimetres back from the bead clear.

Attachment 12826

Step 4
Fold the zonker strip over and tie in. At this point you can add a bit of a sparkle if you want. To achieve this you simply pull out some long flash dub fibres and tie them in over the zonker strip.

Attachment 12827

Step 5
Wrap the copper wire forward over the zonker being careful not to trap any fur. Tie it in behind the bead.

Attachment 12828

Step 6
Use the cheap CNA version of the marc petitjean magic tool to place some zonker fur in a split thread. Spin the bobbin holder to create a dubbing brush.

Attachment 12829 Attachment 12832


Step 7
Wind the brush as a collar, pulling the fur back after each turn. Whip finish and varnish.

Attachment 12830

Step 8
You can also include stick on eyes as on this orange one. I couldn't inclue that in the SBS because my stick on eyes were swept up and thrown away but you hold them forceps, apply super glue to the back and stick them on the sides.

Attachment 12831