I have never done this before and I feel like I am a prostitute now. At least I’m not regifting! However, I know there are a handful of people out there (3 or so…) that enjoy bugs that I tie. Due to some goings on, I have been looking into some very classic patterns to revisit. Because they are not my design, I feel that it is alright to put the ol’ Dave twist on them and give them away. The only problem… I have no idea if they work or which one is the best. I am thinking to do a monthly thing where people vote on their favorite classic revisit, name it, give half a dozen away, then posting a tutorial on the winning bug. So, here goes the test run of this.
I was sifting through the annuls of history and speaking with a few people riverside about bugs. It seems that people really enjoy the pheasant tail (PT), most using it as their “Go To” bug. I have never been huge into the world of the PT, they are usually a bit bulky for my taste. Frank Sawyer never meant for the PT to be a plump insect. He did mean for it to have gills and a paddle tail though. I really enjoyed digging around the bug and if you are a fan of history, this fly has traded hands over the ages to become what we use today. I would have tied this traditionally, but it seems that the tradition of the PT is to modify it.
This leads us into the give away type thing that I am doing here. The rules are very simple. Comment below, tell me which fly you choose as your favorite and name it. The most popular bug wins and the person with the best name for that bug wins a half-dozen. I’ll even ship it internationally. Here goes!
Contestant “A”
Contestant “B”
Contestant “C”
The winner will receive six flies Of the winning pattern tied on size 14 Tiemco 206BL (not cutting corners here). Tied by: David Goodrich… With love?
*Contestant “A” spun my camera out of control, so I touched it up by adding contrast and dropping the saturation. The others are untouched.
February 17th, 2013 at 10:19 pm
You write very well, your patience shows.
February 17th, 2013 at 10:22 pm
I’m glad I know who this is! I think I write like I have ADD. Thank you much!
February 17th, 2013 at 10:40 pm
Contestant B – The Bush Nymph
February 17th, 2013 at 10:43 pm
Presidential reference, yes? Haha ahem… Sorry.
February 17th, 2013 at 10:53 pm
Judging by overall views… There seems to be a tie going on (pun intended). You may be on to something. You aren’t psychic, are you Randy?
February 18th, 2013 at 11:26 am
I was instantly attracted to C David. I like the bushier thorax and the red wingcase. I would call it the redhead pheasant tail.
February 18th, 2013 at 1:34 pm
I was going to take a better shot with the case more visable. I’m glad you noticed!
February 23rd, 2013 at 11:33 am
“A”: The dazzle brushed PT…I always enjoy a subtle addition of sparkle or Dazzle that flashes momentarily in the sunshine.
February 24th, 2013 at 6:39 am
Since you voted “A” and we have a 3-way tie… I’ll send you some too! Everybody wins!!
I’m thinking I might show how to tie both “A” and “B” in an upcoming post.
February 24th, 2013 at 6:49 am
I would enjoy seeing how you tied that one, to see how you incorporated the sparkle in the body. Twisted, plaited, or simply wound together. I am plaiting a lot of materials nowadays, including very fine dubbing brushes plaited with wire and crystal flash. A great fly either way.
February 25th, 2013 at 7:01 pm
The theme in subject “A” is layering. I like to mask flashy dubbing. The wingcase is the most difficult part of the fly, but it really shows my style of tying. I’m currently working on finding a house, but you will see the tutorial in an upcoming post. I may even create a video.