Hardest fly for you to tie.

[lancer09]

Since I got my Peak vice back in April my tying has gotten significantly better, causing me to try out all sorts of new flies. I got steadily better at things like deer hair mice and some dry flies. But the two that have truly given me more trouble than anything would be a muddler, I still haven't gotten it down. Also, I worked this evening on an irresistable, The deer hair bodied cousin of the Adams. I finally got him to look ok but the muddler still kills me.

What are the hardest flies you have tried to tie recently... or ever.

 

[Ard]

For down east flies the irresistible is probably the hardest I ever tied. For your muddlers try using small bunches of deer hair as opposed to trying to make that nice head in one shot. Spin small bunches and use the thumb and finger nails to press them together tightly to form the head.

Now I tie exclusively for salmon and steelhead trout and the hardest fly I tie is the Santiam Spectrum. You can see a good one and a bad one on the same thread in the Flies For Alaska Salmon and Steelhead thread located in the Flies For Alaska forum threads. Keep working at the muddler and before you know it you'll be knocking out Whitlock Sculpins too.

Ard

 

[okuma]

other than ants, i hate dry fly tying. i make my trout buddt do them.

 

[peregrines]

I haven't even attempted married wings yet (each left and right wing made up of several colors/strips of quill slips), but I hope to work on them this winter. I typically cheat by tying hairwing versions of those patterns.

 

[lancer09]

Oddly enough it isn't the deer head that gives me trouble with the muddler. It's the stupid turkey quill slips.

 

[kglissmeyer1]

Lawson's No-Hackle Mayflies are the most difficult for me to get the wings to look like he does it, and I've been tying for more than twenty years...

Kelly.

 

[Jimmie]

Small Humpies.

Plus, split microfibbet tails (2 or 3)

 

[Rip Tide]

I was warned when I was young that if I kept it up I'd go blind *

Well I didn't listen and now I have trouble tying anything tiny









*mama said not to sit too close to the TV...... what were YOU thinking ?

 

[kglissmeyer1]

I was warned when I was young that if I kept it up I'd go blind *

Well I didn't listen and now I have trouble tying anything tiny


*mama said not to sit too close to the TV...... what were YOU thinking ?

Man, that does explain a lot - who knew? Even now, current thinking says that what mama said way back then was just a myth, now we know better, don't we?!? Thank goodness for bi-focals

Kelly.

 

[stimmy7]

Upright quill wings, No Hackle quill wings and Married slip quill wings.

I can tie them, but setting them right, applying sufficient tension without splitting them and being satisfied with the results repeatedly is the problem

 

[hangin chad]

I haven't tied anything in a couple of years, but the Elk Hair Caddis gave me some fits. Trying to wind the wire over the abdomen without tying down the hackle is crazy-making on the first few tries.

When my wife gifted me with a set of tying tools and a vice, I asked my son about starter flies. He said the EHC was pretty easy to tie

I may honestly never tie anything but nymphs and SHWAPFs ever again.

 

[BigCliff]

Small Irresistables, Humpies, and Wulffs all give me fits, so I guess a size 20 Irresistable Wulff would take the cake.

Just one more reason why I stick with nymphs and caddis patterns.

 

[BlueDun]

Anything with deer hair - can't stand working with that stuff.

 

[paymaster]

Spun deer hair flies. Muddlers,bass bugs,anything to do with spinning hair and I am a clutz!

 

[madjoni]

Hi to all
hardest fly ?well,that for sure is realistic ones
here is one,not that realistic but with silikon body and two hackles around two wings this one gave me hard time

 

[jaybo41]

Probably Catskill style drys for me, espeically when the split microfiblet tails come into play. I haven't even attempted woven bodied stones or other woven body styles and likely won't even attempt them :icon_lol:

A while back it used to be caddis patterns, specifically the CDC & Elk/Deer as that's one of my favorite caddis patterns. I was very inconsistent with the wing until I found out the right way to do it. The originator's video brought it all together for me--thank you Hans! I now use this method for anything that requires deer hair as a wing with great success.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJyIbgKYHwY]YouTube - Hans WeilenmannTying a CDC & Elk[/ame]

 

[Ard]

Jay,

I am not going to promise an on line tying class but one of our members is hosting a Salmon Fly Tie Along and by the looks of this thread we could use the same for Catskill Dries, Muddlers' and Irresistibles'.

We have a long winter here in Alaska so stay tunned, I selfishly tie salmon & steelhead flies all winter but I came from a Catskill Dry Fly background and have spun my share of deer hair flies also.

Ard


[Edit]

I've been replacing some flies to my boxes, these little gems will give you fits. That's a lot of stuff to try to bring together in the head. Actually any fly that you wind the tinsels over the hackles are hard to do. A double or counter wrapped tinsel is harder.

[/IMG]

 

[madjoni]

Hi Ard....since you mention streamers and winter,this fellows takes lot of my time

 

[Ard]

Nice, Works good?

 

[madjoni]

Nice, Works good?

Yes,but my favorit streamer paterns are wooly buggers ,and they not hard to tie so dont belong to this thread