Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Flies, Keeping it Simple

Emergers, soft-hackled wet fly, reversed hackled fly, and Tenkara style fly. These are names for a type of fly. I have for the last few weeks been tying these and fishing them with some good results. Again the simplicity thing comes forth. The ingredients are curved hooks, a hen feather, a few fibers of wood duck, mallard can be used, some sparse hares dubbing, and thread, for this fly I used olive dun but you can use what you like.



I don't name these flies, I just give them a title "reversed soft-hackle olive", or what ever thread or feather I may use. Below are photo variations of the "reversed soft-hackle olive".


Although these are tenkara style flies they can be fished with conventional fly gear very effectively.





25 comments:

  1. I recognize these as Tenkara flies (although who really cares, right?) Do these fish any differently than traditional wet flies?

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    Replies
    1. Howard Levett
      Thanks
      Howard I fish them the same way I fish traditional soft hackles wets. The reverse hackle does add a great deal of movement.

      Delete
  2. I've never tied a reverse hackled fly. Looking at them, they just look like they would become very alive in the water... Almost like the skirt on a jig or spinnerbait that one would toss on traditional gear for bass. With a "reverse" start the skirt pulses and moves much more than one tied straight. In the water do you feel these forward tied flies do that as well?
    Keep well Alan - Will

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    Replies
    1. Hibernation
      Thanks
      Will you are right. They offer much more movement, which leads to more strikes.
      When fished there is no difference in the feel.

      Delete
  3. All right all right, you've convinced me. Tying some tonight. Flinging them this weekend.

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    Replies
    1. projecttheplanet
      Thanks
      I'm glad your going to take the plunge. And please let us know how you make out.

      Delete
  4. Alan
    Another case of the infinite variety of patterns out there. I've heard of Tenkara but have never seen a reverse hackled fly. Thanks for the inspiration.

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    Replies
    1. thedeadfisher
      Thanks
      John the flies are nice to look at, easy to tie and they work.

      Delete
  5. Alan
    I would assume one could fish all these flies with a dead drift using a 9 to 10 ft. fly rod. Is this the way they would be fished using the Tenkara? Thanks for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell
      Thanks
      Bill fished on a dead drift with a conventional fly rod would be deadly. And it is one way of fishing them.

      Delete
  6. Nice Ties! Looks like someone has been bitten by the "sakasa kebari bug".

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    Replies
    1. Chris "Kiwi" Kuhlow
      Thanks
      Chris maybe so. They are so nice looking as well as effective.

      Delete
  7. Beautiful flies! Are you wrapping the wood duck or just tying some fibers on top of the hook facing out over the eye? Are you also wire wrapping the bodies?
    Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Adam
      Thanks
      Adam I tie in a half dozen fibers on top of the hook facing out.
      The body is wrapped with thread that has been colored with a magic marker.

      Delete
  8. Great looking flies, Alan. Are they hard to tie on to one's leader? Any tricks on doing that, because I want to add a few to my arsenal?

    Regards, Sam

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    Replies
    1. Parachute Adams
      Thanks
      Sam they present no problem in tying on. Just stroke the fibers back and the eye is exposed.

      Delete
    2. Understood, Alan, and thank you for the tip. That style of fly will be attempted soon.

      Delete
  9. Alan, I think you are on to something that is really exciting. I think you could have a whole series of this style of tie. An olive ,yellow for sulphur,black and brown for midges, grey, and rusty brown, and of course orange. I have seen other tenkara style flies but yours impress me more because they look like our beloved soft hackles but with reversing the hackle it gives a completely different action, simple process but different result ,my kind of fly . Utter simplicity . I love it thanks , alan

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    Replies
    1. Brad Basehore
      Thanks
      Brad I'm going to experiment with several different colors, and even a few wild colors. The idea came from a fly that I saw tied by Davie McPhail.

      Delete
  10. Very nice, beautifully executed.
    I really like the dubbed collar on your versions.
    I substitute a few strands of peacock herl, but find the same style of fly ridiculously effective.

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    Replies
    1. Michael Agneta
      Thanks
      Mike peacock is a great material, a trout magnet sort of. The dubbing gives the tyer more options as far as color, and if dubbed right will produce that "breathing" effect.

      Delete
  11. Really enjoy these, and I'm with, Howard. When I see these, I think of Tenkara, but who really cares ha. I'd totally fish that black one. The bluegill and small bass in some of my ponds and creeks would love to meet that one.

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    Replies
    1. Justin Carf
      thanks
      Justin you are correct, it's a tenkara fly, but it can be used as any other wet fly.
      I'm sure it would be a wonderful fly for most fish, well maybe not pike, but who knows.

      Delete
  12. Enjoyed the patterns. Thanks much for sharing the article.

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  13. I really like your take on the Sakasa style Kebaris. They are like a beautiful hybrid of the eastern and western styles of fly tying. I particularly like how you used the accent of the wood duck, which in some ways makes me think of this as a more "catskill" style Tenkara fly. I'd love to see how you incorporate that into the tying of it, do you tie in a few barbules, or just a single wrap of the feather around the hook maybe?

    ReplyDelete