Sylvester Nemes, The Soft Hackle Fly Addict..he is responsible for many of us turning to fishing and tying soft-hackle flies. I had in my possession his books long before I ever bought a tying vise. These books were valuable to the fly fisher as well as the tyer and put the value of simple flies into the minds and fly boxes of myself and many others. I don't know if Nemes ever recieved the proper acclaim that is due him, but I hold his ideas close.
A couple of years ago at the fly fishing show in Marlboro I came across these hooks. I purchased several packages of them in 2 sizes, 14 and 13. The hooks are hand made and are strong wire. The soft-hackle patterns tie beautifully on them. Below are a few patterns from his book, they are tied on the Syl Nemes hooks.
"Greensleeves"
"Little Winter Brown"
"Orange And Starling"
Alan
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of his original book. Love his soft hackles, that is what led me to become the soft hackle addict I am today. BTW nice flies you have tied.
TROUT1
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Pete I knew you would have an interest in this post.
You are more than a soft-hackle addict, your a soft-hackle "master"
Those Gaelic Supreme hooks are nice looking to be sure. I have purchased hooks from Graham myself and have been quite satisfied. The ones you show here look similar the the Daiichi 1550 hook that I often use for wet flies, but the ones you have tied are a notch above mine.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Shuck
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Bill the Gaelic are nice but pricey. I"m going to check out those Daiichi 1550 perhaps I can find them cheaper.
Excuse the hyperbole Alan, but to me:
ReplyDeleteSylvester Nemes is to fly tying as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is to composing. As he said in the movie AMADEUS,, "the correct number of notes, not one more nor one less".
John Dornik
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John that is quite an analogy, and I agree.
Very simple and elegant Alan, you have the soft hackle approach down!
ReplyDeleteMark Wittman
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Mark as I've said before the simplicity of these flies actually make them elegant. And the are effective too.
Alan, I've always considered Sylvester Nemes books to be the best on soft hackles. He had a wonderful way of writing and explaining not only how to tie his flies, but also how to present them. I worry that his flies and techniques will be lost with new synthetics and loss of traditional materials. I love that you keep soft hackles alive by your blog and your continued use of them in your everyday fishing. Thankyou.
ReplyDeleteBrad Basehore
DeleteThanks.
In this day of synthetics some of the old way of tying these flies will die off except for folks like us who will keep the traditions going. There are many like us out there that will do the same.
Alan
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling I will be needing some more soft hackles as soon as I get back to fishing the Sipsey. I have only a few left. Nice job at the vice. Thanks for sharing
Bill Trussell
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Bill stock up on them, they will save the day.
Alan,
ReplyDeleteI have been an "Addict" for some years and I am enjoying your patterns tied on those beautiful Gaelic Supreme hooks! I don't own any of those but they look excellent!
Nemes wrote a trilogy of books concerning this pattern and they are all great! My favorite of the three is "Soft-Hackled Imitations" which covers a lot of patterns and covers them well! I had a chance to meet and tie with Sylvester back in the mid nineties and he was super!
Dougsden
Dougsden
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Doug I have two of his books, the third I hope to add soon. It must have been nice to tie with such a man. Nemes put it into words that us common folk could understand.
Beautifully tied soft hackles, as always. No one ties them better than you.
ReplyDeleteParachute Adams
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Sam I love tying and fishing them. Winter kind of puts a damper on the fishing but they still take them.
I've got a couple of his books myself, many great patterns. You've turned me on to fishing soft hackles over the past couple years and I fish them very often with success now. They're my favorite fly to fish. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteChris MaineFly207
Anonymous
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Chris I find myself selecting a soft-hackle first almost every time I fish. Even if is not the best time to do so I go with it every time.
When I was younger I struggled with a consistent approach to fly fishing; I was all over the place. Then I found Sylvester Nemes and all became clear. I've got all of his books and still read them for the sheer enjoyment of it. Beautiful ties as always, Alan.
ReplyDeletemike
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Mike he made many of us stop and think just how much these flies are a part of a fishes diet. The simplicity of them, just like in nature. I've got to get that 3rd book.
Nice tyings again Alan :)
ReplyDeleteGeorge
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George have you read any of Nemes books?
Thanks for the interesting history lesson about Mr. Nemes. I love the simple look and can't wait to try a few out west.
ReplyDeleteHoward Levett
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Howard Syl was quite a man.
I'd bet you a dinner that those flies would work in your area.