What's in your vise?

The bottom fly caught several fish last spring in the Columbia basin for me.
Actually caught one before my first cast.
I had about 8 feet of leader hanging out of the boat while rigging another rod and a nice rainbow grabbed it.😄
The top 2 are fresh off the vise for this year in 3 weeks. Hopefully they're still hot.20230403_110503.jpg
 
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Tom Butler said:
That is perfect. I love soft hackles. Sz. 12. Partridge and Orange was #1 for me for a lot of years.
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Thanks, Tom. I have to keep reminding myself, sparser hackle! Like with dubbing, take half of what you think you need, then half of that. Your partridge and orange looks perfect. Sometimes I include a dubbing ball, sometimes not. Looks like a very sparse dubbing ball on yours?
 
Zak said:
Thanks, Tom. I have to keep reminding myself, sparser hackle! Like with dubbing, take half of what you think you need, then half of that. Your partridge and orange looks perfect. Sometimes I include a dubbing ball, sometimes not. Looks like a very sparse dubbing ball on yours?
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There is a touch of hares ear behind the hackle, it didn't quite stick to the wax like I wanted. I'd like a bit more to keep the hackle propped up, but this will fish..
 
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James St. Clair said:
Dude, your fly is sweet. I chose skwalas for the March contest, and this looks like a money skwala! Let me be the judge! This isn't an Instagram contest where "photo quality" and all that jazz matters. I was looking for original skwala patterns that you have either caught fish on, or you think you could catch fish on, and your fly fits the bill to a T!!! I think when @Billy started this "contest", it was not only about the "best fly" but also about everyone sharing anything they thought was cool or interesting about the chosen fly category. I think a woven body not only is something many of us have forgotten about as an awesome choice for a body, but an excellent reminder of the endless possibilities of what we can do with the materials we have.

I love woven bodies, and do know they aren't just pretty. I dig them on stoneflies and Caddis especially. I tried weaving the body on this caddis with some thin yarn, but the yarn kept separating when I put the pressure on that I wanted to keep the body slim. So I chose to use the brown yarn as a shellback, and wrap the body (and rib at the same time) with the green yarn. Always looking for materials to weave with, but some work better than others.

Don't sell yourself short brother, I would really like to see that as an entry in the March contest.

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Dam I would eat that, nice fly
 
Katydid-1080.jpg


Katydid

Winged Wet Fly

Tag - Gold Tinsel *
Tail - Green
Ribbing - Gold tinsel
Body - “Highlander” green floss
Hackle - Green
Wing - Bright green

* The tag on the Katydid is not listed in the recipe but the color plate painting has a gold tinsel tag.

Trout - Ray Bergman
Forgotten Flies - Schmookler and Sils
 
Dr. Magill said:
How do you like the heads?
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I'm relatively new to tying anything other than old school jigs for float fishing so to be honest these are some of my first baitfish type patterns with heads. They seem great to me me as far as ease of use etc, also quick and easy to stick on the eyes and then coat with Loon UV Flow and hit with the light. They are the Fish Mask #3, haven't tried anything else yet.
 
One at a time....mainly since I have the inability to tie two exactly the same.....or, perhaps, I just find it incredibly boring.

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See? No two alike.....

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