River Fly Box: Baetis spinner soft hackles

Saturday, 3 January 2009

Baetis spinner soft hackles

The beauty of the forums is that you have ongoing conversations about some fascinating subjects. However, people take the time to pitch in their ideas, go away and think more, and add further their thoughts and findings. One such conversation has led from the baetis nymphs and spiders I last posted here. Ulf suggested that egg-laying spinners will crawl down vegetation through the water - surely rendering them very, very vulnerable. Here are some soft-hackles that mimic these stages:

Baeties spider with TMC spent wings:

Hook: B175 #14
Thread: Powersilk 10/0 orange
Dubbing: Awesome Possum, various blends
Rib: waxed thread
Tail: Coq de Leon
Hackle: Greenwells, Hen
Wing: Few strands of TMC either side tied spent

Baetis soft-hackle, silver rib

Hook: B175 #14
Thread: Powersilk 10/0 orange
Dubbing: Awesome Possum, various blends
Rib: fine silver wire
Tail: Coq de Leon
Hackle: Greenwells, Hen

Baetis soft hackle, copper thorax:

Hook: B175 #14
Thread: Powersilk 10/0 orange
Ballast: layer of copper wire under thorax
Dubbing: Awesome Possum, various blends
Rib: Waxed thread
Tail: Coq de Leon
Hackle: Greenwells, Hen - longer fibres chosen

Cheers,
Dave.

5 comments:

letumgo said...: It's wonderful how you can take and idea (like Ulf's) and create these beautiful soft hackle flies. Just think how rewarding it will be to catch fish on these patterns.

Great tying, as always, Dave.

Congratulations on your 2008 marriage. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness.; 4 January 2009 at 20:09
Unknown said...: That are some fine soft hackles!

By the way, what is the forum, so that I can follow it and get smarter in the process?

Jindra; 4 January 2009 at 21:24
Dave Wiltshire said...: Thanks Ray - it has been a great year ;-) Looking forward to fishing these too. Could be a while though with such low temperatures.

Jindra, here's the forum:
http://ukflydressing.proboards47.com/index.cgi

To my mind one of the top fishing (& tying) related forums out there.

Cheers,
Dave.; 4 January 2009 at 21:44
Unknown said...: Thanks, I will check it out. With the weather the way it is now there is little left than tying and ogling new patterns :)

Cheers

J.; 4 January 2009 at 21:57
Pat said...: Good looking flies Dave. Keep them coming!!

Pat; 5 January 2009 at 13:59