STP, but not for your car!

[WWKimba]

I have a VERY BAD combination of being a fly tyer and living by the credo of - "He who dies with the most toys wins!" - a TERRIBLE combination of traits.  I like to buy a lifetime's supply of tying materials if I get the chance.  My problem is I did this when I was in my early 20's (which is OK) BUT now in my mid-60's I am STILL buying the same amount I did when I was in my 20's!!

Well I wanted to tie with polypropylene - blame Josephine Sedlecky -Borsum and her Hot Mustard pattern and Lee Clark with his stonefly series!  So I saw that 5 yard carded spools cost ~$1.75 (at that time) and me just knowing that 5 measly yards would not last that long, I looked for a larger source.  Enter Bonnie Cord in 100 YARD, EIGHT STRAND cord for $6 per roll.  I bought 6 basic colors to try it out and about 2 weeks later bought just a few more colors (well, 20+ more colors!) and I've been tying with it for the past 5 years or so AND giving it out as gifts in my fly swaps,,,  Well, I figure I'll get at least one room backin my house in another 10 years or so!

Here are a couple styles of dry flies to use up some of that backlog - the STP and DLP series.

STP stands for Split Thread Poly (DLP = Doubbing Loop Poly) - these are simply paraloop style flies replacing the poly in for the dry fly hackle.  I like it because I can add subtle colors to the post for effects.  One example is that orange is a great attractor color when the sun is low in the sky - orange sky/orange fly.  If the pattern calls for a dun paraloop wing, I can substitute dun poly forthe standard pattern and then add a bit of orange for the evening variation of the same fly.

Here are some examples:

Sorry, but both are a bit over hackled.  The difference in the 2 styles is that #1 has a more straight up hackle (more like an emerger) and #2 has been pinched down (more like a parachute).  This affects there position in the film a bit.

I use either 2-4 lb clear mono or I found a cheap 3" house paint brush with some nice dun colored bristles as the paraloop material.  For the mono always tie it in staggered at the ends so it helps keep the abdomen of the fly with a better taper.  When I use the paintbrush "microfibbets" I tie them in as a tail material then tie then in under the abdomen and bring them up 90-degrees to the shank as the rest of the paraloop.  Finish tying the body of the fly (thorax + abdomen) and let the thread hang  just below the paraloop.  Spit your thread so you have a 2" long opening.  Cut the poly, color(s) of choice into segments about equal to the length of the body of the fly, spread the poly out thin as possible and insert into the spit thread and spread it out more if needed.  Spin your bobbin to encase the poly - you are essentially making a poly chenille or brush.  Now bring the thread up and wrap the split thread around the paraloop base going no higher than the length of the thorax, then bring the wraps down the paraloop base and repeat if necessary - always finish with the thread at the top of the poly tie.  Now pull the poly back so it does not get caught under the finished paraloop and bring the paraloop down to the eye of the hook, tie it down just behind the eye with 2 turns behind the paralop and 2 ties in front of the paraloop and pull the paraloop forward and up to tighten the poly, finish with a couple more locking thread wraps, cut off the excess paraloop material and make a small thread head and finish.  OR, better yet just look at a video of how a regular parloop is tied in and see how it's done with a hackle feather first!

Tomorrow,  the DLP's!

Kim

 

[JHbowhunter]

no offense, but that looks like what comes out of my belly button after wearing a fuzzy sweater....  Any pics of trout actually eating that?

[WWKimba]

"Tie an ugly fly and go out on an ugly day and catch an ugly fish!"

I do not have a camera - I HAD a very nice camera BUT some baggage handler needed a last minute gift for his wife, or was it his girlfriend?  Either way the pictures I've been showing were taken by a guy that joined some of my swaps AND he lives only a 20 minute drive from me!  I tie the flies, he takes the pictures, I get the pictures and he gets the flies.  So I do not have any proof of concept pictures - and I do agree these are a bit ugly, as I said these were over hackled.  But they do work as well as any paraloop tied with a hackle feather.  And my fingers were NOT crossed on that last statement!

Kim

[nmc02]

Do you tie or use any of the "main stay" flies like copper johns, hares ear, pheasant tails, etc???  OR streamers.....wooly buggers, etc

[WWKimba]

I tie just about anything but salmon or most salt water flies (I like to over hackle some bonefish patterns and target bass/pike).  I'm in the middle of tying about 2,100+ flies for Casting for Recovery's 6 metastatic retreats plus I host fly swaps about every 2 months on 4 different sites - trying to add this and the sister NY site into that fold, so I do get a fair amount of varied tying in.  Plus I'm writing a book targeted to beginner fly tyers and hope to have that in print within the next 18 months or so (I was last published in '89 and figured it was about time!).  I may end up tying the flies for that unless I can get a good fly tyer involved!   Plus I like to try new things - woven bodies and hackle, marshmallow bodied flies, etc... to keep myself sharp.

I do have to admit my favorite ties to fish are streamers but (since I had my eye surgery this past June) I'll sit down and tie some size 26 chirono's as well.  I ALWAYS want to have fun while keeping the swear jar handy, just in case!

Kim

You asked about Wolly Buggers - I offered a swap with that theme for over the holidays and here's how it turned out:

I also did a fore and aft theme,  a partridge theme, and one for the flies out of Blue Ribbon Flies for the PNW site.

Edited February 12 by WWKimba