On a recent fishing trip I was able to chat about patterns quite a bit. The fellow I was fishing with told me some interesting stories about the Max Canyon, and a chance meeting with Leroy Hyatt that he had where Leroy mentioned it as one of his favorites. I seem to recall Leroy said the same thing in is KWSU TV show when he tied it, and I think it may be the pattern shown in his section of the book "steelhead fly fishing nez perce country."
Anyhow I wanted to revisit this pattern as I have not tied one in many years.
As I normally do, I take dressings as suggestions and not directions. In this one I used white and orange hack tips for the tail, holo tinsel for the tag, Hot Orange Hairline Ice Dub for the rear body, Black SLF dubbing for the front body, black hackle for the collar and white over orange dyed Skunk for the wing.
It came out much heavier/fuller than the original dressing, but I like it. Enough I'll tie a couple others like it and see if the local steelhead have any interest.
I think this will also kick off revisiting some other hair wings I have not tied in years, like Kaufman's series (Coal Car, Signal Light, Freight Train, etc.), burlap, and maybe something new, in blue.
Side note, I did intend to rib the fly. However, I was watching TV (American Horror Story: Asylum) and was a bit distracted while tying and never wrapped the rib. I like it better without it...happy accidents.
Anyhow I wanted to revisit this pattern as I have not tied one in many years.
As I normally do, I take dressings as suggestions and not directions. In this one I used white and orange hack tips for the tail, holo tinsel for the tag, Hot Orange Hairline Ice Dub for the rear body, Black SLF dubbing for the front body, black hackle for the collar and white over orange dyed Skunk for the wing.
It came out much heavier/fuller than the original dressing, but I like it. Enough I'll tie a couple others like it and see if the local steelhead have any interest.
I think this will also kick off revisiting some other hair wings I have not tied in years, like Kaufman's series (Coal Car, Signal Light, Freight Train, etc.), burlap, and maybe something new, in blue.
Side note, I did intend to rib the fly. However, I was watching TV (American Horror Story: Asylum) and was a bit distracted while tying and never wrapped the rib. I like it better without it...happy accidents.