Most
fly tyers associate the name Ray Bergman with classic quill winged wet
flies. It is no wonder, given the many plates of fancy wets in his magnum
opus, the classic, should-be-on-everyone's-shelves, "Trout".
However, he is also the originator of three simple mixed wing streamers
that are really quite attractive. The three were included in one of the
wonderful photos in the updated version of Col. Bate's wonderful book
"Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing". The combination of materials,
the overall shape and color of the streamers really caught my eye. Of
the three, I've found the Red Squirrel Gold to be particularly affective
for brown trout.
| Gray Squirrel Silver Streamer |
| Hook: |
VMC 8xl, #4 |
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| Body: |
Silver embossed tinsel |
| Underwing: |
Gray squirrel tail |
| Wing: |
Grizzly hackle |
| Throat: |
Red hackle (original has dyed red golden pheasant crest) |
| Cheek: |
Jungle cock eyes |
| Head: |
Black |
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| Red Squirrel Gold Streamer |
| Hook: |
Mustad 3665A, #6 |
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| Body: |
Gold Embossed Tinsel |
| Underwing: |
Red Squirrel Tail |
| Wing: |
Furnace Hackle |
| Throat: |
Red hackle (original has dyed red golden pheasant crest) |
| Cheek: |
Jungle cock eyes |
| Head: |
Black |
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| Bucktail Silver Streamer |
| Hook: |
VMC 8xl, #4 |
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| Body: |
Silver embossed tinsel |
| Underwing: |
White bucktail |
| Wing: |
Silver badger hackle |
| Throat: |
Red hackle (original has dyed red golden pheasant crest) |
| Cheek: |
Jungle cock eyes |
| Head: |
Black |
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Tied here as the
demonstration of the style is my take on the Colonel's "Gray Squirrel
Silver".
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Step 1:
When using metal
tinsel, it is best to trim the tie-in end of the tinsel to a sharp point,
to reduce the "hump" that can form with the first turn.
TYING TIP: Metal
tinsel is tough on scissors. Don't use your favorites here. A good sharp
pair of wire cutters may do the trick, but if not use heavy duty shears
that will hold up to numerous tinsel trimmings.
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Step 2:
Tie the tinsel along
the side of the hook shank with smooth even turns of thread.
TYING TIP: Metal
tinsel has very sharp edges, so easy goes it with thread pressure. You
can cut your thread in a flash and curse yourself one time after another.
Since the tinsel will overwrap itself when tying in the body, it's not
going anywhere. Maximum thread pressure is not required - just enough
to hold it in place while making that first turn.
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Step 3:
Wrap the tinsel down
to the bend and back to the head area. For more on tying tinsel bodies,
see here.
TYING TIP: If you
misjudge your length of tinsel and find yourself struggling to hold on
to an ever shrinking tag end, use a pair of hackle pliers to finish the
job. Seems the first fly or two, I'm always misjudging the tinsel. I feel
like I'm pulling a yard off the spool, yet I come up an inch short. Argh!
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Step 4:
Tie the tag end of
the tinsel off and wrap a smooth base under what will be the head of the
fly. Not a lot of wraps - just enough to eliminate any drop-offs at the
end of the tinsel body. We don't want bulk, but we don't want a bump to
force the wing up.
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Step 5:
Grab a chunk of hair
from a Gray Squirrel Tail. Remember, there is more to the wing that the
squirrel, so think sparse. Use about half what you would for a full wing.
Make sure the hairs are long enough for the hook size you are using.
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Step 6:
Measure the hair
to length. We want the tips to go just to the back of the hook bend.
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Step 7:
Using a pinch-n-loop,
tie the wing down on top of the hook shank. For more on tying hair wings,
see this excellent article.
TYING TIP: When you
are ready to apply tension, pull *up* on the thread. This will help keep
the hairs from rolling off to the far side of the hook.
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Step 8:
The finished wing
is tied in. If it doesn't seem right, unwind your thread wraps and start
over. Once you are happy with the wing position, hold the hair with your
off hand and bind the wing down with very firm wraps of thread - maximum
tension here. Squirrel tail will not flare, so you don't have to worry
about it flaring up high, but it is slick and oily and can slip out of
position if it is not tied in very tight. A drop or two of your favorite
penetrating head cement is not a bad idea.
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Step 9:
Trim the butts of
the hairwing at an angle using very sharp scissors. Here again is why
it is so important to tie the wing down securely in the previous steps.
TYING TIP: If you
feel the wing moving out of place as you trim the hairs, just hold the
wing with one hand and clip with the other. You can clean the mess of
clippings afterwards. If you scissors cannot make a clean cut of the whole
bunch, do it in bits. Three clean and easy clippings that do not move
the wing are better than one clipping that causes things to slide around.
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Step 10:
The clipped wing.
Note the tapered butt of the wing, as well as the hairs being positioned
on the top of the hook. This is how you want it to look.
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Step 11:
Cover the butts of
the hairs with smooth even thread wraps. We're building a base for the
feathers at this point.
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Step 12:
Measure your hackles
to size. I want my feathers to extend just past the end of the underwing.
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Step 13:
Strip the barbules
off the stem below the tie in point. Stripping them not only gives you
a clean tie-in point, it also has the affect of flattening the stem, so
the feathers are more likely to stand on edge how we want. To ensure this
- I crimp exposed stems in a pair of flat nosed pliers. Crimping the feathers
at this point can also help the wing hug the top of the body.
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Step 14:
Tie the hackels on
top of the underwing. What we're doing now is positioning the feathers,
making sure they are vertical, centered with respect to the underwing,
and of the proper length.
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Step 15:
Once we're happy
with the position of the wings, bind them down with secure wraps. Again
- a tiny dab of penetrating head cement won't hurt. We want to feathers
and the hair to meld together into a single wing, rather than having them
appear to be distinct parts.
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Step 16:
One more check to
make sure the wings are centered and vertical.
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Step 17:
Strip some barbs
from a bright red hackle. In this case, I'm using schlappen because it
has a density I like for throat hackles. Webby saddles are also good for
this, but I find most neck hackles lacking in web to be good for throat
applications.
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Step 18:
Measure the throat
to length. It should be about a third of the body length.
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Step 19:
Trim to length. For
throats and beards like this, I've found it is easier to clip the feather
clump before it is tied in rather than trying to clip it after the fact.
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Step 20:
Tie the throat in
at the back of the head wraps, working toward the hook eye as you go.
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Step 21:
Hold the wing and
throat in your off hand while you cover all exposed areas with thread
wraps.
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Step 22:
The wing and throat
are complete.
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Step 23:
Select a pair of
jungle cock eyes for the cheeks. If you don't have real jungle cock eyes,
just leave out this step, or build up a bit larger head and paint on some
eyes.
TYING TIP: Read Steve Schweitzer's fine article on jungle cock eyes.
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Step 24:
Measure the eye to
length and pull back the bottom fluff. We want the jungle cock eyes to
be less than the length of the throat. Remember - these are eyes - so
keep them in proportion to the rest of the streamer and don't let them
get too far from the head of the fly.
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Step 25:
While wing feathers
on tied on top of the hooks, the cheeks are tied on the side of the hooks.
The orange and white portions of jungle cock eyes are very hard and waxy,
so I avoid making thread wraps in these areas as such wraps are likely
to cause splits.I like to tie in my eyes on the black feather portion
just beneath the white part. Tying down some of the feather this way,
instead of just bare stem, helps
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Step 26:
The cheek is canted
slightly upwards, so the stem is centered along the centerline of the
wing. In this case, the centerline of the wing needs to account for both
the hair and the feathers, so the jungle cock is not perfectly aligned
with the grizzly hackle, but pointed a bit lower.
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Step 27:
Careful now. This
is the place to get out your sharp and fine point scissors. A clean snip
will leave the cheek unmoved. If you need too, use your off hand to hold
everything in place as you clip.
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Step 28:
Wrap a neat head
and whip finish. This could have been smoother if I took the time to unwind
and flatten my thread. See this article for more on
thread control.
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FINISHED:
Coat the head with
some lacquer and ta-da!
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Submitted August 10th 2007
Brent,
>Can I have permission to copy this over to my blog...
No, you shouldn't copy anything from our site. There is no reason to repeat ad verbum what is already on the web.
But you are more than welcome to link.
Martin