RE: My first two flies
2012/03/09 18:40:04
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Nice ties there for the first two - that's for sure. And like everyone stated - they'll work just fine.
A couple items: On the caddis - like DT stated - try spreading your palmered wraps with the hackle out a bit. Looks a bit heavy to me. Also, I cannot see if the tips on the hair are even but you may want to try a hair stacker. Just a thought - one of the things I see others do that are just starting out is they tend to keep what I call a long bobbin when they are tying. What this means is they have too much thread between the bobbin and the hook shank which causes them to make very wide turns of the thread. Shorten up the thread so that you only have a couple of inches or shorter between the bobbin and the hook shank. Gives much better control - especially when wrapping and securing any type of hair. Learning thread control and tension is a huge part of this tying thing.
On the hare's ear - you pretty much said it all on your own critique. And that's part of it my friend. Recognizing what you can improve on the next time.
Welcome to the club. What you gotta do is find the time to go at it again. Take your time with it and along the way - critique yourself. Find and try different ways to do things. Even it it means not totally tying a complete pattern but practicing on a bare hook the different steps. Then when you do tie a complete pattern you'll feel more comfortable and confident.
If I were you though - I wouldn't fish these. Keep them in a box somewhere. Then next year at this time when your tying the most difficult patterns with success - you'll be able to pull that box out and see how far you've come.
"They say you forget your troubles on a trout stream, but that's not quite it..... you begin to see where your troubles fit into the grand scheme of things, and suddenly they're just not such a big deal anymore."
John Gierach