Continued from From Drop-Dead Gorgeous
by John Schewey

These beautiful patterns— the Gardener (top) and Akroyd—were dressed by Dee-fly expert Philip Glendinning of Aberdeen, Scotland. The Gardener Hook: Alec Jackson Blind-eye Spey Hook, size 1.5 (or substitute with your favorite salmon or steelhead hook). Tip: Fine gold twist or oval tinsel. Tag: Crimson silk. Tail: A golden pheasant crest feather and tippet fibers. Body: Yellow, green, and dark blue seal’s fur in equal parts (substitute with angora dubbing). Ribs: Flat silver tinsel. Hackle: A golden pheasant crest feather over the yellow dubbing. Throat: Black heron (substitute with a blue-eared pheasant hackle dyed black). Wings: Cinammon turkey. Sides: Jungle cock. The Akroyd Hook: Alec Jackson Blind-eye Spey Hook, size 1.5 (or substitute with your favorite salmon or steelhead hook). Tag: Flat silver tinsel. Tail: Golden pheasant crest feather and tippet fibers. Body: First half, light orange seal’s fur dubbing (or angora dubbing); second half, black floss. Rib: Flat silver tinsel. Hackles: Yellow or yellow-orange hackle wrapped over the rear half of the fly; black heron wrapped over the front half (substitute with blue-eared pheasant dyed black). Throat: Teal flank. Wings: Cinnamon turkey. Cheeks: Jungle cock. “Lilac” turkey tail (top) and cinnamon turkey tail are two feathers used to make Dee wings. Dun turkey is another color used to dress the wings on some Dee flies. These White-winged Akroyds, variations of the famous Akroyd pattern, were tied by Paul Ptalis (left) and Joel Stansbury. The Minister of Drumoak is a long-forgotten Dee pattern. The example was dressed by Philip Glendinning.

[BACK TO TOP] The Legacy of Lew Oatman Continued from Something Old, Something New by Dick Talleur Lew Oatman, a legend on Vermont’s Batten Kill River, developed many excellent streamer patterns. The Shushan Postmaster is an example of his creativity.

1. Tie on a matched pair of sections cut from a mottled turkey tail. Wrap the yellow Uni-Stretch up the shank to form the body. 2. While wrapping the body with the Uni-Stretch, tie in the ribbing tinsel at the rear. After completing the body, tie off the Uni-Stretch, tie on with the black thread, and tie on a throat of red hackle fibers. 3. Tie on the squirrel-hair wing in stages. Squirrel hair is hard and slippery, and it might fall out if you tie it on in one big clump. 4. Tie a a short jungle eye on each side of the fly.

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More Hair Subsitutes Continued from Materials Notebook by Jim Krul

Examine the materials on your fly-tying bench; I’ll bet there are several different types of hair. Don’t be bound by a pattern and say you can’t tie a fly because you don’t have all of the specified ingredients: use substitutes. Who knows: you might even come up with a better fly. Keith Fulsher tied the wings on these two salmon flies using bleached raccoon tail hair. The wing on the Potato fly was made using only white hair; the wing on the Conrad was fashioned from hair that has a white base and dark tips. Potato Fly Conrad

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Soft-Tops

Continued from Salt Water
by Mike Stark

Soft-Tops are easy flies that float on or just under the surface. The author ties a variety of Soft-Tops to match a variety of bait. Here are the recipe and tying instructions for creating the Tutti-Frutti.

Soft-Top Tutti-Frutti
Hook: Mustad 34011, size 2 or 1.
Thread: White Flat-waxed Nylon, size 1/0.
Tail: Chartreuse, pink, and gray Ultra Hair, pink Krystal Flash, and olive Angel Hair.
Body: Medium pearl Mylar tubing.
Head: Closed-cell foam.
Eyes: Silver Mylar adhesive eyes.

Making the Tutti-Frutti Soft-Top

1. Tie on a sparse bunch of gray Ultra Hair, a bunch of pink Ultra Hair, and 10 to 12 strands of pink Krystal Flash. 2. Tie on a top layer of chartreuse Ultra Hair, and then a small bunch of olive Angel Hair. Tie on a length of Mylar tubing. Whip-finish and cut the thread. 3. Pull the tubing back over itself and the hook shank. Start the thread just behind the hook eye. Tie off the front of the tubing. Whip-finish and cut the thread. 4. Cut a piece of closed-cell foam into the shape shown in the photograph. This piece of foam will be used to form the head of the fly. 5. Place a few drops of superglue on the backside of the foam. Press the foam onto the body of the fly. Hold the foam in place until the glue hardens. 6. Secure an eye on each side of the head using superglue. Color the foam head with permanent markers.

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