Mike Dawes The Fly Tier's Manual sneak preveiw

"The Fly Tier's Manual"

Intro:This page shows a sneak preveiw of one page from within Mike Dawes The Fly Tiers Manual. This allows you to see, online, a small sample from inside the book prior to purchasing, almost as if you had opened it in a book shop.
This is another great book which has lots of photographs and diagrams ideal for learning new techniques. At the beginning of the book there's a chapter on equipment, materials and basic methods which is great for beginners and experienced alike. The rest of the book is broken into various different fly tying categories: nymphs, dry flies, wets, lures & streamers and salmon flies. Each page is similar to the one below and describes the tying processes with at least one photograph coupled with several very easy to follow diagrams.
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Parmachene Belle

This fly is named after the Parmachene Lake and was first tied by Henry P. Wells in the late 1800s. A very popular fly in North America. It is not so popular in Great Britain, but tied on a size-8 hook it has caught many sea trout in Devon. In Scandinavia, it is often used for brook trout. It is sometimes fished dry in a very small size.

Hooks: Down-eyed 10 - 14
Thread: Black
Tail: Married strands of red and white goose
Butt (optional): Black ostrich
herl
Body: Lemon-yellow floss or
wool
Ribbing: Gold tinsel
Hackle: Mixed white and red
Wing: Married strands of red
and white goose or duck
Head: Black

This fly has what is termed as a built wing. The individual fibre of every feather is joined to its neighbour by a series of minute hooks (one could almost say a 'Velcro' system). This natural linking can be used to join feathers of different colours to build a composite wing.

Prepare the wings first. Select a right-side white goose or duck quill and a red-dyed similar feather. From the white feather, cut off two slim slips. From the red feather, cut off one slim slip. Hold the tips of these slips gently between thumb and finger and with the thumb and finger of the other hand stroke the feathers together. You will find that they will naturally adhere to one another. Now repeat this operation with a left-side feather and you have the wings ready.

Parmachene Belle

2. The whole operation can be repeated with narrower slips to form the tail of the fly. However, some patterns
dispense with the built tail and use a bunch of red and white hackle fibres for the tail, as shown here.

Take the tying thread down to the bend of the hook and tie in the married slips of goose or the hackle fibres for the tail. At the same point, tie in a length of gold tinsel and some black ostrich herl.

Form a butt with the ostrich herl. Take the thread back down the hook and tie in a length of yellow floss.

5. Form the body by winding the floss down the hook shank and back. Follow this with the rib. Cut away surplus.

Next stage is the hackle. Stroke the dyed red and white hacHe fibres below the hook, tie off, and remove the surplus feather.

Now pick up the wing slips and tie in on top of the hook. Finish the fly with a whip finish in the usual way.

Purchase Mike Dawes "The Fly Tier's Manual"