Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Fly Tying - Red Quills and Copper Johns



Any fly with hackle is still somewhat intimidating and a new body method (the quill body) was something new to learn as well.  However, I had wanted to take on this challenge for a while and finally decided to give the Red Quill dry fly a try.


Not as difficult as feared, especially in a size 14, a group of new flies soon developed for the fly box.


I can see how a few different sizes and colors of this high riding dry fly will provide good mayfly imitations through the height of summer.  There is one creek I fish that has a nice black mayfly in about a size 14 which this fly could match well with the right materials.

After the Red Quills came the start of the Copper Johns.  A classic standard that needed to be retied and tied in additional sizes and colors.  I started with the gold Copper Johns in a size 16 and will move on from there.



I am considering some size 18's, size 20's, a few different colors and then tying up hare coppers as well.

I hope your winter fly tying is pursuing well and will continue to fill your boxes in preparation for spring and summer.