[Brittdaven]

NWASFG fly for January -Black Doctor, Pryce-Tannatts version. Fully gutted to fish if one wanted to.

Had to sub regular Turkey for the light mottled at top of wing, but you can hardly see the top of wing anyways so I didn’t mind much. Also sub for Indian crow of course 🤣

Some things I definitely like about this one, and some things I know I’m still working on. Always learning always striving to be better. Always a challenge

Constructive criticism appreciated!

Tied on a Bjerke Harrison Bartleet 3/0 XXX

 

[SteelheaderBC]

Slight comment…be less awesome? Logged in just to say how impressive this flee is. Thanks for posting

 

[mikesalmon]

Nice display of tying skills. Awesome.

 

[DAnderson]

Ditto to the above comments. Your fly is outstanding.

Doug

 

[flytie09]

Great stuff Britt.

 

[steelguy]

Lot of beautiful tying on this one. Thanks for posting, it's a real humdinger! - Rob

 

[CSFT]

Great proportions, smooth flow, fine looking hook...OH...did I mention a beautiful tie

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

So talented Britt


Mike

 

[Draggerman]

Work of art

 

[fshnazn]

Britt, I'll bite on the constructive suggestions for this classic standard fishing pattern.

First of all, wonderful work on the overall proportions as George remarked.

The overall balance of the fly in relation to the hook is spot-on.

Your tail is superbly tied low which guides the rest of the fly. The butt is perfect.

Your tip and tag is just proper as you haven't followed the poor tying suggestion: that the tip starts at the barb. Your tying of tip&tag allows a pleasing length of body and not a disproportionate long tag.

The body and hackle lengths are nice. The ribbing can possibly be a slightly larger size - show it off a little bit more - but not so large that it detracts from the wing.

The wing is terrific: not too short and not too long - good eye, Britt. Being a P-T recipe, they are correctly married but the colored slips aren't overpowering (a lot of us get carried away with too much color in the wing on the classics).

Your sides are a correct thickness and length - reaching the butt. Well done.

The roof is good - maybe longer bronze mallard will add just a touch more of goodness.

Your crest topping is a righteous length - a lot of us struggle with the best length of topping. In my opinion, the tail and topping of classics are first to highlight the fly. Yours have framed your fly superbly. For extra icing on the cake, a little curve/bend on the leading edge of your topping would enhance your fly that much more. A few ways to that nice bend in the rachis is to find a crest already shaped that way (difficult to find) / shaping crests after soaking in warm water and laying them on a flat surface/ breaking the spine with little pinches using your fingernails (my preference).



Cheers and really great tying overall,
Adrian

 

[Equinox]

Britt, I'll bite on the constructive suggestions for this classic standard fishing pattern.

First of all, wonderful work on the overall proportions as George remarked.

The overall balance of the fly in relation to the hook is spot-on.

Your tail is superbly tied low which guides the rest of the fly. The butt is perfect.

Your tip and tag is just proper as you haven't followed the poor tying suggestion: that the tip starts at the barb. Your tying of tip&tag allows a pleasing length of body and not a disproportionate long tag.

The body and hackle lengths are nice. The ribbing can possibly be a slightly larger size - show it off a little bit more - but not so large that it detracts from the wing.

The wing is terrific: not too short and not too long - good eye, Britt. Being a P-T recipe, they are correctly married but the colored slips aren't overpowering (a lot of us get carried away with too much color in the wing on the classics).

Your sides are a correct thickness and length - reaching the butt. Well done.

The roof is good - maybe longer bronze mallard will add just a touch more of goodness.

Your crest topping is a righteous length - a lot of us struggle with the best length of topping. In my opinion, the tail and topping of classics are first to highlight the fly. Yours have framed your fly superbly. For extra icing on the cake, a little curve/bend on the leading edge of your topping would enhance your fly that much more. A few ways to that nice bend in the rachis is to find a crest already shaped that way (difficult to find) / shaping crests after soaking in warm water and laying them on a flat surface/ breaking the spine with little pinches using your fingernails (my preference).



Cheers and really great tying overall,
Adrian

Adrian your exacting and deliberate eye and comments on this fly (and others) are a great help for me .My initial reaction when appreciating the work here is to take in the whole fly and leave it to quickly, However with a developing eye for proportion and balance I can linger more and possibly identify why I'm enjoying the view.
Thanks for that.
Steve

 

[Brittdaven]

Britt, I'll bite on the constructive suggestions for this classic standard fishing pattern.

First of all, wonderful work on the overall proportions as George remarked.

The overall balance of the fly in relation to the hook is spot-on.

Your tail is superbly tied low which guides the rest of the fly. The butt is perfect.

Your tip and tag is just proper as you haven't followed the poor tying suggestion: that the tip starts at the barb. Your tying of tip&tag allows a pleasing length of body and not a disproportionate long tag.

The body and hackle lengths are nice. The ribbing can possibly be a slightly larger size - show it off a little bit more - but not so large that it detracts from the wing.

The wing is terrific: not too short and not too long - good eye, Britt. Being a P-T recipe, they are correctly married but the colored slips aren't overpowering (a lot of us get carried away with too much color in the wing on the classics).

Your sides are a correct thickness and length - reaching the butt. Well done.

The roof is good - maybe longer bronze mallard will add just a touch more of goodness.

Your crest topping is a righteous length - a lot of us struggle with the best length of topping. In my opinion, the tail and topping of classics are first to highlight the fly. Yours have framed your fly superbly. For extra icing on the cake, a little curve/bend on the leading edge of your topping would enhance your fly that much more. A few ways to that nice bend in the rachis is to find a crest already shaped that way (difficult to find) / shaping crests after soaking in warm water and laying them on a flat surface/ breaking the spine with little pinches using your fingernails (my preference).



Cheers and really great tying overall,
Adrian

Adrian,

Thank you for breaking it down so thoroughly! I appreciate it so much, especially being newer to this style. It really helps me figure out what to work on and sometimes others see things I don't/can't see yet. I feel like I struggle on knowing what size ribbing to use. But I think that may come with time, and seeing more of them. I definitely struggled with shaping the topping. That is one of the areas I need to focus on as well, just learning how to better manipulate them. Also going through my selection and culling some of them.

Again, I appreciate your time to give that feedback. Thank you!

~Britt

 

[Brittdaven]

Also thank you all of you for your feedback. Appreciate it! 💜

 

[fshnazn]

Adrian your exacting and deliberate eye and comments on this fly (and others) are a great help for me .My initial reaction when appreciating the work here is to take in the whole fly and leave it to quickly, However with a developing eye for proportion and balance I can linger more and possibly identify why I'm enjoying the view.
Thanks for that.
Steve

Steve, thank you. Beauty is really in the eye of the beholder. But every once in a while, a beholder gets curious on what makes the subject beautiful and is able to appreciate the process it involves.

As an example, when a novice first looks into a box filled with colourful Intruders, the reaction is usually "wow! Beautiful!". Like a field of wildflowers. Later on, the novice learns that Intruders while superbly functional are just "guide flies".

And while classics such as the Black Doctor, used to be the standard "guide flies", there was quite a bit more skill involved. Control, balance, proportions are more important for the beauty and functionality of these "orchids".

Britt, from your Black Doctor example above, you are not far from the czars of classic thread (the likes of Bagshaw, Smith, Stig, Carne, RALJ, etc...)

 

[Equinox]

Steve, thank you. Beauty is really in the eye of the beholder. But every once in a while, a beholder gets curious on what makes the subject beautiful and is able to appreciate the process it involves.

As an example, when a novice first looks into a box filled with colourful Intruders, the reaction is usually "wow! Beautiful!". Like a field of wildflowers. Later on, the novice learns that Intruders while superbly functional are just "guide flies".

And while classics such as the Black Doctor, used to be the standard "guide flies", there was quite a bit more skill involved. Control, balance, proportions are more important for the beauty and functionality of these "orchids".

Britt, from your Black Doctor example above, you are not far from the Sultans of classic thread (the likes of Bagshaw, Smith, Stig, Carne, RALJ, etc...)

...further to your point, The idea of the existence of "the Golden Thread" in art , music or any creative endeavor , and that all who take it in might recognize its brilliance may have relevance in the seemingly simple craft of binding a bunch of feathers and fur to a bent iron.

 

[flytie09]

As an example, when a novice first looks into a box filled with colourful Intruders, the reaction is usually "wow! Beautiful!". Like a field of wildflowers. Later on, the novice learns that Intruders while superbly functional are just "guide flies".

Gasp.....(I cant believe he said that).

 

[drylinetim]

I Like It! Nice Skills