[The Duck]

Well I finally got up the courage to attempt a classic married wing salmon fly.

It took some thought but I decided on a Kelson Black Dog, as I had most of the materials and felt somewhat confident I could give it a fair shot. After CONSIDERABLE frustration I finished it today, so I thought I would share it.

My hands were chapped which frayed the silk really nicely, and shaky from caffein... which really helped me mangle the first few attempts at setting the wing, but I persevered none the less.
The ribbing was tricky, and I decided on only 4 thinking it would show more of the black silk, and I needed to catch the heron hackle at the tie in....
I subbed a slip of goose for the Ibis, and pintail for the Wood Duck sides as I was out of unbarred "summer duck".

So here is my first Black Dog, and all in all I am fairly happy.
This one will sit on my book shelf for a while, but at some point it will get wet.

Thanks again for the inspiring posts during these trying days.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Rifflehitch]

Hot damn, that is one fine flee! Love that wing, and the body, hell the whole thing!

 

[bwodun]

Stunning, love this pattern, great job, the ribbing is great, and thanks for sharing, cameron

 

[sinktip]

Yep that is definitely stunning. Well done.

 

[Big Tuna]

Stunner! You're done for sure

 

[fshnazn]

Really good stuff!

I recently found out that in British folklore the black dog is a demonic entity, a shapeshifter in the night.

Zoiks, Scoob!

 

[bocast]

Absolutely gorgeous tie!! Wow. If I could tie something that exquisite, I couldn't bring myself to fish it. I'd have nightmares of it hung up in a tree....

 

[CSFT]

So you finally got the courage to tie a married wing classic salmon fly.
WOW...what took you so long? It's a beauty and I hope you'll tie more for our viewing pleasure!!

 

[josie]

Worthy of a display frame/box. Nicely done Mike wow

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

WOW :whoa::whoa:
Well done Mike, fit for both wall and wallet ... congratulations on a fine build!!
Kudos to you for persistence


Mike

 

[DAnderson]

Your fly could not be better. Great job and it looks like you have got the steps of tying classics well in hand.

I know exactly what you are talking about with chapped and cracked fingers. The thread seems to find every crack, especially during the critical wing set. Try using a piece of pumice stone to rub off the rough areas of your hands.

Thanks for showing us your fine work.

Doug

 

[Big Tuna]

Really good stuff!

I recently found out that in British folklore the black dog is a demonic entity, a shapeshifter in the night.

Zoiks, Scoob!

Even better, it's a great Led Zeppelin song:laugh:

 

[DitchDigger]

Screen saver material here Mike! Another Beauty!:smokin::smokin::smokin:

Phil

 

[The Duck]

Well I must say I appreciate the gracious feedback....Thanks.

At least this lockdown has given many of us time and opportunity to challenge ourselves at the tying bench.

I recently found out that in British folklore the black dog is a demonic entity, a shapeshifter in the night.

Zoiks, Scoob!

Ha!

No question that this Black Dog presented itself as demonic .... as it kept shifting shape while it was in front of me.

 

[DAnderson]

Mike,

What hook did you use (size and manufacturer)? I forgot to ask this question in my reply above.

Doug

 

[Humpty]

An artist couldn't paint one better. My gosh that is spectacular.

 

[Draggerman]

Going,going,gone right out of the park

 

[Honyuk96]

Sweet work Mike. Lovely

 

[The Duck]

Mike,

What hook did you use (size and manufacturer)? I forgot to ask this question in my reply above.

Doug

Thanks for asking Doug....

The hook is an AJ blind eye (the 1.5) that I cut shorter.....
I don't have any other blind eye hooks to use. They don't seem easy to source and I am not sure what sizes, or models I should invest in....

Finding the right hooks to use is going to be another learning curve for me.