[riverrat8]

Well after looking at all the beautiful patterns on here I decided to give it try. I really like the look of Dees as they seem super fishy, so here is my first attempt. I tried to keep it very simple and would appreciate any input. I struggled with the wings mostly, they seem a bit narrow and upright?

 

[coastrider]

Good job, great job on the dee wings.

Sent from my SGH-I547C using Tapatalk

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

That is a great looking Dee :smokin:
Sleek profile , dressed thin and sparse like a Dee ought to be ... great job !!
About the wings , you dressed the wings as Mr. Brown would have . Mr. Brown was one of the forefathers of the Dee style along with Garden and Mr. Wade .
Dee wings should be thin and long , extending to at least the bend of the hook , if proportions were to follow tradition . I see you have dressed this fly in a low-water type style though , which is fine and nothing wrong with that . It will aid with sinking the fly . Typically when dressing a Dee for low-water , we just dress down the body , make it ultra thin and sparse , tightly wrapped and not picked out . Ensure to strip one side of the body hackle and a single turn for the collar . The wings are tied in the same fashion as it would be for a regular dressing .
Back to the wings . Many tyers like to use too many fibers for each of the wing slips , I was guilty of that too . Wide wing slips can make for a pretty wing when mastered . It gives that nice bulk up front , leading to a thin strip over top , adding to the sleekness of the fly . But when fishing this fly you will notice the Dee wing appeal is gone . It will lack movement in the scissor-like effect that the Dee is known and created for . Wide wing slips have a tendency to split before their time , sometimes only lasting a swing or two . Not that split wings matter to the fish , but it can effect the way you fish the fly because of your confidence level . Also , the added bulk up front from the wide wing slips can cause the fly to ride up side down or spin in the current , just like over hackling a fly or too much collar material . Looks like you did your homework and made sure the butts of the slips do not cross , right on !! Over-lapping the butts will also cause the fly to skue , turn up side down , spin in the current and split the wing slips ... good job !!
Thin wing slips will have a ton of movement , scissor-like pulsing back and forth and wiggling up and down on the swing . This is the reason for a thinly dressed body , sparse body hackle and light collar , to allow movement of the wings . Too much hackle and a thick body will impede the wings from moving like they should .

I like the colours that you have chosen to dress this Dee ... looks like steelhead candy :smokin:


Mike

 

[MZilliox]

very good first attempt. For a dee the hook platform is a touch short, so that will prevent your dee from looking spot on for proportions. But you adjusted well to the hook. the hackle is nice and the wingset is pretty darn close. are you mounting the wings one at a time or same time?

 

[riverrat8]

Thanks for all the info and kind words, there is so much history out there it's a bit overwhelming when first learning some of theses patterns. I really like how much thought goes into the construction of these flies though.

I set the wings one at a time, didn't even occur to me to do them at the same time. Should I?

I also ordered a set of the Blue Heron Spey Hooks so I can have a longer shank to work with.

 

[MZilliox]

The blue heron is a bit better but still really the wrong shape for a traditional dee. You want something with a straighter shank really, and preferably long blind eyed hooks like the AJ blind eye. For this wingset i do the wings one at a time as well. for the upright murdoch style dee wing i do them at the same time. I think you are doing great, keep it up!

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

Like Matt mentioned , look at a longer shank hook .
Daiichi 2091 hooks come in one size #1.5 , which is a typical Dee Iron (43mm) around a traditional #1/0 iron . A great hook to learn on because it's not too expensive . But also gives the right length .... it's a good fishing hook too . The gap is not too wide and won't cause any extra trauma to the fish .
I've tied only a few Dees on Dave's hooks . They're not too bad , but prefer the traditional Dee iron style when tying Dees . Plus I like the blind eye option , nice tapered shank at the front .
Daiichi also makes the Low water Dee hook 2271 , which is a down eyed straight shank hook , limerick bend and comes in two sizes , #1 and #2 .
Options are many , just need to choose your style .


Mike

 

[24-7]

RRat:

A very well tied dressing from my view. Should be a producer.

Mike and Matt (mzilliox) make excellent points. A "Dee" pattern has several points of distinction that separate them from other patterns.

dave

 

[Bwana Bill]

Very nicely done! I'm jealous of the wing-set. I still can't get them right!!

-Bill

 

[riverrat8]

It may have been the first finished fly but there was a nice pile of waste from all my failed attempts at the wings. I could get the first but the second was very difficult and usually resulted in destruction of the first. Guess I'll just keep practicing!
Again, thanks for all the help. I'm waiting on some materials but I'll post another fly when I get a chance.

 

[MZilliox]

It may have been the first finished fly but there was a nice pile of waste from all my failed attempts at the wings. I could get the first but the second was very difficult and usually resulted in destruction of the first. Guess I'll just keep practicing!
Again, thanks for all the help. I'm waiting on some materials but I'll post another fly when I get a chance.

yup, keep practicing. Each wingset gets a bit easier (except the days when it doesn't work). There is a zone for your turkey strips that are just right to work with, then there are strips that are either too stiff or too flimsy for wing sets. Sometimes you can set super wings with unideal materials, but I find my success goes way up when i use the right fibres from the feather. only practice will show your fingers the right feathers for this. and around 10 to 12 fibres per wing seems like a good rule of thumb...

 

[flytyer]

Another very good option for a hook for dee flies is the Dick Taleur Classic Salmon Hook make by Daiichi. It is 7xl, has a straight, tapered loop eye, and a Limeric bend. Both the #2 and #4's make very good dee hooks, and they are cheaper than the AJ Blind-eye Spey Hook along with not needing to add an eye loop. Daiichi #2370 is the hook number. Any of the extra-long shank Rangely Style Streamer hooks also make very nice dee hooks.

 

[borderfly]

Dead on beautiful fly! Next time longer hook but I would fish with much confidence.

Dee's are my favorite to tie and fish they just flat out catch fish. I feel it's because of the movement in the current that draws attention to the fly. That might be why a lot of dees are very colorful.

Mike is one of the masters of tying Dee's and knows what he is talking about when it comes to that sort of fly I've learned a ton by just studying his flies.

Put that bad boy in the water!

 

[riverrat8]

I've got some daiichi 2091's on the way for my next few attempts, I'll look into those 2370's as well.

I agree Borderfly, although I haven't fished them yet, they just look so fishy! I feel that the split wing must make the fly move more in subtle currents, as well as possibly helping the fish feel the fly? I'm really looking forward to having a box of dees to swing with this winter.

I was thinking of fishing this fly tomorrow, but my current steelhead rivers are blown out. Guess I'll have to whip out a couple dozen more tubes and hope they are in shape next weekend.

 

[NWSteelieSeeker]

ssnice

great tie, super fishy! I am not an expert on traditional flies but i like this hook. The end use product here will fight fish well and swim like a champ. Great photographs also, thanks for providing different prospectives. keep posting and thanks for sharing!