Just got my first pheasant skin and have tied up some north country spiders, which I learned about on the small stream reflections blog. Anyone else ever try these out (very similar to kebari)?
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Hah! Just stumbled on this piece by @CM_Stewart (I should have known that he had “been there, done that” with these). Looking forward to giving them a go for some small wild trout:
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Yes, I tie a variety of soft hackles and spiders. I use both hen and rooster hackles. The hen feathers are softer of course, but I like the coloration and mottling of the rooster feathers like the one in your pic. I’ve been using more yarn as of late, but simple thread bodies with a wire rib are just as effective for me.
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Dustin,
I have been tying wet flies such as the flymph, north country, and soft hackles flies for many years. They are wonderful flies and I love the beauty in its simplicity. There are excellent books on their design, history, and tying instructions. I’m really glad that you enjoy these flies. They are a lot of fun to tie and fish.
Want to fish with a True Reverse Hackle Pattern? Give the Sheep Creek Special a try. Although I have never fished this pattern in running water, I know some anglers who do and they report it to be highly effective, in both the standard version and Bead Head models as well. Although I’m giving the Fly Fishing the Sierra information here because it lists the Peacock Herl models, which I’ve found to be particularly effective, with wire ribs, than the chenille ties, so please take a good look and enjoy. There is a lot more information on this pattern out there, mostly as it applies to stillwater and warm water fishing as well, but it will do a great job in streams also.
https://flyfishingthesierra.com/sheepcrk.htm
I have a series of SC Patterns I tie for different water color, lighting conditions, pre-spawn and spawning fish, that use Fluorescent and UV Reflective tying materials, which I call my Sheeps Creek Specials, because they have FL- Tags and Butts, but that’s another story…Karl.
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Filled a box with all the patterns from the Discover Tenkara complete kebari collection. It’s a solid set of patterns that’ll be more than enough for my favorite streams in the summer. I really like these wooden boxes as well. Ordered 4 off ebay I think they were around 6.50$ a piece.
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Great job, Ryan. These kebari you tied are awesome.
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These are beautiful. I want a calendar with these flies on it. Fundraising idea?
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Tied in hand huh? Impressive! My favorite part about the Road Kone is how visible the white hackle is subsurface. Really helps an angler visualize manipulations. Thanks for sharing your version!
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Not a lot of trout water near me, so I’m mostly fixed line fly fishing these days if you want to get technical about it. Anyway, here is a fly i’m excited to work with this upcoming season. Its based on Bart Lombardo’s “The Creature” fly, just tied sloppier and using the things I had lying around 
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My first attempt at a paraloop black gnat. Was tricky to do but I think it is a technique that I can get better at
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So it’s been quite awhile since I have done any fly tying, for obvious reasons. Tying (no pun intended) to this topic, I’ve been rereading “The Art of Trout Fishing in Rapid Streams” and discussing the flies with a good friend (I’m also rereading “For Whom the Bell Tolls”.). It’s been been inspiring me to get back to the types and styles of flies I learned how to tie as a kid.
Here is some of what I’ve been working on the past week or two.
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Dang. Those are fabulous.
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Since it’s a little quiet around here, I’ll post a few more pics. I’ve just been playing around with some old classics. There are some variations when it comes to old flies, so please forgive me if these don’t match your personal ideal.
Coch-y-bonddu
Red tag
Black magic (No, this isn’t tied with silk and yes, I realize it’s the wrong style of hook.)
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Those are some beautiful flies!!!
you’ve inspired me to tie some soft hackles tonight…
sorry in advance for the dumb question, but what do you use for the black background in the pics?
Any advice for taking photos of finished flies in the vise with an iPhone or is it not possible without a light box and proper setup?
Thanks @Harry. Not a dumb question at all! In my opinion, being inquisitive and willing to learn and ask questions is just the opposite of being dumb.
It’s actually not too difficult at all and my setup is really cheap. It looks much better than it is in the finished photos.
I just used a relatively small cardboard box that had some dog toys delivered in it. I cut off all of the flaps used to close the top of the box and one end. One of them was taped on what used to be the inside bottom of the box to both strengthen it and create an even flat surface. I took one of the long flaps that I cut off and folded it into an upsidedown U shape. Before I taped it inside the box, I cut 3 holes the same size diameter as the base of these. After that was taped in place on the bottom, I lined the box with this adhesive felt paper.
The photos are taken and edited on my phone. I have an Android phone, so I don’t know what apps are available for photo editing on an iphone. A friend just recommended Snapseed and you can find it here for iphone. So far, I’ve mainly been using Google photos on my phone. I don’t know if the iPhone app has the same features, but you can check it out here.
I’m actually looking at some other background colors because not all flies show up well on a black background. For example, this fly I tied last night.
Technically, both the hackle and the biots are a nearly identical color of gray dun and are nearly indistinguishable in person. But in the photo, they look different colors and that’s with major color adjustments to the photo.
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