On The Fly

      "Fly tying is a school from which we never graduate"

TYING NEWS

   The Southern Oregon Fly Tiers met Wednesday, February 8th at the library in Gold Hill. There was a fly raffle and fly challenge along with tying demonstrations. We had several new tiers drop by for a fun evening. A lot of valuable knowledge was exchanged at no charge. The next meeting will be on March 8th. Please join us the second Wednesday of each month for more fun and the sharing of the art.

PATTERN OF THE MONTH - PT Brassie

Hook:                Standard nymph, sizes 14-18
Thread:              Fire orange
Body:                 Brass or copper wire
Tail/Wingcase:    One bunch of 5-6 Pheasant tail fibers
Thorax:               Spiky dubbing, squirrel or hare's ear

Tying Instructions:

1) Start the thread at the eye. Tie in the brass wire one eye-width behind the eye on the near side of the hook. Hold the wire as a guide and wind the thread-wire back to the bend. Now lay the wire over the top of the shank and let it hang off the far side of the hook.
2) Tie in the Pheasant Tail (PT) in front of the laid-over wire and wrap the wire back towards the bend until the tail tips up against the wire. The tail should be one shank-length long.
3) Wind the thread forward to the eye, binding the PT on top of the hook. The PT is now sticking straight out the front of the hook over the eye.
4) Wind the brass wire forward in touching-turns to just behind the eye. Wrap the wire back toward the bend 1/3-shank length and then forward to the front of the hook again.
5) The butts of the PT will now be used for the wingcase. Pull the PT forward and then back on itself, forming a bow shape slightly longer than the thorax. Secure the PT with a thread-wrap right behind the eye. Pull the PT butts forward again,and secure them with another thread-wrap.This will result in three layers of PT for the wingcase.
6) Form a dubbing loop of spiky material and wind it towards the bend covering the built-up wire, forming the thorax.
7) Pull the wingcase back over the thorax and tie off at the rear of the thorax leaving the head portion clean of thread or fiber. Whip finish over this tie-down point.
8) Coat the wingcase and thread with head cement for extra durability.


   The PT Brassie was developed by Britt Phillips and first demonstrated at the 2002 FFF Show and Conclave in Livingston, Montana. This fly is built on the style of the simple-and-pure Pheasant Tail Nymph originated by Frank Saywer from England. Britt designed the fly to be an easy, quick, and simple tie. It is very effective on fish feeding on PMD and BWO nymphs and even midges. The fly descends through the water quickly to gain depth in eddies and riffles. It may be fished either alone or under an indicator dry fly. The pattern has also been a successful lake fly: let it sink, then use a slow hand retrieve and pause, followed by letting it sink again.
   Only thread and three materials gives you a simple tie that really works. Tie some up for the coming season, give them a test flight and let me know how they work.

TYING TIPS

   By using the bright orange thread to tie off the wingcase you form a band that acts as a "key-on" spot for the fish. By " picking out the guard hairs of the dubbed thorax you create legs and a definite "buggy" look.

Tie One On,
Dan Kellogg (you can contact me at FLYGUY@EZNORTHWEST.COM)