the catchy effect of red in a fly is an observation I did myself. I was thinking that this might be a characteristic of my home waters.
My hopper have a red/grizzly hackle
My beetle has a red or orange head
My erft nymph has a red or orange dubbed body and a grizzly hackle
The most successful streamer is the Alexandra
If I use buggers, I use a red one
My klinkhammer variations have a red abdomen
etc...
My Adams has a abdomen made from a CDC, red dyed (Maybe not an Adams anymore, even if I use a cree hackle today)
Some time ago I caught a real hopper at the river. It was light green. Tried to copy it, but not so many fish. Switched to the old one with the red hackle, bam.
Same with the beetle, tied some without the head, no success. Changed to the one with the red, bingo,
Rene
Joyce Westphal wrote:
Rene, usually, when I want the red thread for "blood" look on a fly, the head is red as well. This is the case with the peacock nymphs and scuds as well as the Rainbow Warrior fly. I had a good friend who taught me tying, who'd been tying professionally as well as fishing over 30 years. He believed that every fly had to have a bit of either bright green, red or orange in it to be successful. I must admit that when I mix my own dubbings, I use a bit of one of these colors to add to the mix of the other colors. Seems to work for me. Joyce
