Guys, My directions to Bobs site were pureley to point out how marabou has replaced some of the materials. This was basically to back up what Joyce had said. I didnt say it was right or wrong. As for the flies being marabou flies then that may well be the case but if you look at the flies they are pretty much Spey style tyings and the names suggest to me they are used for North American salmon fishing after coho etc etc. They could even be called Eagle flies too! Spey flies were tied on Speyside in Scotland by the local ghillies to supplement their income and they used whatever material was to hand. Initially they used the feather from the rump of the Speyside poultry. What type of bird it was/is I dont know and Tom's Silkys could well be the bird they used of old. Heron was also used and being longer feather I dare say they got more flies from a single feather. As everyone knows (I hope) heron is now a protected species certainly here in the UK. The Spey poultry has also declined to zip. No doubt somewhere in the hills there is a croft with a few old birds left. So what to use instead? Well in the patterns I tye I used good old pheasant rump. A description I have for Spey flies is they were tied to represent shrimp patterns and the Spey feathers represent the legs. Bronze Mallard wings represent the carapace of the shrimp. If you read Tom's description of why he developed the feather it was for the reasons I put forward above. As we all know fly-tying moves on in the use of materials and the Spey flies are a perfect example of this. Now where did I put my marabou....... KP ----- Original Message ----- From: "DonO" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 11:02 PM Subject: Re: [VFB] Spey Hackle?-a co-op swap?
> Ginger, > From what I can gather, and I'm no expert, is that the term 'spey' has > become somewhat generic, and quite a few substitutions have been made for > heron, which was used in the original patterns. Looking at those patterns > and knowing that they're using marabou feathers, at least to me, makes them > marabou flies, not spey. But if you look at the style of tying and the > application of the marabou, a case can be made that they're spey-style > flies. > > This is why Tom developed the spey feather necks. Since they are called > 'spey necks', would it be proper to call the hackles true spey hackles? I > guess that would be up to the beholder. But before you choose marabou for > the substitution, I would recommend that you look at the Whiting Spey capes. > The feather has much more structure than a marabou, and drapes properly as > you tie the fly. > > How many people would be interested in a Spey feather co-op swap, like we > did with the saddle feathers. It would run the same way, you just get a > range of different color spey feathers. I could call Tom and have him > hand-pick some doozies for us. Years ago I did some free mailings to a > couple of dozen people, but that was too much work. A co-op swap would give > everyone just what they need. > > DonO > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Ginger Allen > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 12:22 PM > Subject: Re: [VFB] Spey Hackle?-another option > > > I have a stupid question. The 'spey' flies on the silver doctor site do not > use spey feathers. > Is this just the look of the fly and they never use spey feathers? > > > > At 01:11 PM 8/24/2004 -0600, you wrote: > > Keith, > Thank you for the insight to Bob's site... You're right, "wow" is an > understatement... As soon as I can, I'd like to get his disk "Speyflies > 101"... Most definitely would help in fishing Steelies up on the Snohomish > River, WA... I've caught some nice Steelhead up there... > > Rodney... > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: KEITH PASSANT > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 12:42 PM > Subject: Re: [VFB] Spey Hackle?-another option > > > Joyce, > A couple of years back I tied in a Spey swap that Bob Blumreich > was running. Bob used marabou in a fly which I have. There were a few tied > with marabou and the effect was stunning. Bob had dyed the tips of his > feather and "wow" is an understatement on the finished article. Have a look > on his site for the results of some of the swaps that have taken place. > Brilliant but I dont include my tyings in that statement ! > http://www.silverdoctor.net > > Keith > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Joyce's crafts and flies > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 1:12 AM > Subject: Re: [VFB] Spey Hackle?-another option > > > I don't know where I read this, but in one of my tying books the fellow > suggested using marabou that had been sprayed with hair spray and then > quickly brushed with a tooth brush. It ried it and, indeed, it turned out > quite nice. Of course, after you brush it, you'll need to quickly wash the > feather and the tooth brush as it is quite sticky. I did it on a newspaper > so as not to get the mess all over. The advantage of this was that it gave a > wide range of colors. Joyce > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.742 / Virus Database: 495 - Release Date: 8/19/2004 > Ginger M. Allen > Sr. Biological Scientist > Florida Master Naturalist Program Coordinator > www.MasterNaturalist.ifas.ufl.edu > www.MasterNaturalist.org > Department of Wildlife & Ecology Conservation > UF/IFAS > 2686 SR 29 N > Immokalee, FL 34142-9515 > PH (239) 658-3409 (suncom974-3400) > Fax (239) 658-3469 (suncomfax974-3469) > >
