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Green Highlander for fishing

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One of the things to do this winter is to tie up some classics for fishing next year: since I have been tying up Green Highlander lately I thought I’d give it a go on a #1/0 hook, not just for display and practice but for practical use. The pattern is the same as I have visited before, but I did omit a couple of small things, and I might not be that exact when tying them in, but it is a very good practice since I have to marry the wings and mount them on the hook and get everything together. The one thing I did experiment a bit with was the length of the wing, so I have a idea on what I want this pattern to look like when I’m ready to swing it in front of a salmon next year!

To give you a idea of size:

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Green Highlander- #3/0

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Hook: Partridge Bartleet Blind-Eye #3/0
Thread: UNI 17/0 Trico White, Sheer 14/0 Black
Tag: Lagartun Oval X-Strong Fine French Tinsel, Lagartun French Silk Floss
Tail: GP topping, Wood Duck
Butt: Black Ostrich
Body: Lagartun French Silk Floss, Seals fur Green Highlander
Rib: Lagartun French Tinsel
Hackle: Green Highlander Cock Saddle
Underwing: GP tippet
Wing: Dyed Turkey Yellow/Orange/Green, Wood Duck, Mallard Duck
Throat: Rooster Neck Yellow
Cheek: Red Crow Substitute

This one has been a long time in the making: I started last year with some married wings but it went on and off for a while and I didn’t have material that I needed for this pattern. I still don’t have everything I would like to have: the wing should have some GP/Bustard/Mottled turkey, a good JC and horns. But: step by step I’ll add more to this pattern, this time it was all about getting the 18 strands of wing to stay together and tie them in without the fibers going in every direction, and I did! Next time I’ll increase the wing to 21/24 strands and manage to tie that in properly, but I don’t mind doing more variants on this pattern (as long as I get some more silk gut soon….).

There are some adjustments on this (there always is!), but the parts I’m happy with on this fly: the GP that meets up in the back, the GP underwing that aligns (and the fact that I figured out how to do it), the fact that the wing stayed in one place when I tied it in (“Tying the classic salmon fly” helped me out there) and the mallard duck roof.

I’m also quite happy with the start of the fly: the silk was nice and (almost) even, together with the tinsel it was a good starting point:

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The underbody of white UNI-Floss before I started to add silk and seals fur. This makes for a better profile on the final fly:

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Up until this point the fly is flowing nicely: the hackle could be better and the yellow throat should be thicker:

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The colors of the green highlander is what pulled me in the first time:

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Rear-view of the green highlander:

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The topping is forming a nice veil on top of the fly and packs it in:

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If I were to save one fly I have ever created it must be this! I know that if I come back to this in a couple of years time I will find a lot of things to point out, but this is the process: tie up, learn, repeat. And for me part of that process is to put these patterns out here, together with a macro shot that shows all the little flaws it have, but that is one of the things that drive me to become better!

To give you a idea of how big this fly is:

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Blue & Green Double

dryfly.me.2014.03.15.blue_green_doubleHook: Kamasan B280 #6
Tag: Lagartun French Tinsel
Body: Taimen Seals Fur Green Highlander
Rib: Lagartun French Tinsel
Body Hackle: Veniard Chinese Cock Cape Doctor Blue
Wing: Blue & Green Fox, Green Flash
Sides: JC

I often sit down and try to see how colors blend together and try to figure out how they will work. Many times I get the inspiration from other tiers on facebook, G+, forums and so on: I see some hook or pattern and I get a idea on what I want to do. Lately I have looked at a lot of dee flies and done a lot of big-wing tubes, so I try to mix it up like this: the concept of long body hackle and a hair-wing.

This one I will bring with me when I go seatrout fishing

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Green & Fire Nymph

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Hook: TMC 2457 #10
Thread: Sheer 14/0 Green
BodyUTC Vinyl Rib NYM Green, Hare’s Ice Dub Rusty Orange
Thorax/Wing: Seals Fur Green Highlander

This one came to be when I found the package of Rusty Orange and the Green Highlander together in my dubbing box. I think the wrapping of the vinyl rib slowly opening up to reveal the rusty orange can work, together with the seals fur for a bit of life in the water.