Tying flies, with help from JJ

About halfway through last season I came to the realization that my favorite carp fly was that simple green fly. I tied them in a few other colors and they all worked. Nothing complicated, just a basic soft hackle pattern. The carrot has that distinctive soft hackle look as well, and Mr. P busted out his Black Betty pattern to great effect during the 2010 season. This year, I plan to keep things simple. I will carry a bunch of colors all in the soft hackle style and just see what happens. I have a pretty good handle on the appropriate size (seems to be a 6-10) that gets the most consistent response so I should be able to work up an army of test subjects. Off to a good start today, with a little help from my son and his current superhero fascination.






Of course, the worm needs to be tied as well. Hands down, when it comes to tailing fish in a sand or mud flat no fly will out fish the worm. The hackle flies, carrots etc. seem to out fish the worm in other water types, but dropping that worm on a tailer in a cloud of mud is deadly.

Inspired by Mr P's Black Betty, but tied with my lazy attitude and no frills...






The body is black chenille (with orange sparkle flecks in it, pretty sweet coloration) and the hackle is black pheasant. The Green Lantern approves.