extended body mayflies

[flipnfly]

ok so i decided to try to tie a few of these such flies one i know that they are more hatch specific but im sure sometimes that matters here is a tutorial that i found. what are some ways that you guys tie them pics and tutorials aregreatly enjoyed and appriceated i know the below pic needs a few tweaks but if you feel like critic-ing feel free i need a good reaming to keep me on track another question poses in this matter just how durable are these flies

 

[jayL]

I tie em just like that, but admittedly don't take the time to do it often. Get some bleached hair, moose mane tails, and oversized grizzly hackle, and you've got a wonderful coffin fly. Luckily for me, 2x tippet is fine for fishing large flies at night, and I only have to tie two or three per season. They are pretty durable.

 

[ryguyfi]

I tie mine like that too. I sometimes dub over the whole body to give it a nicer look... don't know if it matters. I tie my Brown drakes this way in both a catskill and a spinner pattern with a dark brown elk hair. They should be at the Neshannock around the week after the JAM. I hit them on May 29th last year. Short window though, only about 10 days.

 

[harry]

I tie my extended bodies all seperate on a large sewing needle attached to my vice. When done with them I tie them on the hook and proceed to finish the pattern that I am doing.

 

[troutslammer]

you can use white poly yarn and singe the end of it with a match for the ext body on the coffin , of course grizzly hackle too

 

[flipnfly]

the main question im running into now is how long should the bodies should be and how long are the tails supposed to be to successfully represent the naturals and i wouldnt mind tying up a few different colors and sizes to cover a broad spectrum

:-?

 

[MKern]

flip,

I think comparing to a pic of the natural is the best.

Troutnut or the book mayflies are good starting points.

Of course catching your own bugs and measuring them is probably more meaningful.

Sometimes you have to bite the bullet for one year to prepare for the next. Your flies will better represent the streams to prefer because of the samples collected from them, rather than measurements from a book or website.

I'm not saying preserve the bugs. Just catch and admire for a minute.

 

[ryguyfi]

good advise. Here's a pic of a brown drake from the Neshannock. Of course it's on my camera phone and didn't have a tape on me that day. Just stopped by on my way home from an appointment one day and picked it out of a spiderweb on Bob's shop. But you get the idea.

 

[troutslammer]

green drake - 18-30 mm (size range ) hook -#6 or 8 (4x long) it will probably be very low light conditions in the evening when you are fishing them so don't sweat the exact size

 

[MKern]

BTW,
I prefer foam for my extended bodies.

I hate working with hair, plus I don't have to worry about floatation.

I have had the flies spin and twist up the leader, but I combat this by making the hook longer, thus the extended body shorter (maybe a segment or two off the hook).

I sometimes use streamer hooks, but the foam bodies still float.

I do like the looks of the smaller flies (ie BWO) tied as an extended body, but I think they are impractical. That one company used to make hooks that had an extra piece for ex. bodies. I don't think they make them anymore.

 

[osprey]

Harry and MKern............both of you are giving out good info on this subject , tying the bodies seperatly on a needle and using foam instead of hair are 2 real good bits of advice and flipnfly.........that fly in the pic you posted will work just fine and you'll get no criticism or reaming from me , looks good man!!!