More North Country Wet Flies

As I acquire more and varied materials I find myself tying more North Country wet flies. Something that took a while to purchase was a black hen neck, I couldn't find any I was happy with at the BFFI, Cookshill were sold out so I held off. Becoming impatient I bought one from eBay; now it's not to be recommended to buy hackles unseen, but I was buying a cape that was pictured and I was confident it wouldn't be a dud purchase.

I also found myself in a lucky position to spot a dead tawny owl on my journey to work; it saddens me to say I frequently see barn owls laying on the side of road but I have never come across a tawny. To try and stay within the law I removed a few marginal coverts to tide me over - I'm unlikely to ever need lots of them so they should see me through for a long time.

I have also tried herl heads for the first time. The first fly I tied I made the mistake of making it far too full, not something I repeated again - a lesson learned.

Brown Owl
Hook: Partridge Spider size 14
Thread; Pearsall's Silk no.6a orange
Body: Silk
Hackle: Tawny Owl marginal (upper) covert
Head: Peacock herl

This was my second attempt at a herl head, a much better effort.

Dark Spanish Needle
Hook: Partridge Spider size 14
Thread: Langley superfine silk golden brown - an
almost exact copy of the old Pearsall's colour 6b
Body: Silk
Hackle: From the armpit of a starling - a dun coloured feather with cream edge
Head: Peacock herl

Black Magic
Hook: Partridge Spider sizes 14-20
Thread: Pearsall's silk no.9 black
Body: Silk
Thorax: Peacock herl
Hackle: Black hen

Another crack at a winged wet fly - Broughton Point - I'm particularly pleased with this effort, however the silk is the wrong colour, dark claret instead of cardinal, that will teach me to select colours under tungsten light bulbs.

Broughton Point
Hook: Partridge Spider size 14
Thread: Pearsall's silk no.12 cardinal - this is no.15 dark claret by mistake
Wing: Starling primary feather bunched and split
Hackle: Black hen