Randolf & Butterman/Golden Olive.

[wingman]

Meant to post these the other day but a bit behind with the household chores and fly tying unfortunately aint one of them. The Randolf is taken from the Farlows book and is more or less a Baron with a purple tag and Gallina instead of Jay for the throat. The Butterman/Golden Olive is a nice simple Irish looking pattern and the kind of fly I feel more drawn to these days because of their simplicity. The Seal's fur should be a more orange shade rather than greener but being colour blind I don't always get it right if the packets aren't labelled but I think I've now found some pretty close to what's needed which was hiding at the bottom of my dubbing box which is in a complete state of disarray as usual. Randolf tied at 2/0 and Butterman at 1/0.

Tag - oval silver tinsel and purple floss.
Tail - GP tail.
Butt - Ostrich herl.
Body - rear half flat silver tinsel veiled with Indian Crow (substitute used) butted Ostrich herl then front half black floss.
Ribs - oval silver tinsel.
Hackle - claret cock hackle over front section.
Throat - Guinea Fowl (Gallina).
Wings - GP tippets, Bustard, GP tail, mottled Turkey, Peacock wing, Goose dyed red, blue & yellow, Barred Woodduck, Bronze Mallard & GP topping over.
Sides - Jungle Cock.
Cheeks - Blue Chatterer (subbed with Kingfisher).
Horns - blue & yellow Macaw.

Tag - oval silver tinsel & claret floss.
Tail - GP topping and Indian Crow (substitute used).
Body - golden olive Seal's fur.
Ribs - oval gold tinsel.
Hackle - golden olive cock hackle.
Throat - claret cock hackle.
Wings - GP tippets, Bustard, Goose dyed blue & yellow, Barred Woodduck, Bronze Mallard.

​

Thanks for looking.

cheers

mark

 

[tj hooker]

Both great flys Mark I know from a tying point of view there’s a lot more work in the Randolf and it is stunning and I’ve looked at the two over and over and I just love the look of the Butterman the art of taking the simple and making it great such a nice profile and the bronze mallard give it that Irish look alright the kind of fly a big Brown would gobble up as well as salmon when I get some smaller hooks one to give a go.

 

[wingman]

Both great flys Mark I know from a tying point of view there’s a lot more work in the Randolf and it is stunning and I’ve looked at the two over and over and I just love the look of the Butterman the art of taking the simple and making it great such a nice profile and the bronze mallard give it that Irish look alright the kind of fly a big Brown would gobble up as well as salmon when I get some smaller hooks one to give a go.

Thanks Grahame I quite agree with all you've said there. I'm sure the simpler fly would catch just as well as the more complicated one and the more I tie these flies the more I think that the more complicated dressings are just a test for the tier rather than being more effective as a fishing fly than anything more simplistic. I'm not saying they're all like that and obviously certain effects from well chosen flies on the day created while in the water from the various components will have advantages in certain conditions/seasonal fluctuations etc. over other flies. In fact I'm hoping to tie a lot more of the simpler dressings as a contrast to the more showy ones so you might be seeing a few more like that.

 

[lipslicker]

As usual, predictably stunning. Not a feather or strand out of place.

Can i ask how many you now have in your collection, ones you are happy with?

Also, one imagines you get a fair bit quicker with practise, so how long would one of those take you now?
(I still appreciate it is likely in hours, not minutes, LOL)

Also, whilst I doubt ones as good as that can be purchased on the open market in this day and age, but do you have any idea how much one would go for if you could?

Wonderful stuff.

 

[wingman]

Thanks lipslicker. Predictably stunning eh, I'm terrible with flattery so I'm predictably under the table no pressure there then. I've probably got around 280 in my possession and another say 40 that have gone to various places around the globe although I mainly tie for pleasure these days, so over 300 I've tied anyway. It's still not many as you're supposed to be getting into the high calibre tying bracket certainly over 500 flies (or a good 10 years at it) so I'm basically still a novice with ambition. I'm fairly happy with most of them to be honest as they all tell a story but I probably average one minger every 50 flies which is not bad going, a floss slip at the tag for example can generally ruin the look of a fly and if it happens later in the tying it's usually a 'vice thrower' (preferably through the window). Yes I'm pretty quick now depending on the complexity of the pattern that is or if it's one I haven't tied before but generally around four hours a fly now. I got told I should be charging around £50 to £60 a fly although depending on what kind of hook I'm tying on as fine hand made and antique hooks will push the price up a bit and also depending on the pattern tied. But like I say I don't actively sell them but tie for my own pleasure and constantly looking for new and interesting patterns to tie to add to my collection of which there are many still out there.

 

[baca157]

Excusite tying Mark. I am starting to like those low sitting tails of yours

Cheers,
Sebastian

 

[wingman]

Excusite tying Mark. I am starting to like those low sitting tails of yours

Cheers,
Sebastian

Thanks Sebastian. They're supposed to swim better with flatter tails although I can't speak from experience personally so you'll have to take my word for it and ideal for mixed wing type flies but you'll notice that in the the more 'modern style' of tying the tails are more curvier. Also where tails are concerned you tend to get more useable flatter toppings from a GP head than curvier ones. The curvier toppings for tails on say size 3/0 downward come right off the top of the head but usually quite a lot are twisted unless you're lucky and get a really nice head. You can straighten them to an extent by nicking along the stem with your thumbnail. Also I've heard that some soak the whole head then leave to dry and sometimes this straightens them out but not tried that yet after about 40 heads.

 

[taffy1]

................ I should be charging around £50 to £60 a fly

Cheap at half the price....I'll take a dozen. Beautifully tied as usual Mark & if that's novice standard with ambition, you certainly underestimate your tying skills in my opinion. Keep 'em coming.

 

[wingman]

Cheap at half the price....I'll take a dozen. Beautifully tied as usual Mark & if that's novice standard with ambition, you certainly underestimate your tying skills in my opinion. Keep 'em coming.

Thanks taffy1 the price thing can get a bit silly and I've seen flies for sale at three times the above amount and always wonder if people pay that much for them but I guess if you have the money. I hate putting a price on my work. It was the same with my art stuff and people would ask how much would you sell this or that picture for? and I'm like erm well I hadn't really thought about it and they looked quite nice hanging on my walls as it was. I probably do underestimate myself, many of us do but there's always some new technique to try and master and use on the next fly and still little niggles to work out. I'd say 99% of my wings go on first time now and are pretty well secured as it's not just about looks but how well the fly is put together using good quality materials and proper techniques and certainly no cheating with glue etc. I have an idea before I tie a fly more or less how I want the finished article to look and if the finished result is pretty close to that then it's a success in it's own right for me personally anyway.

 

[baca157]

Thanks Sebastian. They're supposed to swim better with flatter tails although I can't speak from experience personally so you'll have to take my word for it and ideal for mixed wing type flies but you'll notice that in the the more 'modern style' of tying the tails are more curvier. Also where tails are concerned you tend to get more useable flatter toppings from a GP head than curvier ones. The curvier toppings for tails on say size 3/0 downward come right off the top of the head but usually quite a lot are twisted unless you're lucky and get a really nice head. You can straighten them to an extent by nicking along the stem with your thumbnail. Also I've heard that some soak the whole head then leave to dry and sometimes this straightens them out but not tried that yet after about 40 heads.

It makes a lot of sense. Flatter tail will offer less resistance, I think. It also makes changes the look of the fly dramatically. I remember you saying to me at the start that the shape and size of the tail will determine the look and proportions of the finished fly.

I haven’t tried to soak the whole head yet but I do soak individual feathers in hot water and it brings them back to the natural state very nicely. Twisted toppings are a nightmare.

Cheers,
Sebastian