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Goose Shoulders

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  flytyer 
#1 ·
Now that the days are getting colder and shorter and the evenings are getting longer I find myself doing more and more fly tying. Refilling boxes that have been emptied during the fishing season and filling new ones as well as experimenting with different materials, new and old.

One of my favorites is Goose shoulders. They are cheep, easy to get and easy to work with. If you decide you want to learn how to make married wing flies then this is the feather for you. If you cut some slips, marry them together and mess something up you can just toss them in the can and start over. What the hell, there cheep. Have to love that! :smokin:

Charlie
 

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#3 ·
As usual Charlie, nicely tied.

It amazes me the amount of crap out there on how expensive all the materials are to tie married wing classics (or new ones like this fly of yours herein), which you and I know is nothing more than BS. Very nice to gorgeous flies can be tied with materials like goose shoulder and dyed subs for Indian Crow, toucan, chatterer, and cock of the rock that are inexpensive (cheap really). Glad to see you post something on how useful and cheap goose shoulder is.
 
#5 ·
flytyer said:
As usual Charlie, nicely tied.

It amazes me the amount of crap out there on how expensive all the materials are to tie married wing classics (or new ones like this fly of yours herein), which you and I know is nothing more than BS. Very nice to gorgeous flies can be tied with materials like goose shoulder and dyed subs for Indian Crow, toucan, chatterer, and cock of the rock that are inexpensive (cheap really). Glad to see you post something on how useful and cheap goose shoulder is.

Hey Flytyer
One of things that often surprises folks who've never seen a full on presentation grade framed full dress fly before is the size of them! Lots of the flies in coffee table books would be entirely suitable for sailfish! On a 5/0 long shank hook, Goose just doesn't cut it, and even finding turkey tail big enough of a high enough quality can be a lengthy and expensive process.

You are dead on when it comes to fishing flies, but for the big boys, it is an expensive proposition.
 
#6 ·
Philster,

You are correct about the modern "fixation" folks have with tying married wing classics on very large hooks. However, the old masters rarely tied them on hooks larger than our modern 4/0 hooks, with most of them tied on hooks between #4 and #2/0. I've also noticed that very few tyers of the married wing classics tie them in normal fishing sized like the old masters did. I suppose it has to do with collectors wanting to have flies tied on the largest hooks available.

However, Marvin Nolte of Nun Bush, WY ties his classics on Partridge Bartleet Blind Eyes (CS10-3) in #1/0, 2/0, and 3/0, with most of them being tied on the 1/0- or 2/0. Marvin is considered one of the world's best tyers of classic salmon flies as was Syd Glasso who tied his married wings on #1/0, 1, 2, and 4's. Because of this, I often wonder if the reason so many folks are tying them on the huge "presentation" irons today is because once you have the materials to tie the huge irons, tying the fly is actually easier on the monster irons than on the normal fishing size hooks the old masters (and folks like Nolte and Glasso) used.

You are right on about how difficult it is to get materials to tie wings on flies larger than #4/0. Once better get out his check book or take out a loan to buy the feathers. Personally, I'll tie them not larger than #3/0.
 
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