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recipe for sunray shadow?

5K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Ken_ D 
#1 ·
I'm new to this forum and delighted to find it, I know the sunray shadow is a well known tube fly, however, I do not tie tube flies. I am looking for a recipe for a salmon hook, a photo would be great if anyone has one. I'm fairly new to Atlantic Salmon fishing, just a couple of years, I'll be fishing the Gaspe in June and I' researching and tying for that trip. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Terry
 
#2 ·
Sunray Shadow

1.5" plastic tube.

Body,tail,rib etc.: None

Wing: Natural brown hair (e.g. squirrel) the length of the tube, 2-3 peacock herls over this and at last a long overwing of black goat.

Originally the length of the fly was around 10-15 cm. In Brooks orignal pattern Colobus monkey was used for the overwing. A variation exist with white underwing. Tie the wing quite wide to get a good silouette.

I tie mine with white underwing, 2-3 peacock krystal flash and black goat or bear overwing. I vary the total length of the fly from 2 cm to 15 cm. I also angle the front of the plastic tube to help the fly dive in the current.

A simple pattern and a very efficient fly, at least here in Norway.

Knut
 
#3 · (Edited)
Post removed: I invite the poser of the question to do a search for yourself on your favourite engine. Regrets for the appearnce of spam, promoting web sites in foreign countries. KD


Ken,
I hope you rememberd rule 2
Rule #2 - Respecting sponsorships, and spam

Since our life blood is sponsorships, we must keep advertisement meaningful in our community. Avoid spamming by openly promoting non-sponsors in a way that directly advertises their businesses unless you have consulted with a moderator or administrator first. If you want to promote non-sponsors in this manner, you will be asked to email the business to suggest sponsorship of our community (CC: sponsorships@flyfishingforum.com).

Willie Gunn
 
#4 · (Edited)
Thanks, Willie Gunn......if that's the policy stand, then I would treat my post as an oversight...I merely went to google to look for sites that had photos of the fly.
My future posts to questions posed as above will be a laconic phrase inviting the party to search for him/herself.
Thanks for the reminder for methodology in helping board readers out. KD
 
#5 ·
Ken, please continue to reply but bear in mind that you did in fact agree to the rules when you signed up. You can as I pointed out continue to add links if you follow up asking the linked site to become sponsors.

My dressing of the Sunray is similer to the above

The Sunray Shadow is dressed on a nylon tube with no body. The wing is tied on one side of the tube only.
There are three layers.
The bottom layer is white bucktail about the same length as the tube.
The middle layer consists of a few strands of peacock herl, the length of this is generally twice the tube body length.
The upper layer is Black goat hair; about three times the tube body length.
You can add a few strands of crystal hair on top of the wing if you wish.
The thread is black.


My understanding is that the original dressing which was devised by Ray Brooks on the River Namsen in Norway had a white bucktail underwing, in later versions this may have been replaced with polar bear, but bucktail is cheaper. I have also seen the goat hair replaced with monkey hair but again goat hair is cheaper.
 
#6 ·
Sunrays are also extremely enticing and effecive if you use black human hair — especially good in large sizes 3"+. Natural black human hair has excellent movement in the water. It's finer and can be purchased in lengths much longer than goat. I've purchased the hair at a hairdresser's supply shop. Fish take the fly very aggressively.
Bill
 
#7 ·
My thanks to Knut, Ken and Bill for your kind responses to my inquiry, I am not quite sure what unspoken protocol I violated here by asking help in finding a fly recipe and subsequentiy being told to pretty much "bugger off!" As I mentioned, I am new to this forum, but I am not a moron, I have searched high and low for this dressing without success, in one day I have had three people from your forum respond with dressings, isn't that what these forums are all about? One angler helping another? I do not speak latin so I do not know what "Quot homines tot sententiae " means but I doubt it refers to diplomacy or good manners. Thank you again, Terry
 
#9 ·
Terry,
You violated no protocol asking for the dressing of the fly. Ken inadvertently, as an oversite as he said himself, posted 4 links to sites of non sponsors, which is against the forum rules, unless an email is sent to the sites asking them to become sponsors. (Rule 2)

The Latin tag is from Richard Waddington.

"The ethics of salmon fishing are essentally personal. Quot homines tot sententiae. What is right for one man is often wrong for another." From Catching Salmon Richard Waddington
 
#10 ·
My apologies, WG, I mistakenly thought you were chasing me off the board and thanks for the Latin lesson, thank you also WRG for the picture, now I have all I asked for, a photo and a recipe. I doubt that I will tie it with human hair, at my age I don't know many people who have it in that color, or at all!
On a regular salmon hook (non tube) I think I will tie it with a white floss body and use the wing dressing you guys described. thanks again, Terry
 
#11 ·
Terry.....try for the hair that the instrument makers use in the old school hygrothermographs.....it comes from the pretty ladies in Italy.... I forget what province. It is the ony human hair on the planet suitable for that purpose..uniform diameter, and the ability to absorb and shed moisture at constant rates. Crucial in the application.
Actaully, fake Barbie hair at the dollar store works pretty well too (joke)..... :D :D :D
But I'm sure whatever human hair you choose will be just ducky.
Good luck on the tie.
 
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