Davie, is there a reason why there is no tag on this fly, Happy New year to you and yours. I'm seriously thinking about fishing for Smallmouth Bass in the Potomac with a Spey rod and some tube flies.Have to wait for the spring Might be a bit of fun as you say Patrick
Hi Davie, thanks for this fine video. Yesterday and today I tied my first three Francis, very small ones, on 6mm tubes. My question is, if in your opinion there are big differences or (dis)advantages between Francis tied with hackle stems or boar bristles? Thanks in advance Jan
Thank you for this video it inspired me! Have just tied flies for a couple of weeks and seeing this video inspired me to tie a shrimp fly and explore new techniques. Ended up dong some more research and took inspiration from another picture I saw. Didn't have the correct material but used nylon fishing line to create the feelers, eyes are nylon also. Used alot of fluorescent material so it really glows like crazy under UV light. Really making this fly made me feel so enthusiastic about this hobby. :) Thanks again for inspiring me. here are two pictures of my shrimp, proud I quess so thought I would share it, Hopefully it will catch me som sea trout when the ice breaks( northern Sweden). Took 2 hours to make it but I quess it will go a lot faster in the future when I get more used to all the different techniques. TH-cam is such a fantastic way to learn. Like having a personal instructor, us guys taking up the hobby today have it so easy. s13.postimg.org/aron907yv/20160302_010314.jpg and under UV light s28.postimg.org/ups8rahwd/20160302_010653.jpg
Hi Robert Pettersson, I have to say for someone that has just started tying you are doing extremely well as your shrimp pattern it really well tyed and I'm sure it will fish really well..I'm glad my videos have inspired you to start tying your own flies which I am very happy to hear, but it's you that has to practice and this is what you have been doing so I wish you well and enjoy your new hobby... All the very best Davie..
+Davie McPhail Thank you for your kind words. Am tying my third shrimp version just now and think I ended up with a very "fishy" result on shrimp number two. Looks like it might catch some fish. I have faith in the fly and that is the most important thing. Used your pattegrisen video, how you used dubbing, a feather hackle and some yarn folded over like a shell to create the front of the fly. So took that idea, using similar materials, and combined it with my first shrimp pattern. Think it really ended up being a good pattern, a bit smaller then the first one and looked pretty close to a pattegrisen. So once again, thanks for all your videos. Taking time and effort making them. It is a wealth of information.
Hi rouryglen, I would have the sleeve about 1/2 inch off the back of the tube as this would suit most hooks but I would also have some longer lengths in my box just incase I need them... All the very best Davie
Hi Davie, I find this a very useful fly (particularly the black version) but a surprisingly difficult one to tie well. Your demonstration is very helpful. Which saddle hackle would you recommend? I'm thinking of durability as well as how it looks.
Hi Kenneth Simpson, I use a Metz Saddle grade 2 and in a normal hackle I can get a couple of flies out of one hackle..I agree with you that it looks a simple fly but can be a pain to get the shape you like... All the very best Davie
Hi Davie have just viewed your tying the red francis, in which you advised using calf tail in ginger I have searched online for this colour but no one seems to stock it can you tell me where you got yours from please. Cheers, love the videos and learned lots from watching.
Hi Tony,, I usually end up dyeing my own calf tail as it's far easier to find white as I have the same problem finding some myself..When tying the smaller flies just use natural brown pheasant tails fibres which are used rather than the calf tail..I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you.. All the very best Davie...
Davie McPhail thanks Davie I have found a local supplier who will dye the calf tails while I waited (so you can choose the depth of colour) that suites best. Thanks again for the reply. Regards, Tony.
hey Davie, fantastic videos as always. how would you modify this fly to look more like a crawfish pattern? I fish mostly the flies on short double handers for trout. crawfish are a must
How would I fish this I'm new to fly fishing for salmon only had success with prawn, spinners and worm I've caught 2 on the fly but I was standard stripping the flies
Hi Davie. I have been collecting some of your vids and one I had was the Snaelda which has been removed. Similar to the ref Francis I know but can you tell me if you are planning to redo the video. Be grateful if you could. Best regards David
cheers mate, could you tie one directly on a 3 hock just for show a size 14 or 16 with a led thread under. would be nice to se how you do it mate. thanks and cheers on a good video =) regards from iceland... :)
Hi Gestur Kristinn Friðfinnsson, I have tyed this fly on singles as well as doubles and trebles but tying them on tubes is the most popular as you know. I do have a video of me tying a cone head shrimp which you may like to tye in this colour combination as it would give the shrimp a little bit more weight when you need it in the deeper and faster pools..I've attached a link to it for you to have a look at...th-cam.com/video/rIE5p2U_4fI/w-d-xo.html All the very best Davie
Hi Patrick, The tube connector does help to splay the calf tail as you said which will make it move a lot more as well as the sleeve holds the hook in place when fishing... Happy New year to you as well and all the very best for 2014... ATB Davie...
Hey Davie, I noticed you had the same fly in different colors on the board with the pins. They all looked like the Francis. Are the other colors up to yourself or are they the only colors a Francis come in? I saw black, with different color heads, and red. I hope my question makes sense to you. I know what I mean but not sure I made it clear for you. God bless, Sean
Hi Sean, There's many colour variations of the Francis though the original as far as I believe was the red then black and green and with different colour heads as you said..There's many other versions as well but these three colours are by far the best.. All the very best Davie
Hi Chris B, Here's a link to the tube fly adaptor that I use, I've had it for years and have had no problems with it... www.hmhvises.com/tubeflytool.htm All the very best Davie
hi Davie, l want to tie the Red Francis tube fly. so far I'm not having any success to find a supplier in UK who is carrying the right color calf tail. the Red Francis is a very popular tube fly and yet the calf tail is not existent!!!. can you help me. Giuliano
Hi Giuliano, I totally agree with you it's near impossible to find the right colour of calf tail so what I do is buy white and then dye it as this is the easiest way to get the brown I want...I'm sorry but I wish I could have helped you more. I'm glad you enjoy the videos... All the very best Davie
@@DavieMcPhail There are still thousands of fishers who have not read Arthur Oglesby's Salmon fishing literature. He said donkey's years ago that a lot of mumbo jumbo had been written about certain tying being essential for success....... Since it is well known and also the fact that a salmon will on occasion take a completely bare hook has been proven by some of us knowledgeable fishers pattern of fly matters very little. However this does not detract from the joy of 'Fly tying' by anyone but to give a scientific exact reasoning to a pattern is utterly ludicrous and further more totally unnecessary.
Thanks Davie, The fly is becoming more and more popular on Gaspe. You make it look easy.
Going to use this fly in East Ranga in Iceland. Many thanks for great videos.
Siggi
Cheap, easy/fast and catches fish! One MUST have fly for ALL salmonheads out there! :) good tie mate
great vid also going to iceland looking forward to tying some !
ok thanks Davie
Davie, is there a reason why there is no tag on this fly, Happy New year to you and yours. I'm seriously thinking about fishing for Smallmouth Bass in the Potomac with a Spey rod and some tube flies.Have to wait for the spring Might be a bit of fun as you say
Patrick
Hi Davie,
thanks for this fine video. Yesterday and today I tied my first three Francis, very small ones, on 6mm tubes. My question is, if in your opinion there are big differences or (dis)advantages between Francis tied with hackle stems or boar bristles?
Thanks in advance
Jan
Thank you for this video it inspired me! Have just tied flies for a couple of weeks and seeing this video inspired me to tie a shrimp fly and explore new techniques.
Ended up dong some more research and took inspiration from another picture I saw. Didn't have the correct material but used nylon fishing line to create the feelers, eyes are nylon also.
Used alot of fluorescent material so it really glows like crazy under UV light. Really making this fly made me feel so enthusiastic about this hobby.
:) Thanks again for inspiring me.
here are two pictures of my shrimp, proud I quess so thought I would share it, Hopefully it will catch me som sea trout when the ice breaks( northern Sweden). Took 2 hours to make it but I quess it will go a lot faster in the future when I get more used to all the different techniques. TH-cam is such a fantastic way to learn. Like having a personal instructor, us guys taking up the hobby today have it so easy.
s13.postimg.org/aron907yv/20160302_010314.jpg
and under UV light
s28.postimg.org/ups8rahwd/20160302_010653.jpg
Hi Robert Pettersson,
I have to say for someone that has just started tying you are doing extremely well as your shrimp pattern it really well tyed and I'm sure it will fish really well..I'm glad my videos have inspired you to start tying your own flies which I am very happy to hear, but it's you that has to practice and this is what you have been doing so I wish you well and enjoy your new hobby...
All the very best Davie..
+Davie McPhail Thank you for your kind words. Am tying my third shrimp version just now and think I ended up with a very "fishy" result on shrimp number two. Looks like it might catch some fish. I have faith in the fly and that is the most important thing.
Used your pattegrisen video, how you used dubbing, a feather hackle and some yarn folded over like a shell to create the front of the fly. So took that idea, using similar materials, and combined it with my first shrimp pattern. Think it really ended up being a good pattern, a bit smaller then the first one and looked pretty close to a pattegrisen.
So once again, thanks for all your videos. Taking time and effort making them. It is a wealth of information.
hi Davie great instruction asever .what length plastic slieve do you use ?
Hi rouryglen,
I would have the sleeve about 1/2 inch off the back of the tube as this would suit most hooks but I would also have some longer lengths in my box just incase I need them...
All the very best Davie
Hi Davie, I find this a very useful fly (particularly the black version) but a surprisingly difficult one to tie well. Your demonstration is very helpful. Which saddle hackle would you recommend? I'm thinking of durability as well as how it looks.
Hi Kenneth Simpson,
I use a Metz Saddle grade 2 and in a normal hackle I can get a couple of flies out of one hackle..I agree with you that it looks a simple fly but can be a pain to get the shape you like...
All the very best Davie
Hi Davie have just viewed your tying the red francis, in which you advised using calf tail in ginger I have searched online for this colour but no one seems to stock it can you tell me where you got yours from please.
Cheers, love the videos and learned lots from watching.
Hi Tony,,
I usually end up dyeing my own calf tail as it's far easier to find white as I have the same problem finding some myself..When tying the smaller flies just use natural brown pheasant tails fibres which are used rather than the calf tail..I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you..
All the very best Davie...
Davie McPhail thanks Davie I have found a local supplier who will dye the calf tails while I waited (so you can choose the depth of colour) that suites best. Thanks again for the reply.
Regards, Tony.
hey Davie, fantastic videos as always. how would you modify this fly to look more like a crawfish pattern? I fish mostly the flies on short double handers for trout. crawfish are a must
What are you fishing for -----seals?
How would I fish this I'm new to fly fishing for salmon only had success with prawn, spinners and worm I've caught 2 on the fly but I was standard stripping the flies
what are good hackles to use as stalks ? your not going to use expensive hackles i don't think
dave , is it possible to buy some of your flies ?
Hi Davie. I have been collecting some of your vids and one I had was the Snaelda which has been removed. Similar to the ref Francis I know but can you tell me if you are planning to redo the video. Be grateful if you could. Best regards David
Davie, could you tie a Sculpin fly in your future videos please. Best regards Duncan
I like the "drying " board you have shown.... is this a home made/DIY or was it an item from some tackle store??..... Avalon
cheers mate, could you tie one directly on a 3 hock just for show a size 14 or 16 with a led thread under. would be nice to se how you do it mate. thanks and cheers on a good video =) regards from iceland... :)
Hi Gestur Kristinn Friðfinnsson,
I have tyed this fly on singles as well as doubles and trebles but tying them on tubes is the most popular as you know. I do have a video of me tying a cone head shrimp which you may like to tye in this colour combination as it would give the shrimp a little bit more weight when you need it in the deeper and faster pools..I've attached a link to it for you to have a look at...th-cam.com/video/rIE5p2U_4fI/w-d-xo.html
All the very best Davie
+Davie McPhail cheers mate
Davie, just answered my own question, you want the tube connector to splay the calf and the pig's bristle. Is this right?
Hi Patrick,
The tube connector does help to splay the calf tail as you said which will make it move a lot more as well as the sleeve holds the hook in place when fishing...
Happy New year to you as well and all the very best for 2014...
ATB Davie...
Hey Davie, I noticed you had the same fly in different colors on the board with the pins. They all looked like the Francis. Are the other colors up to yourself or are they the only colors a Francis come in? I saw black, with different color heads, and red. I hope my question makes sense to you. I know what I mean but not sure I made it clear for you.
God bless, Sean
Hi Sean,
There's many colour variations of the Francis though the original as far as I believe was the red then black and green and with different colour heads as you said..There's many other versions as well but these three colours are by far the best..
All the very best Davie
where can i get a good tube connector,the last one i bought was from ebay and it was rubbish
Hi Chris B,
Here's a link to the tube fly adaptor that I use, I've had it for years and have had no problems with it...
www.hmhvises.com/tubeflytool.htm
All the very best Davie
cheers davie
hi Davie,
l want to tie the Red Francis tube fly.
so far I'm not having any success to find a supplier in UK who is carrying the right color calf tail.
the Red Francis is a very popular tube fly and yet the calf tail is not existent!!!.
can you help me.
Giuliano
Hi Giuliano,
I totally agree with you it's near impossible to find the right colour of calf tail so what I do is buy white and then dye it as this is the easiest way to get the brown I want...I'm sorry but I wish I could have helped you more. I'm glad you enjoy the videos...
All the very best Davie
@@DavieMcPhail There are still thousands of fishers who have not read Arthur Oglesby's Salmon fishing literature. He said donkey's years ago that a lot of mumbo jumbo had been written about certain tying being essential for success....... Since it is well known and also the fact that a salmon will on occasion take a completely bare hook has been proven by some of us knowledgeable fishers pattern of fly matters very little.
However this does not detract from the joy of 'Fly tying' by anyone but to give a scientific exact reasoning to a pattern is utterly ludicrous and further more totally unnecessary.