Translucent Tubes: Some Steelhead Candy from Ian McNemar

How did Ian McNemar spend his Turkey Day? Well, check these out.


Over the holiday, Ian whipped up about 4 or 5 purple and orange steelhead flies on tubes influenced by the traditional General Practitioner pattern over the weekend. Ian's weekend work was inspired by Jeff Mishler's recent article on translucence and steelhead fly philosophy in Fly Rod and Reel magazine.
Here are the recipes:

Ian's Purple Practitioner >>


Tube >> HMH large tube
Feelers >> purple EP Fibers, a little EP Sparkle for flash and 2 strands
purple peacock herl from Hareline Dubbin.
Butt >> Pink UV Ice Dub from Hareline for flash
Body >> (just like with the GP, the body is two sections) Purple angora
from Wapsi; translucent pearl medium tinsel from UTC; purple teal
flank - on the back section, I V-cut the teal flank to give the back
end more substance.
Hackle >> Large purple schlappen from Hareline. A few wraps around the
butt of the fly and palmered through the body.
Thread >> 6/0 Danville, red


Ian's Orange Practitioner >>


Tube >> HMH small tube
Feelers >> orange EP, a little EP sparkle, two strands of purple peacock herl
Butt >> Pink UV Ice Dub for flash
Body >> (the body is one section) a few wraps of orange angora on the
back; a layer of silver medium tinsel covered by red died peacock
herl, orange schlappen palmered through, tied down with small oval
tinsel. It shimmers a bit and gives a flashy peek inside on occasion.
Hackle >> Orange schlappen. A few wraps on the butt and palmered through
the body.
Wing >> Burnt orange teal flank topped with a smaller piece of gray teal
flank. I did this for some contrast.


Evan LeBon is a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com

photos and flies courtesy of Ian McNemar, a regular contributor to beyondthebug.com