Quill Gordon

[Barleywine]

After reading Mike Valla's wonderful Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies, I figured I'd take a shot at tying a Quill Gordon. I haven't used many Catskill style flies over the years, but the beauty of the flies in Mike's book, along with the rich history, has really sparked a desire in me to catch a few trout with them this year. I'm thinking: Quill Gordon, bamboo rod, Neversink river, - brown trout. That would be nice.



Stripped a lot of peacock eyes, but just haven't been able to find the ones with that nicely defined contrast.

I've been tying for many years, but attempting these flies has been humbling, and really gives me an appreciation for the skills that the great traditional tiers have.

 

[golden beetle]

After reading Mike Valla's wonderful Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies, I figured I'd take a shot at tying a Quill Gordon. I haven't used many Catskill style flies over the years, but the beauty of the flies in Mike's book, along with the rich history, has really sparked a desire in me to catch a few trout with them this year. I'm thinking: Quill Gordon, bamboo rod, Neversink river, - brown trout. That would be nice.

View attachment 6570

Stripped a lot of peacock eyes, but just haven't been able to find the ones with that nicely defined contrast.

I've been tying for many years, but attempting these flies has been humbling, and really gives me an appreciation for the skills that the great traditional tiers have.

Mike Valla's quill gordon is probably what you should be studying.

It isn't soooo difficult to get a neat looking quill...

At least I don't think it is too difficult?!...

You get that, and you got this pattern down.

 

[Johnny Utah]

A quill gordon wet fly is far more effective for hatches. I do agree that Catskill flies are beauties.

 

[Andy B]

Barleywine, you are doing just fine at the bench. Keep up the good tying. Here is my Quill Gordon Catskill style:

 

[mvendon]

Hi Barleywine,

Finding the right type quills for these is not super easy. Only the longest stemmed eye tail feathers have the light/dark contrast. These are the first to grow back after they moult their old feathers, and are on the tail the longest. They also have the largest sized eyes. Not every one of these will have the best contrast either, so you have to buy at least a dozen or so to sort through them. Their stem length is 45 - 50" plus. Most shops only sell "eye feathers" that are cut at a foot or so, and you really have no way of knowing what the length was before they were cut. Here's a pic of three good ones. Look at the top part on each eye. Many of the longest eye feathers that are good will have a space, or look bald at the top of their eye. The one in the middle looks pretty much the same as smaller feathers, but still has really good contrast. The one in the center that's down a bit is a regular sized one, and is useless for Quill Gordons since it's too small and doesn't have enough contrast. You can get pre-stripped quills, but there's still only about half in a package that have really good contrast.

Regards,
Mark

 

[Andy B]

Barleywine:

There are two ways of finishing off this head:

1) Hand whip finishing which was done on the fly in the picture
2) Use an english whip finishing tool which is a little tricky to learn, but once you do it's a snap

Ever noting on the tail that sometimes they have a tendancy to point downward when you wrap the body? to prevent this issue, after the tail is tyed in and on place I take one wrap of UNi thread and go under the back of the tail. This gives it support and helps to flay the tail out a bit. This is an old technique that was used by the Dette's and Darbee's. The body is formed with the Wind and Tail materail and tapered with tying thread before the quil body is wapped. Tha's how the body looks uniformed and appears in a nice even taper. Hope this helps you out a bit in your tying endeavors.

Sincerely
Andy Brasko

 

[Barleywine]

Hi Barleywine,

Finding the right type quills for these is not super easy. Only the longest stemmed eye tail feathers have the light/dark contrast. These are the first to grow back after they moult their old feathers, and are on the tail the longest. They also have the largest sized eyes. Not every one of these will have the best contrast either, so you have to buy at least a dozen or so to sort through them. Their stem length is 45 - 50" plus. Most shops only sell "eye feathers" that are cut at a foot or so, and you really have no way of knowing what the length was before they were cut. Here's a pic of three good ones. Look at the top part on each eye. Many of the longest eye feathers that are good will have a space, or look bald at the top of their eye. The one in the middle looks pretty much the same as smaller feathers, but still has really good contrast. The one in the center that's down a bit is a regular sized one, and is useless for Quill Gordons since it's too small and doesn't have enough contrast. You can get pre-stripped quills, but there's still only about half in a package that have really good contrast.

Regards,
Mark

Thank you Mark for the detailed reply to my problem finding the proper quills. I've got some work to do searching through fly shops, but the info you provided here will be a great guide.

Thanks to Andy B. for the tip on the tails. I actually did put one wind underneath, but probably didn't snug it up enough to get the lift. My quill body got lumpy towards the thorax area, and that was from the lumpiness of the thread base underneath. So what you're saying is to leave the tail along the shank were I'll be wrapping quill, so the increased thickness of the barbs from the tail will create a natural taper when I cover them with thread. Great tip!

Thank you again gentlemen.

Chuck

 

[Trout Fever]

classic quill gordons are beautiful with a little time you will get them down....

 

[AKSkim]

Someday ... maybe someday..............................

 

[lightenup]

Funny I came across this thread, just last night I tried to tie some of these...stripped my own quills, ran out of lemon duck feathers, but had some success. A lot of the quills would snap when I wound them, but many had a nice contrast. I found if I tied the tail in further down the shank, then used tying in the wing for the base of the body worked well, I still need loads more practice...I agree very humbling.
Does anyone tie thread or wire over the quills anymore for a stronger body?

 

[Trout Nazi]

Build a smooth thread base on the hookshank. Apply a very thin coat of Fly Tyers glue or Crazy glue (the ones that come with the brush) before you wrap your herl. Don't overlap the herl as much either as you go, and you will be golden.

 

[golden beetle]

classic quill gordons are beautiful with a little time you will get them down....

Post a classic quill Gordon, you monkey.

If its good, I might let you back in my swap.

 

[Trout Fever]

here you go beetle

 

[golden beetle]

here you go beetle

Ok...

Let me think for a minute...

My goal is to put together a professional quality fly swap...

So, when I look at your fly...

Do I see professionalism?

That's the question...

You are a good friend of mine.

We have competed on NEFF a number of times and find you to be a good man.

You and I are definitely friends.

But I cannot afford a charge of nepotism in my fly swap.

Otherwise, I will lose my credibility.

And, if Beetle has nothing else, he has his credibiliy.

So, what it comes down to is the fly.

And, what do people see, when they look at your fly?

And, putting our friendship aside.

I see a piece of shit.

And I put it mildly, pal, because we are friends.

Trout Beaver....

YOU'RE OUT OF THE SWAP!

 

[Trout Fever]

i tied that for a response and i got it... i would rather commit to TR caddis swap... has structure and a goal looks to be fun....

 

[golden beetle]

i tied that for a response and i got it... i would rather commit to TR caddis swap... has structure and a goal looks to be fun....

All right!

All right!

You're in, TF.

You're in.

Confirmed?

For that quill gordon?

 

[Trout Fever]

nah what do you want me to tye

 

[lightenup]

After staring at A. Brasko's Quill Gordon in awe for several minutes, I attempted my own. I need to put a bit more tail on it, and strip my quills better...any other suggestions are always appreciated. TY.....This is a size 18 as I was limited on materials....time to go shopping...

 

[Andy B]

I am going to reply on this fly only as a fishing fly. I feel as you stated the tail needs to be worked on. Two thoughts here:

1) Not enough fibers in the tail to help balance the fly on the water.
2) The tail should be longer, again to help balance the fly on the water.

A shorter tail or smaller (Not as many fibers) tail will cause the backend of the fly to sink or penetrate the surface of the water. The two statements that I made to you will alleviate that potential problem. Now the fly you tyed is very good and will catch fish. That's all that really matters in the end.

Now you can use two techniques for cleaning the flu:

1) A good gummy eraser will do the trick
2) A 50% or bleach and water solution for a few moments will do the trick to. The issue with the bleach is you have to make sure that it does not stay in the solution too long and the flu needs to be rinsed well after taking it of the the solution and cleaned.

 

[lightenup]

I am going to reply on this fly only as a fishing fly. I feel as you stated the tail needs to be worked on. Two thoughts here:

1) Not enough fibers in the tail to help balance the fly on the water.
2) The tail should be longer, again to help balance the fly on the water.

A shorter tail or smaller (Not as many fibers) tail will cause the backend of the fly to sink or penetrate the surface of the water. The two statements that I made to you will alleviate that potential problem. Now the fly you tyed is very good and will catch fish. That's all that really matters in the end.

Now you can use two techniques for cleaning the flu:

1) A good gummy eraser will do the trick
2) A 50% or bleach and water solution for a few moments will do the trick to. The issue with the bleach is you have to make sure that it does not stay in the solution too long and the flu needs to be rinsed well after taking it of the the solution and cleaned.

I used the bleach method for this quill and found that one side cleaned well and the other did not, so I used an eraser and got most of the very small pieces of feather left. Thank you for your tips and I will continue until I match yours or I die, which probably will happen first.

 

[Andy B]

Just to make sure the eraser that works best is those nice rectangular shaped white gummy erasers. If you used that, it should of done the trick. Just trying to help.

Andy

 

[Johnny Utah]

Lightenup,

I do the bleach method all the time. I also dye the quills different colors. When you do the bleach solution, be sure to swirl the eyes around, dont let them sit. Also have a glass or jar with water in it, so you can inspect the eye to check for remaining fuzz. You should then also have a pale or container with water and mix in baking soda to neutralize the bleach. Let them soak in there for 5-10 mins. Then just give them a rinse. If you bleached out to much of the color ritt tan dye works great for putting the color back in.

 

[tomk6251]

Trout Beaver....

YOU'RE OUT OF THE SWAP!

HEY TF - very nice tye! Congrats on gettin kicked out. You're lucks gettin better every day!!!

 

[Johnny Utah]

Also you can dye the stripped quill any colors you want. But a favorite of mine is, Dye first with Ritt sunshine yellow for 5 minutes, then dye over with ritt kelly green for 3-5 minutes. 3 for a lighter shade, and 5 for the darker shade. It makes a great bwo color that trout just love. Not to mention it makes a sweet looking fly to boot. I will run up some pics tomorrow of a fly tied with one.

 

[lightenup]

Also you can dye the stripped quill any colors you want. But a favorite of mine is, Dye first with Ritt sunshine yellow for 5 minutes, then dye over with ritt kelly green for 3-5 minutes. 3 for a lighter shade, and 5 for the darker shade. It makes a great bwo color that trout just love. Not to mention it makes a sweet looking fly to boot. I will run up some pics tomorrow of a fly tied with one.

Geez, I wish I had the time for all this, I only can manage a couple of hours at the vice a week......

 

[Johnny Utah]

Geez, I wish I had the time for all this, I only can manage a couple of hours at the vice a week......

1 hour is all thats needed for dying up a boat load of quills. I tie 365. Even if I only tie 1-2 flies before heading to bed. I just love tying flies. Im a junky for it.

 

[Trout Fever]

lightenup once you get going at it for a while the flies that took you 20 minutes to put together become 5 minutes or less

 

[Johnny Utah]

Geez, I wish I had the time for all this, I only can manage a couple of hours at the vice a week......

Hey lightenup,
Heres what a nicheo bwo done with the stripped and dyed hurl I was telling you about. This one is 5 and 5. Its a nice early season bwo color.

The dubbing thorax is dry at the moment so the color is light, but when its wet it darkens and blends beautifully with the quill. Im going to dye up some quill either this evening or sometime this week. If your at the sparse matter fest, come say hello and I will give you some.

 

[lightenup]

lightenup once you get going at it for a while the flies that took you 20 minutes to put together become 5 minutes or less

I have been tying a couple of years, I can do nymphs (PT, Bird's nest hare's ears, and the such in 5 minutes)..I just started with the hackled dries, parachutes, and quills. Because of my limited time at the vice, I am on a longer learning curve, but thanks for the input.

---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 PM ----------

Hey lightenup,
Heres what a nicheo bwo done with the stripped and dyed hurl I was telling you about. This one is 5 and 5. Its a nice early season bwo color.
View attachment 6607
The dubbing thorax is dry at the moment so the color is light, but when its wet it darkens and blends beautifully with the quill. Im going to dye up some quill either this evening or sometime this week. If your at the sparse matter fest, come say hello and I will give you some.

Well Mr. Utah,
your tune has changed in the past few days...nice to see, and thanks for the help. I will be there with a friend who just started tying...look forward to it and will take you up on the offer....I am bringing my vise, so you fuckers get ready to show me some stuff.......JKING look forward to the event.....

 

[Johnny Utah]

I have been tying a couple of years, I can do nymphs (PT, Bird's nest hare's ears, and the such in 5 minutes)..I just started with the hackled dries, parachutes, and quills. Because of my limited time at the vice, I am on a longer learning curve, but thanks for the input.

---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 PM ----------



Well Mr. Utah,
your tune has changed in the past few days...nice to see, and thanks for the help. I will be there with a friend who just started tying...look forward to it and will take you up on the offer....I am bringing my vise, so you fuckers get ready to show me some stuff.......JKING look forward to the event.....

Sounds good, The fly I showed earlier kicked ass today. I love my Nicheos!