[DJG1984]

I watched a step by step vid on youtube, anyway here is my 1st effort at a diawl bach-

[DJG1984]

Here is my 2nd go at it, because once is never enough.-


Dave.

[DJG1984]

I've now tied a new batch of diawls since i lost my 1st 2 at raemoir on sunday, still need to work at it but getting better.

[Irvine Ross]

Dave

Try to leave yourself a bit more space on the shank to form the head. That will leave the eye of the hook a bit less crowded and the fly will be easier to tie onto the tippet. Have a look at some of the step by step photographs to get an idea of how much space you will need to leave for the head.

Keep it up

Irvine

[DJG1984]

Cheers Irvine, 

I'll give that a try this afternoon.

Dave

[Andy Macbog]

Hi Dave,

Those big heads might well act as a bit of a trigger point but I would agree with Irvine otherwise!  You only need two to three turns to effectively trap a material so don't get too carried away.  Another handy wee tip is to take the thread off a couple of turns once you have trapped and trimmed a particular material.  Even just one turn will hold while you trap the next material.  Your beard hackle is a bit long as well.

But plenty of promise and while I can turn out some good flies I do have to take the razor out sometimes and start again!

Good luck and good on ye for sticking up your pics.

Andy

[DJG1984]

Cheers for the feedback guys, here's 2 i just made-



Dave.

[DJG1984]

a different colour this time


Dave.

[Andy Macbog]

Hiya,

At the risk of being a bit discouraging I think that you are repeating the same mistakes in a different colour.  I would suggest that you try the following:

• Shorthen the tail to the body length or a bit less.
  Shorten the beard hackle so that the tips just reach the hook point
  Clearly define the head area from the start of the tying and stick to it.  Your heads are tending to spread, rather than build up on the spot.

And to be a bit more encouraging . . . there are two approaches to tying: one for the fish and the second for the tyer.  Your flies will probably catch OK (how oftern does a tattered, kanckered fly that has caught a few keep on catching!?) but I suspect you are trying for a more satisfying finish otherwise you would not put up your pics?

I cannot advise on instruction in the local area but there are some more excellent videos on YouTube that you could look at.  Look for Davie McPhail on there and try to emulate his tying of some of the simpler patterns such as the hare's ear or pheasant tail nymphs, coch-y-bondhu or black pennell (just looked to see and these are from the list of patterns he demonstrates).

Good luck with it,

Andy

[Barry Robertson]

Hiya,

At the risk of being a bit discouraging I think that you are repeating the same mistakes in a different colour.  I would suggest that you try the following:

• Shorthen the tail to the body length or a bit less.
  Shorten the beard hackle so that the tips just reach the hook point
  Clearly define the head area from the start of the tying and stick to it.  Your heads are tending to spread, rather than build up on the spot.

And to be a bit more encouraging . . . there are two approaches to tying: one for the fish and the second for the tyer.  Your flies will probably catch OK (how oftern does a tattered, kanckered fly that has caught a few keep on catching!?) but I suspect you are trying for a more satisfying finish otherwise you would not put up your pics?

I cannot advise on instruction in the local area but there are some more excellent videos on YouTube that you could look at.  Look for Davie McPhail on there and try to emulate his tying of some of the simpler patterns such as the hare's ear or pheasant tail nymphs, coch-y-bondhu or black pennell (just looked to see and these are from the list of patterns he demonstrates).

Good luck with it,

Andy

Some good advice Andy, I would concentrate on getting the proportions correct and practicing on getting the size of your head / finish down a tad smaller.
Once the tail is tied in try and fold it back up over the body to see if its equal to the size of the body, if not start again until you get the tail the correct size first.
 

[jpm75]

Hi Dave, if I can just add to what the guys have already said. When you start your fly, wind on 5 or 6 turns of thread and let that be the area for your hackle and your head. This will not only give you a smaller head but it will also help with the proportions of your fly. Also shorten both your tail (body length approx) and the beard hackle until it touches the point of the hook. Hopefully this will help you. Keep up the good work.
Regards John.

[Dutchfly]

Hi Dave,

Maybe you've allready seen it, but this one's a good video on the Diawl Bach:

Good luck!

Jeroen