When I go fishing, may it be for two hours or a full day, I always carry a ziploc plastic bag in which I collect materials I find on the walk to the stream or on the river's edge.
The next trout season will start in six weeks now and as I was tyding my fly tying stuff this morning I did find back the bag and opening it the first thing that I got in hand was a blackbird wing. Even though the trout season is coming soon I am not caught in a fly tying craze but this small feathers inspired me to tie a Kenbane kebari variant.
As you have probably understood if you follow this blog I am an avid traditional ties enthusiast and it did not long to decide to use these feathers to tie a variant of the Kenbane kebari. The original pattern
is tied using pheasant for the hackle but I am running out of it today.
The process is not complicated at all. To start I crush the feather stem with the butt of a boxcutter.
The next step to clean the inside of the half stem with a bodkin. Be careful to do it gently not to pierce it because it would make the material very fragile.
The tying has nothing particular besides the feather's preparation. I used a Tiemco 100 size 14 hook on which I tied zenmai, a fine golden wire, blackbird feather with a burnt orange 6/0 thread.
I like more and more slowly tying a small quantity of kebari. For my personal use I rarely tie more than three or four at each session now. I am not interested by productivity anymore, I enjoy the simple pleasure of craft in harmony with my tenkara.
As I am looking at these Kenbane kebari I think that today I could sum up my tenkara by a statement such as "Built to fish". Like many fly fishermen I have long been attached to aesthetic details but now I have realized that the fact of judging the fishing capacities of a fly pattern based on aesthetic is a complete nonsense. A fish eye is not a human eye, a dry and immobile pattern on a fly tying desk is not a drifting insect and I do not think that a trout has even the slightest idea of what is a kebari.
How do you think trouts look at you?
As you probably know, the world is full of weird laws. One here is that you can not (by law) collect bird feathers. Of course, my opinion is that it's only illegal if you get caught.
RépondreSupprimerI have always wondered how in our countries politicians were able to pass such ridiculous (and useless) laws. As if there were not serious problems to solve.
RépondreSupprimerNice struggle patterns. I can agree your Post in all points. My own flytying has changed into tis way a long time ago. I worked hard to made patterns looking as struggle as they had caught many trouts before. In my opinion lots of trout prefer some prey, that can't flee fast. It has only to have to bee food.
RépondreSupprimerThank you Eberhard! It is a pleasure for me to share what I learn about tenkara.
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