Fly Tying Sessions with Alex Jardine: North Country Spiders / Soft Hackles

Welcome to The Fly Tying Sessions with Alex Jardine. These are fortnightly fly tying videos, looking to help offer new patterns, interesting techniques and hopefully a bit of fishing fun.
Featured Flies (watch the video for material lists):
1. The Snipe & Purple
2. The Waterhen Bloa
3. The Partridge & Orange
4. The Dual Wire Spider
5. The Depth Charge Spider
Please do feel free to ask questions in the comments section, If you enjoy it, please like and subscribe for future videos!
Tight lines and strong threads Alex

[@davewilkins9981]

Thanks for the really informative video ! Much appreciated .

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CBL138]

Really nice! Thank you for the video.

[@thomasgibbons353]

Dear Sir, I thoroughly enjoyed discovering your channel, the tying is excellent. You are a very good instructor. How fortunate for the new guys. Now back to that Gin&tonic.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Hi Thomas, many thanks for your kind words. Hope you enjoyed your G&T too!

[@kentw.897]

Nice work Alex.
Thankyou for sharing this video with us.
Aloha🌴🎣🏄‍♂

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Kent!

[@johnshand6176]

I have decided to try a day on the river with North Country Spiders and was looking for inspiration when I came upon your video. Fortuitous and a welcome perfect instruction. Thanks from down-under in NZ.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks John! How did the fishing go with spiders?

[@bruceallen6377]

Great fly’s and great channel, Thanks!

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Much appreciated!

[@christhomas856]

Wonder flies and well tied thanks!

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Chris, glad you enjoyed the video!

[@NicolasValentinScotland]

Makes me want to go fly fishing . Good tying .

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Nicolas, glad to offer some inspiration. Tight lines for your next trip

[@train4905]

Lovely job sir,well done

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thank you kindly

[@johanfalkmarken]

Watched a few times this year. Tied the flies. Your instructions and selection is on pair with the top CZcamsrs. Very well done! Cheers from Scandinavia.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Johan! Hope that the flies catch you some fish this season!

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

Wonderful and famous flies. I tie these and variants myself and they are great. Nice demonstrations. :-)

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks again Terry, they are one of my favourite groups of flies to tie... sadly don't fish them enough

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

@@AlexJardineFlyFishing There always seem to be fashions i fly fishing.. I love the simper flies-they are easy to tie and work. I love natural materialises much as possible as well. :-)

[@robertgreen5217]

Fantastic explanation 👍

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Robert, much appreciated!

[@JamesMcCutcheon]

I live in the USA. I just finished purchasing all the materials to tie Spiders. I don't have Pearsall's but I was able to purchase the equivalent. I ordered the Hooks from England L3AS. I look forward to tying from the original materials. I have Coot skin, Woodcock, and Starling. Also, I purchased Veniards tying wax. I could not get SNIPE wings. I have a pair of RED GROUSE wings though. Thanks for a great video.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Hi James, that’s fantastic. You will have great fun tying spiders. Get used to using the materials and their tying properties. It can take a bit of learning but will help with tying other flies too

[@davidgregg6703]

I was tying spiders tonight but had trouble with the hackle, I’m new to tying , so I’ll try it this way , thanks

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Hi David, I hope the video helped. If you are still struggling please let me know what you are finding difficult.

[@kevinihintz]

Great video thanks Matt ,excellent tuition 😃🙂😏😏

[@stephenswanson6139]

It would be good to know what we could substitute for some of these more exotic feathers.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Stephen, generally these feathers are widely available (UK). In the US you could use chukar partridge or some cheaper hen hackles - the key is to make sure that the feather is soft and webby (losts of barbs).

[@thomasharriso5570]

Really nice and clear Alex very much enjoyed your video. Please what do I buy if I want those nice webby feathers? Cheer and thank you

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Hi Thomas, sorry for the late reply. Glad you enjoyed the video.
The webby feathers come from most 'game' birds, i.e. Partridge, woodcock, snipe, grouse. Some hen chickens can produce similarly webbed and soft hackles, but they are often a little stiffer than the game birds so do not offer as much movement.

[@russellogden8071]

What is your leader set up for fishing these spiders

[@martindonnelly775]

Nice spiders m8

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Martin!

[@richardgallagher647]

Top class video Alex. Must try some spider fishing this year. Out of interest what size hooks do you fish these spiders? Richie

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Hey Richie! Thanks, you really should it is one of my favourite fishing methods. On the Partridge L3AS Spider hook I mainly tie each pattern in a size 14 and 16. Size 12 can be useful for the point fly to help turn the cast over.
A bit like Iceland salmon, the small lightly dressed flies will pick up fish even in the swift water.
Alex

[@richardgallagher647]

@@AlexJardineFlyFishing Cheers Alex

[@michaellewis7758]

Not sure where the modern idea that you have 1-2 turns of hackle on Spiders. Of course it all depends on hackle and if you look at originals you can see that they are dressed with more hackle than modern trend. The waterhen bloa uses water rat (dyed mole fur is probably the closest ) rather than hare’s ear which is used with the hare’s lug and plover.

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks for you comment Michael, all appreciated. The 1-2 turns of hackle is certainly not a modern trend, it was a very common original way of dressing spiders and published in William Stewart's literature on spiders and wet fly fishing during the 19th Century.
It is of course possible to dress the fly more heavily and that really comes down to the tyer's preferences and what works for them.

[@ericlong9085]

Nice tying

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Eric, glad you enjoyed the video and hope you found some inspiration!

[@ericlong9085]

@@AlexJardineFlyFishing I've been enjoying your fly tying videos, some great tying tips,i really liked your emerger mayfly with the vex wrapped around the foam post,I'd say corrib trout would have that. Cheers

[@ericlong9085]

Cdc

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Do let me know how you get on with it at Corrib would be interested to hear. I have done a white bodied version with black cdc/hackle around the foam for spinner feeders too which was effective last year

[@ericlong9085]

@@AlexJardineFlyFishing if we can get up too corrib,I'm living in the south and not sure what it's going to be like with getting accommodation this may around oughterard with covid restrictions still pretty much in place here but if i do I surely will, cheers

[@mikelundrigan2285]

You did not say if you waxed the silk or not for the Waterhen Bloa? Extra turns of hackle could be advantageous if you were trying to imitate a skating caddis?

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Mike, I did not wax the thread but some do prefer do so. When waxing you can find it alters the colour or shade of the body, this can be positive or negative depending on the thread. And yes, extra hackle turns will make the fly sit higher in the water, you can also add CDC fibres to the dubbing for increased buoyancy.

[@comesahorseman]

👍👍. Properly sparse and very buggy, thanks!

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks 👍

[@stephenwelham]

Your fly body is to long for a traditional spider

[@AlexJardineFlyFishing]

Thanks Stephen, if you look through the original texts on wet flies then there really isn't a standard body length as different tyers and patterns all varied. Appreciate you watching

[@helgeo.sommer584]