A few Abrames and Gartside inspirations
 

Top fly is a shrimp.... Based on Ken Abrames General Practitioner

Tail: A few strands of long yellow bucktail under a short bright red hackle tied flat
Eyes: Jungle Cock
Carapace: a few strands of rust marabou
Body: Gold mylar braid with Spey style chartreuse saddle hackle palmered the length of the body, 5 to 7 turns
Carapace: Pintail or Mallard flank feather

Middle fly: Based of Jack Gartside's Soft Hackle Streamer

Tail: a few strnds of copper flash
Body: Gold mylar braid
hackle: 3-4 turns of rust marabou with 2 turns of chartreuse marabou in front
Eye: Jungle cock

Bottom Fly: Based on Gartside's Soft Hackle Sandeel

Tail: A few strands of yellow bucktail, 4 strands of gold flash, yellow saddle,fire orange saddle, burnt orange saddle (each one 1/2" longer the the previous saddle), short olive saddle
Body: Gold mylar briad
Hackle:3-4 turns of rust marabou with one turn of chartreuse marabou in front
eye: Jungle cock

Tied these up at First Light Anglers last night. Got tired of tying synthetics that everyone else was doing with Derek :-)

I'll be doing a Flatwings session there Feb 1st. 6 PM. Bring your vice, tools and beer :-)

Ken Abrames didn't develop the GP, it is pretty well accepted that it was developed around 1953 by Col. Edmund Drury.

Ken adapted the pattern to saltwater use (reference his boo, A Perfect Fish) with minor modifications to the pattern. That is the version of the fly I'm referring to.

Glad I could enlighten you. Nice tie BTW.:kewl:

Hey Roger, I appreciate your adding the point on the heritage of the GP. History of these flies is very important! It's a great fly!!!!!

STEELHEAD, just love it! keep'em comming. NOT to meny guys around here tie them. Im in the group on the few! would be nice to see more posted an interest, ee you at the show!
GOOD LUCK GOOD TYIN:cheers:

Don't get me started on my steelhead patterns that catch stripers...
:-)

Steelhead it maybe easier to list the flies stripers don't readily take.I 've used trout nymph patterns to simulate isopods,crawfish patterns designed for smallmouth fishing as juvi lobsters,san juan worms during clam worm hatches.The appetite of stripers is quite diverse.I can recall many times when the usual tried and true patterns would not produce ,I'd tie on a general practitioner and hook up.Experimenting and discovering makes up alot of the enjoyment of flyfishing.

Dang!
You're spilling all the beans!
Those are supposed to be "Trade Secrets".... :-)

Share a few of those patterns?

I love Ken's Version of the G.P. It consistantley catches fish. I never heard of it used in the salt till I met Ken. Always my go to fly in the estuaries. Never without one on a dropper, another thing I never saw being done till i met the SM crew. Here are some I did with Spey hackle, wich I learned from seeing steelheads. They look absolutley alive in the water. Thanks for the Idea John.

Seriously Shrimpy!
Beautiful Proportions!

Ummmm--Hmmmm :D

Hey YS! How you be????

haven't tied a single fly this winter, but up to my knees in sawdust. :rollem:

I know that one....
Been doing a bit o' tyin' between the turnin'.
Doing some tying sessions up at First Light, a local shop in Rowley.
Fun stuff. Great group of guys :-)

Got to get serious on both fronts.
Spring will be here pronto!!!!

First Light
 

Steelhead, didn't First Light used to be located on the Harbor in Manchester-by-the-Sea?

Yep. They moved to Rowley (Route 133) a little over a year ago. Bigger store. Same great guys!

Last season was my first using the gp and they impressed the heck out of me. My favorite one was with brownish red hues. Next season I will always have one on for a dropper for sure. They also mimic a fry lobster really well.

some clam worms are tiny.......hard to notice but they are there :uhuh:

Steelhead, have you tried Whiting Farms Bird Fur? Saw it at the Marlboro show and it's a Spey type hackle for not too much money.
FishHawk

Bird Fur
 

Yes. Very interesting stuff. The owner of Fly Tyer Variant gave me some and some other stuff that Whiting is developing to play with.
I'll post some flies I've done with it in the near future.

John - those are beautiful!!!! :claps:

so beautiful I must have clicked twice :)

John, we have the same countertop :D

Nebe, God bless maple butcher block! The abuse that counter has taken is unbelievable. Of course, if I had all that stock now, it would be sawdust and needles!

:-)

we could tear it out, i'll help if i get a few blanks for myself :devil:

YS, My wife would string us all up.... I've thought of it a few times while sitting at the counter.

Gartside
 

Did you ever talk to Jack Gartside? Can be a funny guy.

I've met him, but haven't spent time with him. His website is a Hoot!
Full of useful information, too.

Can be?! Go out to dinner sometime with him. Between the still alive hunk of cow he ate, the eggnog he smuggled in at the steakhouse and then ordered some sort of liquor for, and the harassment the waitress withstood, I was in tears all night long. He's a character.

That was a long night. Stuck in Marlborough at the Fly Fishing Show during the Blizzard of '05. First Light Anglers, Skok, Boyle, The Saltwater Edge, the Bears Den, and Gartside at a Steakhouse and then the hotel bar the rest of the night. All the youngest fly fishers left in the industry plus Gartside. That guy is still a kid at heart. Probably my favorite Fly Fishing Show memory. Lots of stories from that night...