Mike:
Good point about having the hook in the front..........not sure why I put the hook in the front rather than the back............habit I guess. You are right that if I put the hook in the back I would not need a loop to connect the two halves. Will have to make up a few with the hook in the back and try them out.
Rob:
Not sure about better hookups or not. In the past when I have tied articulated patterns, I have always either had two hooks or a hook in the front only. I will need to tie up a few with the hook in the back and test them out. I know a lot of guys do tie them with only the hook in the back. As I said above, I am not sure why I decided to put the hook in the front. I wonder if I put the hook in the back I might actually impede the tail action as it will be heavier with the hook??? Who knows? I guess I was thinking with the tail hookless and weightless, it would swing and twitch in the current.
Thanks guys for the advice..............definitely got me thinking a little more. Sure wish I could run to the river and test it out right now. Hard to test out a fly on my local flows as upon casting they would slide like a hockey puck.