McCaskie's Green Cat

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mvendon
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McCaskie's Green Cat

Post by mvendon » Sat Mar 14, 2009 1:35 pm

Since it's close to St. Patricks day, here's a pattern that I've been working on that took a few months to do only because of some of the ingredients. I think that it's one of the more unique dressings that was used in the past. I really don't know how common it was back then, but here's the story that goes along with the dressing.

Named after a cat (from which the fur was taken for the dressing) which belonged to Dr. Norman McCaskie, a member of the Flyfishers' Club, this pattern proved a great lure for both trout and grayling. The full story of the fly is recounted by Mr. Skues in his Sidelights, Side-Lines, and Reflections, and I cannot do better than give an extract from what he writes there.
"I have taken and lost a good many good fish by its agency ---but I have never been able to reproduce with my hackle the action and appearance of a wet and disconsolate daddy long legs in the throes of dissolution, so I have never been as successful as McCaskie with this particular pattern.
I have, however, found that when in the day time the trout are taking blue-winged olive nymphs (and they never, or almost never, take the blue-winged olive in sub-imago form during the day) a fly dressed on a No. 1 hook with pale orange silk dubbed lightly and loosely with McCaskie's Green Cat and hackled lightly with soft dark blue henny hackle and glycerined to sink properly is really effective, even in the hands of an angler who has a prejudice in favour of thinking he knows why he uses any particular pattern rather than another".

It will often be taken in the day-time when the b.-w.o. is hatching and again in the evening. Also a good grayling pattern.


The dressing is as follows:

Tying silk : Pale orange waxed with clear wax. (I used YLI 100 Apricot)
Hackle: Soft dark blue henny cockeral as blue as possible (like the blue wing of a b.-w.o.). I mixed dark and medium blue dun hen to try and get the right shade.
Whisks: Soft honey dun cock's shoulder hackle.
Body: Blue cat's fur, dyed for thirty-six hours in picric acid. (yes, it's the real thing)
Hook: No. 14 or 13 t.d.e. round bend.

Regards,
Mark

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letumgo
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Re: McCaskie's Green Cat

Post by letumgo » Sat Mar 14, 2009 4:32 pm

Wow! That dubbing looks AWESOME!!! Terrific looking pattern Mark. What a wonderful blend of materials. Deadly!!!
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DOUGSDEN
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Re: McCaskie's Green Cat

Post by DOUGSDEN » Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:05 pm

MARK,
THANK YOU FOR MCCASKIE'S GREEN CAT. I'VE OFTEN WONDERED WHAT IT ACTUALLY LOOKED LIKE! I JUST STARTED RE-READING (FOR ABOUT THE NINTH TIME) KENNETH ROBSONS GREAT BOOK "THE ESSENTIAL G.E.M. SKUES". SKUES ALSO MENTIONS MCCASKIE'S CORNER WHICH IS ON THE MAP IN THE BOOK. THE ITCHEN MUST BE A WONDERFUL PLACE AS WITH ALL THE CHALK STREAMS OF THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND. HAS ANYONE BEEN THERE AND BETTER YET, FISHED THESE FABLED WATERS?
AGAIN MARK, GREAT JOB ON THIS PATTERN! PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING! HOW ABOUT THE ORANGE QUILL? THAT HAD TO BE SKUES ALL TIME FAVORITE!
THRILLED IN THE DEN,
DOUGSDEN
Fish when you can, not when you should! Anything short of this is just a disaster.
mvendon
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Re: McCaskie's Green Cat

Post by mvendon » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:40 am

Thank's guys !!

I should have wrote that the text is from A. Courtney Williams book, A Dictionary Of Trout Flies from 1949. It's packed with old patterns and information on them.

Dougsden,
I tied an Orange Quill last fall and made a post at another forum asking if anyone still uses them over there. The way Williams goes on about them, they must have been hugely popular at one time, much like an Adams is here. Not one person replied back saying yes, they still use it a lot. Since it's an upright winged dry, I'll post a link to the post that I made rather than posting the picture here.

http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/topic/18554

Regards,
Mark
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Re: McCaskie's Green Cat

Post by DOUGSDEN » Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:32 pm

MARK,
THANKS FOR RESPONDING TO THE ORANGE QUILL QUESTION THAT I HAD. I WENT TO THE WEB-SITE YOU POSTED (ABOVE) AND FOUND THE O.Q. THAT YOU HAD TIED. WOW! IT'S WONDERFUL! BUT, I HAD NOTICED ONE SMALL FEATURE. IT'S A DRY FLY! HERE'S THE KICKER. I HAD IT IN MY MIND THAT SKUES IMMITATION OF THIS FLY WAS A WET FLY. SO, I WENT BACK TO THE ONLY SOURCE I HAVE AND THAT'S KEN ROBSONS BOOK "THE ESSENTIAL G.E.M. SKUES." I FOUND THE RECEIPE, READ THE SURROUNDING TEXT, RE-READ THE RECEIPE AGAIN, AND BINGO! THERE IT WAS! IT IS A DRY. MY MISTAKE AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THE ERROR! BECAUSE OF SKUES ASSOCIATION WITH SUB-SURFACE FLIES,I TEND TO THINK THAT HE TIED AND FISHED ONLY WETS AND NYMPHS. NOT SO! IT'S TRUE THAT WHAT DROVE HIM TO WETS AND NYMPHS AND THE METHOD OF FISHING THEM WAS A CHEAPLY TIED DRY FLY SUNK BELOW THE FILM AND TAKEN BY A TROUT. IN THE BEGINING HE WAS A STUDENT OF HALFORDS BUT THANK GOD FOR THE REST OF US HE QUICKLY DISCOVERED HOW ABSOLUTELY DEADLY SUB-SURFACE FISHING COULD BE. AND THE REST IS FLYFISHING HISTORY. OH, TO FISH JUST ONE DAY WITH SKUES AND PREFERABLY WHEN THE B.W.O.'S ARE IN THE AIR!
AGAIN MARK, THANKS FOR CLEARING UP SOMETHING THAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY NOSE ALL ALONG. I GUESS THIS IS HOW WE LEARN! I WONDER WHAT A WET VERSION OF THE FAMOUS ORANGE QUILL WOULD LOOK LIKE? AND HOW EFFECTIVE IT WOULD BE?
I'M ON MY WAY TO THE DEN......DOUGSEN
Fish when you can, not when you should! Anything short of this is just a disaster.
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Soft-hackle
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Re: McCaskie's Green Cat

Post by Soft-hackle » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:17 pm

Mark,
Thanks for posting this. I love the background and the fly.

Mark
"I have the highest respect for the skilled wet-fly fisherman, as he has mastered an art of very great difficulty.” Edward R. Hewitt

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olber

Re: McCaskie's Green Cat

Post by olber » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:18 am

Beautiful fly, love the dubbing.
Wanna trade with some labrador? :)
Cheers- Olav
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