Dark Needle (Dark Spanish Needle)
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2022 5:51 am
The more I study the old North Country patterns the more I find subtle difference between the noted anglers and their tying preference.
This pattern is mentioned in Swarbrick as his #8 “This flie is cald the Wood Owle Take as all Feather out of its Wing abought the Middle part Oringe Silk Harled at the Head with Peacock Harl”
I am taking this as the basis for the pattern.
Pritt calls this the Dark Spanish Needle with the dressing as Brown Owl, Orange thread and a Peacock head.
Pretty much the standard dressing but who in the hell has a heap of Brown Owl.
Perhaps it was hard to get as early as Edmonds and Lee as they state the dressing as the under covert of a Starling, orange thread (and they state 6b) with a magpie head.
Jackson does not even me toon it in his patterns.
In some descriptions I see the under covert feather from a snipe wing.
So what to do?
In this tying I have tried to appease everyone:
Hook - Kamasan B525 #14
Thread - 40 y.o Pearsall’s 6b (yep I have a few spools of this and our Stoneflies do not have an orange body)
Hackle - under covert feather from a Snipe (I tried Starling but they are incredibly frustrating for a ham fisted tier like me)
Head - Peacock (I tried Magpie but it is too fragile).
I think I am happy with the outcome.
This pattern is mentioned in Swarbrick as his #8 “This flie is cald the Wood Owle Take as all Feather out of its Wing abought the Middle part Oringe Silk Harled at the Head with Peacock Harl”
I am taking this as the basis for the pattern.
Pritt calls this the Dark Spanish Needle with the dressing as Brown Owl, Orange thread and a Peacock head.
Pretty much the standard dressing but who in the hell has a heap of Brown Owl.
Perhaps it was hard to get as early as Edmonds and Lee as they state the dressing as the under covert of a Starling, orange thread (and they state 6b) with a magpie head.
Jackson does not even me toon it in his patterns.
In some descriptions I see the under covert feather from a snipe wing.
So what to do?
In this tying I have tried to appease everyone:
Hook - Kamasan B525 #14
Thread - 40 y.o Pearsall’s 6b (yep I have a few spools of this and our Stoneflies do not have an orange body)
Hackle - under covert feather from a Snipe (I tried Starling but they are incredibly frustrating for a ham fisted tier like me)
Head - Peacock (I tried Magpie but it is too fragile).
I think I am happy with the outcome.