Plates from the London firm of Ogden Smiths catalogue about 1900. The catalogues were unfortunately not dated. I have only done relatively minor enhancements on these plates, more was not required.
These are very interesting for a number of reasons. There are practically no nymphs!!! Except for those at the bottom of one of the plates. They also show the rather overdressed London flies of the time, about which many authors had a great deal to say! The hackle wet flies are lumped together with the hackle dries, and are very heavily dressed. Presumably people caught fish on these well enough, but that was also a reflection on the number of fish in many streams, and the fact that even small trout and salmon parr were considered fair game! It would be interesting to hear other people´s comments on these flies.
Also, if you have any old plates or other information you would be willing to share, I would be most grateful for them.
Fan Wings, Bivisibles, etc.
Double Winged Flies
