FLYMPH FORUM

Here's another combination of traditional materials for which I as a novice historian do not know the pattern name. Proper identification is solicited.

Hook: "Standard" heavy wire wet fly hook, Size #14
Thread: Pearsall's Gossamer, #19 hot orange
Hackle: English Partridge
Body: Thread wraps lightly touch-dubbed with hare's ear

Bill, did you tye the hackle in by the tip and strip one side?

Bill, your tying is impeccable as usual and it's hard to go wrong with such a nicely marked P&O. It's unlikely that at some point someone didn't touch dub with a bit of hare and gave it a new name.

Thanks, William; that's what I thought about this combination ... somebody along the line must have done this. Perhaps it simply didn't catch fish and thus did not survive over time?

Yes, Bob -- I did tie in by the tip, but did not strip the barbs from one side. This represents exactly two turns of full hackle from near the outer end of a feather from between the "shoulders".

Beautiful Bill! Out of this world gorgeous! I wanna tie like you when I grow up!
Doug

tie2fish wrote:Perhaps it simply didn't catch fish and thus did not survive over time?

It's caught fish for me. I've taught tying classes where the only materials for demonstrating a touch dubbed spider were orange silk, hare's ear, and partridge feathers (I didn't buy the materials.) I've used the resulting flies and they work.

Add tails and a wing, and it's Pritt's March Brown #11.

Change the hackle to woodcock and it's Pritt's March Brown #13.

Beautiful nymph. Don't know what the maker named it but it looks like a march brown, though it might cover a spectrum of baetis, among other things. Can't see it rejected for not catching, with those natural colors.

Bill, you da man! This fly is good on a classic scale.

Our eagle-eyed friend Ruard has tactfully made me aware of the fact that I erred in my above recipe description of the hackle source as being "English grouse". As the name of the fly would indicate, the hackle came from an English partridge. I am eating crow today instead of turkey.

Bill - I've got your back. I edited your post to fix the recipe.

Ruard - Thanks for keeping an eye on Bill. He did that intentionally, to see if we were paying attention. You get top marks.