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Recognize This Fly?

3K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  Jeff Dodd 
#1 ·
I found this fly in my box. I use to buy these at a tackle shop in Everett and recall being told the tier is from Mt. Vernon, WA. Does anyone recognize this pattern, or know the name?

It's a fish catching pattern that I am going to attempt to copy, but curiosity about the body material,

Thanks!
Artificial fly Fishing bait Bait Tints and shades Arthropod
 
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#2 ·
I've not seen it before, but maybe I can help deconstruct it by attempting to identify the materials used. I'm color blind, so I can't help with shades, but here's what I see:

Tail--maribou fibers
Ahead of tail--Pheasant rump?
Visble portion of body--hair, but from what--blond phase black bear? coyote? pig bristles? too coarse for fox.
Front collar--almost certainly guinea.
 
#8 ·
I tied one last night but don't yet have the body material the same as the store-bought fly.

Hook- 2xl, straight eye, size 10
Red thread
Tail - light olive maribou with dark olive maibou stacked on top
The front and rear collar are both pheasant rump.
Body- does appear to be in a dubbing loop

I used olive tri-lobel on my first fly but the stuff I have has too much flash.
The fibers on the body of this fly are fairly long, thin and do appear to be hair, not synthetic. I will try different dubbing material report back...

A couple years ago in March I landed a 5lbs (didn't weigh him, but) bass on this fly in Lone Lake. He slowly sucked it in... I could easily fit my fist in his mouth.
 
#15 ·
I just looked through my box of bear hair and found four different shades of natural colored hair ranging from dark brown through light cinnamon. The thickness and crimp are a match for the hair in the photo so I'll be using that for this pattern and it variants.

I have no idea what this pattern is supposed to imitate if anything. I think it is more of a suggestion but if I was a fish I would grab it. It reminds me of a pattern I came up with a few years ago in an emergency while preparing for a trip down the Smith river. At the last minute I realized that I didn't have anything big and meaty so I ad-libbed and came up with the BBHT (Big Brown Hairy Thing).

TC
 
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#20 ·
I think the body looks like either seal hair (not available in the US) or angora. I tie leeches with a mix of angora and simi-seal (synthetic seal fur substitute). There are a lot of colors available to choose from.
D
Both seal and PB are available in the US. You just need to know where to look and be willing to pay the asking price if you want it bad enough.
 
#21 ·
I'm thinking there was a man and wife team in Mount Vernon or Everett, think their name was Roberts. According to Jack Davis of Jacks Sport Shop they would tie up a gross per day and distribute from Everett Northward, they did it 11 months out of the year then take a month off for fly fishing. Back then they were $.20 a piece and finally had to raise the price to a Quarter
 
#24 ·
I don't doubt that this couple tied a gross of flies a day because that means they tied 12 dozen between them in a day. It isn't that difficult to tie 6 dozen flies in a day, unless you have a regular 40 hour a week job. And back in the day, there were quite a few folks around the USA that tied flies either full-time or as a side business. Remember that was back before the Umpqua Feather Merchants, etc. started their offshore fly factories which made offshore flies of decent quality available to the market in large quantifies.

However, it is highly suspect that they would tie a gross per day for 11 months and sell all of them from Everett north. I mean, every 10 days they would have tied 120 dozen flies. Say they took 2 days a week off from tying, that means this 120 dozen would have been 2 weeks production. And since there are 48 weeks in 11 months, this means they would have tied (and sold) 2,880 dozen flies in a year. That is a lot of flies. And back in the day, there weren't all that many fly fishermen from Everett north. Plus, back then, you weren't allowed to fish year round in the low-land lakes and the creeks were only open from June to the end of September.

To put it in another perspective, it means that if there were 1,000 fly fishermen from Everett north back then, each flisherman would have had to buy 180 dozen flies that this couple tied for them to have tied and sold that many flies. There were other folks also tying flies commercially back then as well.

I would not be suprised if they sold a fair number of their 2880 dozen flies outside of the area from Everettt north. Like I said, it would have been easy for this couple to tie a gross of flies per day between them. Heck, they could have even each tied a gross per day if they didn't have a 40 hour a week job as well. But having sufficient market from Everett north to sell that many flies back then is a completely different story.
 
#25 ·
I get bored tying the same pattern after 1 dozen. That's why I never could get into production tying.

Plus, mine don't look exactly like clones of the original.

I knew a guy who was part owner of a fly shop in Newport. He fished a lot with Shewey and showed me how to fish for surf perch... not that I ever caught any. We also scared the hell out of me one day in Newport bay while we were fishing for silver salmon... but that's another story that has to do with Great White sharks.

Anyway, he tied all the flies for the shop. Bob Borden came up with a new steelhead pattern that used luminescent tubing. John (not Shewey) tied and sold the pattern at the shop. Somehow, Cabela's learned of the pattern and put in an order for 3K dozen of the patterns.

He tied day and night to fill the order. By the time he was finished, he told me he never wanted to tie another one of the patterns for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, the pattern never took off so Cabela's never placed another order.

Nope, no way now how would I ever get into production fly tying.
 
#26 ·
You probably know Jack Davis, FT give him a call my muddled mind might be going. :)

FT Active Member

Posts: 1,102
Mount Vernon, WA
Ratings: +28 / 0

I've been tying flies since age 9. Since I'm now 58, that is 49 years. I've also tied flies commercially 3 times in my life, and as a result, I've tied several million flies. I've also taught about 200 people to tie flies over the years, both in group classes and individual lessons. That said, here are my thoughts:​
The Norvise is a very high quality vise. Be forewarned though that folks either love it or hate it. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground with it. Therefore, I suggest you tie some flies on it (like is a dozen or more) to see if you really like it, or not. If the answer is I'm not sure, be very careful about buying one for yourself. If however, you really, and I mean really as in "I can't believe I never used one before", like it, buy it because you'll love it. Otherwise, pass on it.​
The Regal you mentioned is another great vise. If you don't really need a good rotary vise, it is an excellent choice that you will be very happy with. If you really need or want the rotary function of a rotary vise, a different vise than this Regal would be a better choice.​
Griffin makes several excellent rorary vises and all of them sell for less than $200.00. All of the Griffin rotary vises hold hooks with a vengence, hold up extremely well, are well-made, and will last the average tyer a lifetime. Plus, replacement parts are readily available at very reasonable prices.​
If you wish to have a true high end vise, Renzetti has the P2000, a super value at under $300.00, the P4000, more expensive than the P2000, but they have the same jaw system, and the Master Vise, one of the most expensive vises on the market at over $600.00. The Renzetti Traveler is a decent, lower-cost rotary vise, but it isn't any better than the Griffin rotary vises, and it costs more. It's jaws (meaning the Traveler only) also don't hold up as well as the Griffin's jaws.​
The Peak vise is another rotary worth looking at. It is a great value, so don't let its lower price fool you into thinking it isn't any good.​
Dyna King makes my favorite vise, the Baracuda. They also make the Baracuda, Jr. These are among the best vises in the world with prices about the same as a Norvise or the Renzetti P4000.​
The Nor vise, which I've already spoken about. Terrific vise if you like it after tying on it, otherwise, it is no more than an expensive boat anchor if you don't. Sorry about being so blunt, but this is the only vise I've found in all the years I've been tying that has that love-it or hate-it reaction with no middle ground from tyers.​
HMH is another high quality vise that many folks love.​
That works out to over 760 flies per day for 60 years If I did the math right ;)
 
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