From Maine to Georgia there is a mountain chain known as the Appalachian's. They many not be the tallest but I'll wager they are the most beautiful. Some say they're the oldest mountains in the United States. Well that's for those geology folks. Here I'm going to talk of trout flies of the Appalachians, specifically the southern Appalachians. The flies presented here all have several things in common, the most obvious is they are dry flies, and they catch trout. I have taken brook trout in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Virginia on these flies. I have a few more states in the Appalachians left in which to fish them.
This is the Orange Palmer. This fly has that simple construction that makes a pleasure to tie. A great fly to use in late summer and fall.
This is a variant of the Orange Palmer. This fly uses only one hackle for the body. It is also tied on a fine wire hook. I like to fish this fly wet.
This fly is the Fore And After. It has the hackle tied in the rear as well as the head of the fly. The pattern calls for the body to be either yellow dubbing or yellow floss.
This is the Rattler, a southern fly. It's quite similar to the Bomber with a few exceptions, one being the body is of black thread.
Now folks can you tell me what's the constant common in all of these beautiful flies?
Alan
ReplyDeleteBesides the fact they catch trout, the tail material is the same.
TROUT1
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Pete you have a keen eye.
Alan, when I saw your title, I thought, for sure, I would see the "Yaller Hammer " pattern originally tied with Flicker hackle. I use yellow dyed starling as a substitute. Probably does not fish as well as Flicker but Flicker are protected.
ReplyDeleteJohn Dornik
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John I tie that fly and have fished it with success. The originators of that fly are said to be the Cherokees. The flicker is protected but starling is acceptable...also permanent markers.
Alan, Yes the common is the tail but the common color is orange themed. Brookies love orange like their cousins Steelhead love purple. I love the simply tied patterns. These are perfect flies for someone just starting out wanting to build tying skills. Great post as always.
DeleteKurt
Brookie61
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Kurt I was aware of the brook trouts love of orange but did not know about the steelhead and the color purple. I love the spey flies used for steelies.
Simplicity is key.
The for and after fly was also adopted by Ed shenk, called the the for and aft, a pattern that was nothing more than black thread grizzly hackle placed for and aft on the hook. Great midge pattern that looked like mating midges. Your flies are beautifully tied and very educational. Thankyou.
ReplyDeleteBrad Basehore
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Brad I did not know of Shenk's variant. I'll look into it and perhaps tie a few.
Like we discussed before I love the history involved in our passion.
Specifically, the orange tailing material is dyed golden pheasant tippet.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Shuck
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Bill that's it. By the way you tie an awesome Catskill dry fly.
Alan
ReplyDeleteThe common factor for me is all will attract a take and in the form of some savage hits. What is the most common size tied in all these patterns when fishing small streams?
Beautiful work at the vice---thanks for sharing
Bill Trussell
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Bill they indeed will take trout when called to do so. I tie these flies in size 14, and the variant also in 16.
Beautiful flies, Alan. Fish catchers for sure. I bet Francis Betters would love them with the orange thread and dubbing on a couple of them. The colors reflect the fall season we are entering now. Days are getting too short now for me to fish after work, but for a brief while given the chance.
ReplyDeleteParachute Adams
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Sam these flies have a lot of Betters influence in their construction. The one issue I have about the upcoming season is the shortness of the day. I guess you'll have to squeeze some time in on the weekends.
I love the sparse nature of your orange palmer variant. It would certainly, as you suggest by your preferred method with that fly, fish just as well, if not better, wet as it would dry! Buggy as buggy gets.
ReplyDeleteRM Lytle
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Rowan I love the option of fishing one fly multiple ways, the frugal Yankee coming through. Palmered flies do represent "bugs" and the trout love them.
Alan - isn't it interesting these palmers resemble Fran Better's Ausable Bomber. One wonders if Fran was influenced by these older flies or whether the designs were arrived at independently. Regardless of there origin, these flies are well suited to the rough water that is characteristic of the mountains
ReplyDeleteMark Wittman
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Mark the similarities are insane. The flies, "mountain" flies seem to work where ever there is that busting water.
John and I enjoyed your presentation last night, well done.
Alan very nice little flies patterns
ReplyDeleteArmando Milosevic
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Armando these little flies catch a lot of fish.