I received a gift of a most wonderful book a few months ago. It's title is "Limestone Legends" The Papers and Recollections of the Fly Fishers' Club of Harrisburg...1947-1997. The book is a delight to read for it is like being there as these stories were being told. Many of the writers were just folks who had a story to tell, and some are pretty eloquently written. The members of this club are icons that I remember reading about as I entered into fly fishing, and the stories told were that of the famed waters of Pennsylvania's Cumberland County.
I'm not a guy who reads a book cover to cover "in that order" but thumb through it and when I spot something interesting and read it. Such was this fine piece written by Charles Fox.
In the article Mr. Fox compares two types of dry fly fishing. One where the angler uses a fine crisp Catskill dry fly, one that matches the hatch, and the other dry fly is an attractor or big bushy dry fly that gets the trouts attention. And this is so Pennsylvania..most anglers here also hunt, thus a precise Catskill dry "rifle" and a gaudy bushy dry fly "shotgun" applies so perfectly. I wish my typing skills were better for I would put forth the entire article for it's truly a gem.
I tied up some of those "winter spiders"..although they can be used successfully all year long.
The "Winter Brown"..Body Pearsalls Orange Silk- Hackle, Woodcock, and the head is Peacock.
The "February Red"...Body Pearsalls Red Silk, Hackle Grouse.
