Welcome to 'just old flies,' a section of methods and flies that used-to-be. These flies were tied with the only materials available. Long before the advent of 'modern' tying materials, they were created and improved upon at a far slower pace than today's modern counterparts; limited by materials available and the tiers imagination.

Once long gone, there existed a 'fraternity' of anglers who felt an obligation to use only the 'standard' patterns of the day. We hope to bring a bit of nostalgia to these pages and to you. And sometimes what you find here will not always be about fishing. Perhaps you will enjoy them. Perhaps you will fish the flies. Perhaps?


CLARET AND GRAY

Eric Austin - February 1, 2010

Just old flies - Eric - February 1, 2010

Claret and Gray

 

Claret and Gray

Eric Austin, Ohio - January 24, 2010

I really like the juxtoposition of the color claret and a dark gray wing, so I was quite pleased this week to find a package in the mail from long-time reader Tom Dorgeloh. He sent some dark Canada Goose wing quills, among other things, and I couldn't wait to do some flies with them.

These are all from Helen Shaw's book Flies for Fish and Fishermen. They all feature a claret body with a very dark wing of goose. She seemed to have liked goose quills as a winging material for wet flies, and uses them almost exclusively in this book. I like it too, but I've pretty much relegated its use to larger flies. Mostly I use mallard quills, but if I want to go darker, goose is the ticket, especially Canada Goose. If you like goose biots with a very defined black edge, the biots from a Canada Goose primary feather are the ticket. I've already dyed some rusty biots using these feathers.

Just old flies - Eric - February 1, 2010

Female Claret Quill

The fly above is from the "quill body" section of Helen Shaw's book, and the quill I used was a bit short for the size hook, so I wound more of a ribbing using it. I used some stripped emu quills that Alice Conba dyed and sent to me for all the quill body flies shown in this article. Without friends like Alice and Tom, this article probably would never have come about. Here's the male version:

Just old flies - Eric - February 1, 2010

Male Claret Quill

I've kind of changed styles here as I felt like it. The Claret and Gray I did in more the Bergman manner, hackle pulled down, as I wanted to show off William Bailey's wonderfully dyed wool. To make the body I simply wound two strands of his Berlin wool, untwisting as I wound so they would stay parallel to each other. The two Claret Quills, male and female, are in Helen Shaw's style. Now for one in Alice Conba's style, a smaller fly done in the Irish vain called the Claret Smut. Note how the hackle went on last with this one:

Just old flies - Eric - February 1, 2010

Claret Smut

I wanted to do the Claret Smut smaller, and it just begged to be done in the European style. I've used a #14 Daichii hook for the Claret Smut, and #6 Mustad 3399 hooks for the rest. Finally, I've done the Claret Dun from Helen Shaw's book, one that features a claret seal fur body:

Just old flies - Eric - February 1, 2010

Claret Dun

I'm thinking that the Claret Smut should be a very good fly for the Ausable in Upstate New York in the Spring. I'm taking a trip there in early June, and if the Adirondack Black Flies are in evidence, this fly should nicely represent their blood-swollen bodies. I just hope it's not my blood! Here are recipes for all the flies shown:


Claret and Gray

  • Body: Claret yarn
  • Hackle: Claret
  • Wings: Gray goose
  • Head: Black

Female Claret Quill

  • Tip: Light greenish yellow chenille
  • Tail: Goose dyed claret
  • Body: Stripped ostrich herl quill dyed claret
  • Hackle: Claret
  • Wings: Gray goose
  • Head: Dark brown

Male Claret Quill

  • Tail: Goose dyed claret
  • Body:Stripped ostrich herl quill dyed claret
  • Hackle: Claret
  • Wings: Gray goose
  • Head: Dark brown

Claret Smut

  • Body: Dark claret quill
  • Hackle: Black
  • Wings: Gray goose
  • Head: Black

Claret Dun

  • Body:Claret wool
  • Hackle: Black
  • Wings: Gray goose
  • Head: Black
Credits: Flies for Fish and Fishermen by Helen Shaw~ ELA

 

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