An Older Pattern

Tying some older patterns this morning. Anyone know a source for good quality badger hackle in size 16-14?

Used a substitute in this one.

As I recall from reading a book (wasn't there, so have to rely on books), Walt Dette and Townsend created the fly. Townsend is said to have named this pattern following a funeral one day. Guess the pure white body of the fly reminded him of the coffin.............

Actually, there is a true Coffin Fly which does come from underground coffins - gross...........

There is a step-by-step of this pattern by Mr Tom Six (I believe) in the Fly of the Week section.




http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...h/IMG_3595.jpg


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...h/IMG_3590.jpg

For the badger hackle try Conranch hackle. An shop that deals with Whiting Farms should be able to get some Hebert-Miner badger necks for you. We recently got some in the shop and they were quite nice.

Nice looking fly.

The Dette's Coffin Fly was intended to imitate the spinner of the green drake, and would be more appropriately tied on a size 10 or 8 than a 14 or 16, but I can think of hatches that I'd fish your fly over down to a size 18.

I always wondered how that fly got it's name. Just assumed it was a "killer pattern".

Dave

"Killer" is a denotation of a fly pattern that has the reputation of being successful anytime and anywhere you use it....there are so many "Killer Flies" and they are not restrictive to a single form of dressing....

Fly Of The Week
Killer Nymph
Steven H. McGarthwaite- June 20th 2011
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/fotw...tw20110620.php

Just Old Flies
Mrs Simpson
Submitted by Alan Shepherd, Austrailia
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/feat...es/part236.php

Our Man In Canada
Hamill Killer
Submitted by Sheldon Seale
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/feat...ada/can272.php

Panfish
Bream Killer
By Doug Terry, Angleton TX
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/feat...sh/part258.php

In New Zealand, one use of the term "Killer" is to refer to a style of fly where game bird feathers are tied on the sides, to form a sort of almond shape. The Hammil's Killer and Mrs. Simpson in the links above are two of the more popular "killers" here (both are New Zealand pattern). However, the term is also used for any pattern that is successful, as in "it's a killer".

- Jeff

Speaking of killers...one of my all time absolute favorite names that anyone could have come up with for a fly is.... "The Killer Diller". Popularized by Don Martinez et.al. in the Yellowstone area in possibly the 1930's, 1940's. The fly has it's roots in the hairwing flies of the "Trude" style. I'm getting that the term killer diller was common among the guides and shop owners of that time and referred to what was the "latest and greatest" fly pattern to be on sale for "the dudes" at the shop (Have times changed?). You can find the recipe for the pattern in Bergman's book "Trout" or google it. In the past I've sent some of the flies to my East Coast brother, "a Dude". His comment: "They work back here".


To the OP ....if you don't have badger hackle try wrapping some natural or black ostrich either side of the wing before winding a lighter hackle collar through it. A little more work but the results are similar to the badger hackle.


PS: If anyone knows the true origin of the "Killer Diller" I'm interested in the history.