A pair of Ashers

[Normand]

After learning thread control in the beginner fly tying classes I took many years ago, it was time to tie some new flies with 2 materials. The instructor chose the Orange Asher as a place to begin.



Orange Asher

Hook: Your Favorite
Thread: Black
Hackle: Grizzly
Body: Orange Floss

This was followed by a change in the body floss from orange to red to give you the "Bloody Asher". Thats the name I was told by the instructor but I have also heard it called "Bloody Butcher".



Bloody Asher

Hook: Your Favorite
Thread: Black
Hackle: Grizzly
Body: Red Floss

Other variations would simply be tied using different colors of floss, tying it with peacock herl becomes the "Griffiths Gnat". I have purchased flies with a cream colored dubbed body and had tremendous success with it on the Green River in Utah. Another variation use grizzly hackle fibers for a tail and also has a gold tinsel rib. Try tying it with different body materials and different colors of hackle. The options are all up to you.

A little history: http://www.evergreentrout.org/Flies/OrangerAsher.htm

[Clay]

Nicely done Normand. Particularly like the blood red one, but both look spectacular.

[Daniel J]

I found that one in the old Terry Hellickson book long long ago. The pattern called for orange yarn.
Super easy to tie and made from very accessible materials.
It works Grrrrrrrrreat in UT, especially on top after the sun is off the water.

[turvy]

The red fly looks very close to an old trout fly I did a lot of fishing with back in the '70s. My mentor called it a badger and was tied with red thread and a creamy badger hackle palmered to the head. It was a real quick tie and we tied them down to 16s and all the way up to 4 3x shanks. I'm not much of a historian but I thought by old buddy Bob had made the pattern up himself since I had never seen in any books or fly shops. Thanks for the insight. The bigger flies were great for night fishin.

[JeffHamm]

Those are very nicely tied, the floss work is exceptionally clean.

As an aside, a bloody butcher, is a different fly (or at least, there is a different fly also by that name), so I would suspect the Bloody Asher for the red one is probably the correct name. The dressing for a bloody butcher as I know it is:
Hook : 10-14 wet fly (usually)
Tail: red hackle fibres
rib: silver wire
body: flat silver tinsel/mylar
hackle: red hackle fibres, usually tied as a throat
wing: slips from the blue patch off a mallard primary

If the hackle is black, it's just a "butcher". I've had a lot of success with the Bloody Butcher above. The butcher is one of those flies that was banned on some UK streams as being unsportsmanlike to use. Not sure if the clubs still hold to such bans today.

- Jeff

[ghjacobs]

On a whim I tied some of the orange ones up in a size 16 this morning to take out this afternoon. I didn't slay them, But I did catch a few Brookies on them. I think I will keep a few in my fly box.