old flies

[rainbowchaser]

Does anyone else still fish them? My box for opening weekend will include some adams (upright and spent wing), Borcher's drake, dark cahill wet fly, picket pin, and royal coachman wet as well as some soft hackle wets .

[Threedayweekend]

I still use adams a lot and sometimes I tie on a coachman.

[Jack Hise]

Down here the Wooley Bugger is at the top of the list long with the Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, Prince, Copper John, etc.

[dave potts]

Down here the Wooley Bugger is at the top of the list long with the Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, Prince, Copper John, etc.

Same here in MO.

[Allan]

I was going to respond thinking you meant 'old flies', as in the actual age of the flies not the age of the pattern. Now, after thinking about your question regardless of what you meant, I guess I'd answer yes to the former, and definitely to the latter.

Allan

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I think all the flies I have are either my own pattern or old classics. I fish lots of spiders from Pritt (1800s) and winged wets are things like royal coachman, cochmans, Greenwell's glory, dark Montreal, Parmachene Belle, Bloody Butcher, etc. For nymphs, I'll use pheasant tails, gold ribbed hare's ear, hare and copper, olive nymphs, with dries like coch-y-bondu, royal wulfs, professor, adams, elk hair caddis, and Whickham's Fancy (when I remember to try a dry that is). I've tied up lot's of things like Mallard and Yellows, or Teal and Green, and so forth, which were old classic series that used to be the mainstay of many a fly box years ago. I have lots of older New Zealand patterns tied up too. I've found they all still seem to work just fine.

- Jeff

[quivira kid]

I tie and fish old school wet flies for almost everything I go after. Trout and bluegills here still eat em...

[Steven]

Does anyone else still fish them? My box for opening weekend will include some adams (upright and spent wing), Borcher's drake, dark cahill wet fly, picket pin, and royal coachman wet as well as some soft hackle wets .

I carry some Borcher's Specials. Is that the some as the Drake?

I don't use them much, but it's a midwest fly so I've tied a few and have them around.

[rainbowchaser]

Steven, they are the same thing. It was first tied by Ernie Borcher who guided on the Au Sable at the start of the twentieth century. I've read that the earliest version used condor quill rather than the pheasant or turkey tail now used.

[Steven]

Steven, they are the same thing. It was first tied by Ernie Borcher who guided on the Au Sable at the start of the twentieth century. I've read that the earliest version used condor quill rather than the pheasant or turkey tail now used.

Hell, I'm all out of condor.

I first saw it mentioned in The Longest Silence and tied some up after reading an article by Dennis Potter in the late and lamented Midwest Fly Fishing mag. It could certainly substitute for any of a number of dark mayflies.