Cosseboom
The Cosseboom series was originated by John Cosseboom
and they all have red heads except for the Orange Cosseboom
which has a black head. John Cosseboom had the idea that a
red head simulated blood and the fish would go after it. He
once bet a man named Jack Russell 100 dollars that he could
catch more fish with his red-headed fly than Jack could with
the black-headed fly. They went to the river and John hooked
five Atlantic Salmon to John's one. So the story goes. This
fly was created in 1922 and several variations have since been added.
It has been in continous use since then.
Materials List:
Hook: Number 6 Partridge.
Thread: Black.
Tail: Green Hackle.
Tag: Gold Tinsel (fine).
Body: Green Floss.
Ribbing: Gold Tinsel (fine).
Wing: Squirrel Tail.
Collar: Yellow Hackle.
Head: Red Thread.
Fishing the Fly:
I first fished the Cosseboom fly in the early seventies when
the Atlantic Salmon fishing was really good - and the fishermen
were scarce. I remember sailing the loop one weekend and stopping
on the Hawthorn Pool (on the Miramichi) to talk to a co-worker
who told me he would also be there on Saturday. I hauled the canoe
into shore, grabbed my rod, sat on the Breast Hook of the canoe
with my line dangling in the water.
My friend Carmen came over to ask me if I had hooked any fish on
the way around, because he and another friend, Herbie, had been
there all day and never saw a fish. We never got very far in our
conversation because a Grilse (small salmon) took my fly right
between Carmen's feet!
The explosion of the fish when he took the fly almost sent Carmen
to the Laughing Academy. The fish seemed to stop running in an
instant and there was nothing there but me hooked on bottom. As I
cranked my reel I could see something coming to the surface of the water.
It was a Coleman Lantern, but the amazing part was that it was still lit.
If John and Jack will take a few fish from their creels, I will turn the
light out on the lantern.
~ Leigh Anderson
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