Austin was a tobacconist of Tiverton in Devon,
South West England in 1900. As a side-line, he
made and sold flies. Presumably Mr. Austin and
daughter supplied various patterns of the day
and materials to dress popular flies. His pattern,
the Tups Indispensable, was effective when trout
were taking pale midge or mayflies.
Mr Austin sent a sample of dubbing with tying
instructions on how to tie his unnamed fly pattern
to Mr G.E.M. Skues. He informed Mr. Skues that he
had the found it to be particularly successful in
imitating female olive spinners. Mr. Skues followed
the instructions and made the fly. He spent most of
the following September testing the fly on his local
water, the River Ichen. Skues was one of two people
given the dressing secret by Mr Austin. He was so
impressed that he published his findings calling the
fly the 'Tups Indispensable.' The recipe for the
pattern was kept secret and thus Mr Austin obtained
a monopoly on selling the fly. The article by Skues,
exalting the fly, was widely read and lots of orders
were placed. The fly became so popular that Mr Austin
became utterly sick of tying it.
Why did Skues call it Tup's Indispensable? Well the
'Indispensable' part comes from the fact that it should
not be left out of your fly-box, as it is such a good
fish taker. The 'Tup's' part of the name refers to a
Ram, a male sheep that is used for breeding. In Britain
in those days, farmers used a sponge or rag soaked in
dye tied to the under side of the Ram. In the morning,
they would inspect their flock to see which females
had dye stained on their backs from being 'tupped' by
the Ram. The original material for this fly was urine
and dye stained wool taken from a ram's testicles mixed
with lemon coloured fur from a spaniel and a little
yellow mohair, replaced later with crimson seal's fur.
Mr. Austin and his daughter kept the dubbing materials
secret; they had a monopoly on the supply of the correct
dressing. Mr. Austin passed away in 1914 but it was not
until 1934 that the secret ingredient, fur from a ram's
testicle was revealed. It was kept a secret until after
his daughter, who continued the business, had retired.
In his Notes & Letters, Theodore Gordon
had great praise for this fly. He particularly liked
the 'Tups' dubbing which he had sent to him from
England. He used this dubbing on other patterns.
It can be fished dry when trout are feeding near the
surface. It can also be useful in high summer when
reduced water flow and high temperatures can make
the trout very fussy.
Tying Instructions
Don't panic! We use modern materials that are
the same colour but not as smelly.
Hook: Size 16 up eye, dry fly hook.
Thread: Yellow.
Tail: Honey dun or light blue cock hackle
fibres.
Body: Mix white fur from a ram's testicle
with lemon-coloured fur from a spaniel and cream
seal's fur with a small amount of yellow mohair.
Hackle: Light-blue cock hackle freckled thickly
with gold.
Using fur from the ram's testicle area wasn't even
an original idea. The first use of this material goes
to Alexander Mackintosh in the book The Driffield
Angler, 1806. He suggests, "Take a little fine
wool from the rams testicles, which is a beautiful
dusty yellow." ~ Alan Shepherd
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