Kelson, surprisingly, does not take full credit for this
fly (as he did so many others). He instead gives full credit
to his father! Well, at least he kept in the family. But as
usual, there is good evidence to the contrary. A fly called
the "Silver Wilkinson" was originated by Mr. P.S. Wilkinson,
and is widely regarded as the first silver bodied fly. The
Wilkinson as we know it now, was undoubtedly a close relative,
and by that I don't mean Kelson's father.
Francis Francis has a recipe for the Wilkinson that predates
Kelson's considerably, and while generally similar in the body,
has a slightly different wing and reverses the hackle and throat,
replacing the magenta hackle with a throat of "bright lake red."
So perhaps it was a different variation of this pattern that
was originated by George M. Kelson's father, who knows?
As usual, I've taken a liberty or two myself with this fly,
using embossed tinsel in place of flat for the body, because
I like it, and toning down the magenta hackle, because I just
don't like the color magenta in a fly, even a gaudy one. I've
done Charles Chute's version here, which dispenses with the
jungle cock. Maybe Mr. Chute was out of jungle cock when he
did his fly, or maybe he just liked the simpler look of just
the teal sides as I did. I'm a great admirer of the flies of
Charles Chute and very much like what he's done with this one.
In any case, here are both recipes, so you can decide what's
right for you:
Kelson's Wilkinson
Tag: Silver twist
Tail: Two toppings, tippet, and Indian crow
Butt: Scarlet wool
Body: Silver tinsel
Ribs: Silver tinsel (oval)
Throat: Magenta and light blue hackle
Wings: Tippet, teal, peacock wing, golden pheasant tail, and swan dyed
red, yellow and blue; mallard and a topping
Horns: Blue macaw
Sides: Jungle cock
Head: Black herl
Francis Francis' Wilkinson
Tag: Silver thread and gold floss
Tail: Topping and a short stump of tippet
Butt: Red crewel
Body: Silver tinsel
Ribs: Silver twist
Throat: Medium blue hackle and bright lake red shoulder
Wings: Mixed bustard, wood-duck, pintail, blue and red macaw, one topping over all
Horns: Blue macaw
Sides: Jungle cock
Head: Black
Credits: The Salmon Fly by George Kelson;
Classic Salmon Flies by Mikael Frodin,
The Classic Salmon Fly
website, Charles Chute. ~ EA
About Eric:
I started fly fishing as a teen in and around my hometown
of Plattsburgh, New York, primarily on the Saranac River.
I started tying flies almost immediately and spent hours
with library books written by Ray Bergman, Art Lee, and
A. J. McClane. Almost from the beginning I liked tying
just as much as I liked fishing and spent considerable
time at the vise creating hideous monstrosities that
somehow caught fish anyway. Then one day I came upon a
group of flies that had been put out at a local drug store
that had been tied by Francis Betters of Wilmington, N.Y.
My life changed that day and so did my flies, dramatically.
Even though I never met Fran back then, I've always
considered him to be one of my biggest influences.
I had a career in music for twenty years or so and didn't
fish much, though I did fish at times. The band I was with
had its fifteen seconds of fame when we were asked to be in
John Mellencamp's movie "Falling From Grace." I am the
keyboard player on the right in the country club scene in
the middle of the movie. Don't blink. It's on HBO all the
time. We got to meet big Hollywood stars and record in John's
studio. It was a blast.
So how did I wind up contributing to the Just Old Flies
column on FAOL? I'm not sure, it was something that I simply
wanted very badly to do, and they let me. Many of the old flies
take me back to the Adirondacs and my youth, and I guess I get
to relive some of it through the column. I've spent many happy
hours fishing and tying over the years, and tying these flies
brings back memories of great days on the water, and intense
hours spent looking at the flies in the fly plates in the old
books and trying to get my flies to look like them. And now,
here I am, still doing that to this day. ~ EA
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