Purple Sapphire - originated by Dave Klausmeyer
*Tied by Gerald Wolfe
Hood: Size 4, 8XL streamer hook.
Thread: Black 8/0.
Body: Flat silver tinsel.
Throat: Five or six strands of Peacock
herl under which is lavender bucktail extending
about an inch beyond the hook bend.
Wings: Two matching purple saddle hackles
each side extending about an inch beyond the hook bend.
Cheeks: One dyed blue Guinea Fowl flank feather
and one Jungle Cock nail each side.
Wings & cheeks are glued together before attaching to
the hook shank in the Carrie Stevens style of Rangeley
trolling streamers. This makes a much neater wing, easy
to attach to the body. It is very important to match
right side/left side hackle for streamer wings. I also
like fairly strong quills in my wing feathers to make
them stand out straight along the shank of the hook. If
the feathers are soft and droopy they are not only
unattractive, but have more of a chance to foul when
fishing the streamer.
The "Purple Sapphire" is a Dave Klausmeyer creation. I
first saw it in the Autumn 1999 issue of FLY TYER
magazine when he did a feature article on Rangeley Streamers.
Dave is Senior Editor of FLY TYER and we both write
a monthly column for the MAINE SPORTSMAN magazine.
I follow his column faithfully and when I saw this streamer
I knew I wanted to tie it.
Maine streamer patterns have been favorites of mine for nearly
35 years. A few years back, I caught an IGFA world record
landlocked Atlantic Salmon on a feathered streamer that
stood for almost 2 ½ years, so you could say that my trust
in them over time really paid off.
The "Gray Ghost", "Black Ghost", "Mickey Finn" and a few
others have stood the test of time and become legendary
streamers, but none are anymore beautiful than the
"Purple Sapphire". I tried a test on several non-fishers
after I tied the first one by randomly putting it in with
half a dozen other streamers of note and asked them to
pick out the one they liked best. Hands down, each person
picked the "Purple Sapphire" over the much more storied
and popular flies.
Will it catch fish? You bet! My son and I have caught numerous
landlocks on this fly over the last couple years. Dave, you've
got a winner here! Functional as well as beautiful."
~ Gerald Wolfe
*About Gerald Wolfe
I started fishing at age 5 and have spent the last 6 decades
pursuing that pastime with a passion. I strayed for a few years in
my youth and became obsessed with golf (regularly shot in the low
70's), but quickly decided I couldn't pursue two obsessions and stay
sane. So I gave up golf and decided I'd only make my wife a
"fishing widow." Well. . . hunting too.
It was a good choice. I married my "highschool sweetheart"
and it's been a wonderful ride for 45 years. In all that time, she has
never once said I shouldn't go fishing. For any reason. Not once.
Don't ya just love 'er?
We have 3 children and 6 grandchildren and, "praise the
Lord," they all fish; especially my grandson, Eric, who holds 2
Junior World Records and seems determined to get a couple more.
My day job was Supt. of Postal Operations at a fairly large
post office in New Jersey. But my avocation was to be an
outdoor writer, and to that end I've had over l,200 articles
published in the last 30 years. Since retirement from the
postal service I've been writing a regional outdoor column
for The Maine Sportsman magazine.
I moved to Maine 10 years ago and live by beautiful Sebago
Lake (2nd largest lake in Maine). My wife has recently
caught the fishing fever, although she doesn't fly fish . . . I'm
working on that. I suspect we will be spending a lot more
wonderful years together.
My favorite flies are streamers but I only tie during the
winter to replenish my supply. I've also been known to
bum a few flies here and there.
I keep my hand in all methods of fishing and hunting because
of my writing, but my favorite fish are brook trout. I
s'pose if God gave me only one choice, I'd choose the small
streams and beaver pond brookies to fish out my last years.
We've got a bunch of 'em up here. ~ RW
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