I’ve found only three references to this fly, a recipe in Hardy’sSalmon Fishing, another mention in an article written for Bailey’s magazine some time between 1860 and 1910 and a third listing inThe Catalogue of Hardy’s Angling Specialties, as a good fly for the Forth and Teith. The fly is called either the Claret Scott or the Claret Jock Scott depending on the publication.
Good Gracious Me!! What a drop dead gorgeous dressing, Eric. The story was top notch as usual. Well done.
REE
Really great stuff as usual, Eric. However, my feeble brain is a bit overwhelmed as is normal when deciphering salmon fly tying instructions.
I do love them though!!
Thanks,
Rodger
What an incredible looking fly, and what effort and expertise must have gone into creating it. Thanks for sharing. It’s on my list when I finally decide to take the plunge into these dressings.
Kelly.
Kelly -
The thing is - you do have the tying skills and artistic ability to tie such flies.
May I be the first to give you a “nudge” ??
John
Thanks, John. I know I just need to take the plunge. Maybe now, as I’m healing up from the ankle and hip surgeries, I ought to get cracking. I don’t think I’ll start with this one though, I’ve thought about trying the Green Highlander for a first try. Anyway, thanks for the encouragement!
Kelly.
Your research was interesting — tying that fly had to take you hours!
Good point. Eric, how long did this fly take to tie?
Kelly.
Actually, this fly was one that kind of magically went together, as some do occasionally. I spent a couple hours each evening for maybe four evenings, so about eight hours or so. Part of that was some dying. Actual tying time, probably seven hours. I really took this one slowly, as it’s for a good friend and customer.
Kelly, you really should give these a go, they’re so frustrating but so much fun to do at the same time. The slower you go, the better. I’d suggest doing some of the more advance wet flies first, ones like the Dennison or Cassard, using goose secondaries which are cheap. They’ll marry to the wood duck more easily than will mallard. You’ve got the skills, and when all is said and done, it’s not really so much about skill as it is about patience and perseverance.
I included the old article about tying salmon flies mainly for guys who already do these. It gives some great insights on things like the tag, which was quite short, shorter that a lot of guys do these days. It’s not a great tutorial for someone wanting to learn, kind of tough to wade through, and it’s all tied in hand. I just thought it was another perspective on how things were done back then.
Thanks everyone for the kind words about the fly.