Just when you think you know something. By now I should have heard of every last Catskill fly there ever was. I’ve certainly read enough books. So imagine my stunned amazement when I came across this fly in Ed Van Put’s book*Trout Fishing in the Catskills.
One very interesting thing I’ve notice about this fly is that it is identical to a fly I fished back when that we called the “Whirling Blue Dun”. As a matter of fact, in an earlier article I did on that fly, the example I tied then is nearly the same as this one ~Eric Austin
Well I thought lets do a side-by-side comparison of the “Le Branche” versus the “Whirling Blue Dun” and see the difference (if any)!
[LEFT][/LEFT]
La Branche
[LEFT]Tail: Gray hackle fibers
Body: Blue-gray dubbing ribbed with gold tinsel
Hackle: Blue Dun
Wings: Gray mallard wing quill[/LEFT]
Whirling Blue Dun
Tip: Flat gold tinsel.
Tail: Blue dun hackle.
Ribbing: Flat gold tinsel.
Wing: Dark gray mallard.
Body: Muskrat or Mink dubbing.
Hackle: Blue dun.
Yes! I can see the similarities, where at first glance the two fly patterns could easily be confused with each other. They are both similar in shape and size, but the materials used are completely different, resulting at first glance, in identical fly patterns. A interesting dilemma to contemplate! ~Parnelli