One needs to be very careful about claiming credit for a fly-tying technique. I'm not intending to disparage anyone, but rather just make a few observations:
1) the Helen Shaw technique Joyce referred to is normal spun dubbing. Nonetheless, Joyce pointed out in a DEC post that this is very similar technique to that used by Polly Rosborough. Also, Dave Whitlock has long used another noodle technique that feeds dubbing from a "ball" held in the hand; this is also shown in Benchside. 2) here's a quote from John Veniard's Further Guide to Fly Tying (1964); "You must all have seen illustrations of dubbing spiralled round the tying silk, but this is not good enough if the fur is to stay in place during use." The context here is that "dubbing noodle" or "rope dubbing" techniques, while very good for long-fibered materials, are less useful for short-fibered dubbing. However, it's clear from his comment that dubbing spiralled around the thread was common before he wrote the book. 3) I have a beadhead caddis pupa pattern that I tied some years ago using the "rope dub" technique. The date on the photo of the fly is March 1993 and the pattern certainly predated the photo by several years. I still have a number of them in one of my nymph boxes. I was using a fairly coarse, synthetic, long-fibered dubbing. Unfortunately I transferred the dubbing from the original packages into a "card file" and so don't have the trade name. Please note that I am not claiming to have developed or created the technique; it's almost certain that I learned it from another tier or picked it up from a book or article - likely Rosborough as his book is dated 1965. The most likely reason I didn't go to the trouble of an extra loop like Rosborough is that I didn't intend to take a rasp to my body to roughen it; and I'm a very lazy tier. Once again, this isn't meant to "dump" on anyone, I merely suggest care in claiming originality. It's always safer in my view to use the word "popularized" rather than "originated." Cheers, Paul -- Paul Marriner Outdoor Writing & Photography. Member OWAA & OWC. Author of Stillwater Fly Fishing - Tools & Tactics (CD), Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies, Miramichi River Journal, Ausable River Journal, and Atlantic Salmon.
