Paul, What's your books say about the history of braided tubing flies- zonkers, minnows, etc. Then the foam sheet fly 'revolution'- Chernoybl ant & hopper. Then Synthetic stacking/sculpting material, i.e. McFlyfoam. - eggs, frogs, crabs, mice
DOnO ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Marriner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2003 5:20 PM Subject: Re: [VFB] Major Pattern Inventions (long) > Wes, to properly answer your question (suggestion) one must consider the > entire history of fly-fishing, a period exceeding 500 years at least as > far as the English language is concerned. With some exceptions (Atlantic > salmon & bass flies primarily but not exclusively), the focus for about > 450 of those years was the imitation or representation of natural > insects to catch trout. About 150 - 200 years ago, the basic > confirmation of the dry fly was "set." That is, tail, body, wings, & > ruff hackle. Anything afterwards, that followed that conformation (i.e. > a Wulff), was merely a material substitution. Downwing flies extend > backwards 500 years, so Trudes and EHC styles are material > substitutions. Comparadun forms aren't new either, at least one > progenitor, the Haystack, is over 70 years old. Parachutes are a > "modern" invention, being only 70 or so years old. > > At least as far as I can tell, the modern form of the nymph (tail, > abdomen, thorax, wingcase, "legs") was created by Skues more than 100 > years ago; anything later is a material substitution. One might consider > beadheads a modern invention but they are, if all claims are correct, a > century old as well. > > Streamers are often considered an American invention, but they aren't. > 300 years ago European anglers were fishing with flies made with whole > hackle feather wings. Even the word streamer is questionable, I have a > book dated in the mid-1800s from Canada that refers to an "Indian > Streamer" pattern that would work quite well today. Bucktails are merely > a material substitution. > > It was in around the mid-20th century that things changed. With the > advent of hundreds of synthetic materials, new lines, and the expansion > of fly-fishing as a method to include almost anything that swims; new > patterns exploded. I wouldn't try and say who was first with what, but > the imitations of saltwater baitfish, crabs, shrimp, etc., did take new > directions, very diffenent in concept from the trout, salmon, bass > heritage. > > Other historic tidbits: early use of wound marabou (170 years ago), > early use of metal propellor on flies (120 years ago), early use of > flash material in wings (100 years ago), etc. As an aside, imitations of > terrestrials are more than 500 years old. > > However, when it comes to trout flies, if it walks like a duck, and > quacks like a duck, it's likely a duck. At least 80% of the designs you > mentioned essentially involve variations on well established forms. > > So, having rambled on for some time, off the top of my head what do I > consider to be ten true innovations in fly-tying methods? They are > listed below in no particular order, and to my knowledge few if any can > be attributed 100% to an individual. > > 1. spinning deer hair on the hook so that one can shape a body. > 2. the use of a tube, rather than a hook, on which to mount materials. > 3. parachute hackle > 4. winding of a hackle (likely predated first English-language writing, > likely 600 years or more). > 5. woven hair hackles - never really caught on but was certainly unique. > 6. crocheted or woven bodies > 7. combination of plastic (resins) and natural materials; Wulff's > Surface Stonefly is an example (not the first) - this led into the epoxy > revolution. > 8. extended bodies > 9. fur strip wings (150 years old) - this is a close call > 10. altering the shape of the hook to achieve certain affects, e.g., the > keel hook > > Have a go with this list to see what you might add. > > > 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.
