Your response is fascinating to read. I had NO idea! What are you referring to with 'inky boy fiasco'? Never heard that term before.
Thanks, Wes Wada Bend, Oregon
William Bailey wrote:
It is my understanding that it had to do with job security. Selling
flies was a competitive business then as it is now. If you could produce
flies that no one else knew how to make, then you had a monopoly on
them. I've read that that's why Blacker's instructions were so obscure.
It's virtually impossible to tie some of his flies in the way that he
describes. In those days women's hats were frequently loaded with an
unbelievable amount of feathers. As the story goes, a fly tyer named Pat
McKay walked into one of these hat stores in 1810 during a visit to
Ballyshannon and discovered a wealth of exotic feathers. In order to
have something different to sell, he began incorporating them into his
flies. Thus began the history of the gaudy fly which peaked around the
turn of the last century with the inky boy fiasco when people became
aware that such exotic, complex creations weren't really necessary to
catch salmon.
I have become especially interested in the earlier, plainer flies.
I've learned to use natural dyes and have sought out the old materials
like hog's wool, mohair and fine yarns. There is also a lot of
interesting reading from those days about flies and fishing
Bill
-----Original Message----- On Behalf Of Wes Wada Subject: [VFB] Atlantic Salmon Flies?
Hi all,
Something crossed my mind about classic Atlantic Salmon flies, and maybe somebody (hello Paul Marriner! *g*) or other expert can help me out...
I've grown up with western U.S. flyfishing where, no argument, a lot of the fly patterns developed over the decades are decidedly scruffy, bland, colorless, and commonplace...but oh, so effective.
I've found when fishing the landlocked Atlantics in Hosmer Lake that they will take any well-presented fly, in fact, in August a simple white streamer does wonders. The personality of these fish strike me as very much like cutthroats, that is, not the brightest bulb in the chandelier and very aggressive, almost reckless feeders. Not sure how bent out of shape these Atlantics are mentally compared to their wild cousins in the eastern wilds of the US and Canada, but they should share some genes and preferences, right?
BUT, how in the world did classic Atlantic Salmon flies end up being so ornate and involved? It's hard to imagine what process of fly design evolution would lead to such complex patterns, when (I would suspect) simple, more natural patterns might work equally well?
What was the story here?
Thanks for the enlightenment!
Wes Wada Bend, Oregon
