Monday, February 15, 2016

"More" North Country Flies

A very cold weekend gave me the opportunity to tie some real old North Country patterns. The patterns were from the book The North Country Fly, Yorkshire"s Soft Hackle Tradition, by Robert L. Smith. The recipes were from lists that were made at the time the flies were tied and fished. Some listed when the fly would be most effective, as well as other interesting comments. The flies are tied true to pattern for the most part exceptions being some of the game bird feathers are not available or no longer legal to obtain. North Country flies are a joy to tie and doing so I got the feeling of casting them upon the fabled waters of the North Country.



"Barlows Badger"




"Orange Starling"..........Whitakers List 1901


"Little Black Midge"......William Bradley's List, 1890


"July Dun"......James Blades' 1890



22 comments:


  1. Those are works of art Brk Trt!! When the weather warms a bit I am sure you will be field testing them!

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    1. TROUTI
      Thanks
      Pete hopefully by the end of the week or early next week we can fish again.

      Delete
  2. Alan,
    Awesome! I have to tie up a few of those little black midges and the orange starling's. They all look great, but those two just trigger "fish catcher" in my mind.
    Will

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    1. Hibernation
      Thanks
      Will, the originators of those patterns held them in high regard.
      So we all agree.

      Delete
  3. All great looking flies, Alan.
    The badger looks like a true multi-species pattern.

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    1. thedeadfisher
      Thanks
      John it would take it's share of sunfish and bluegils, perhaps a crappie also.

      Delete
  4. I'll bet you could fish an entire season with just those flies and have success. Talk about simplicity that's the epitome of simplicity. Nice job Alan, beautifully done!

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    1. Brad Basehore
      Thanks
      Brad simplicity, that's the beauty of these flies.
      Man they caught trout over a century years ago looking the same.

      Delete
  5. Wow. Not much on those flies. I am so used to everything being so big out here in the West. I would like to try tying that Barlows Badger though. I think that it would do well out here. Thanks for sharing. =)

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    1. The River Damsel
      Thanks
      Emily, they're the bare minimum. They would sure interest trout out in your neck of the woods.

      Delete
  6. John Shaner puts on a great presentation pointing out that not many people fish these flies because they're rarely found in fly bins since nobody will pay $2.50 for a bit of thread and 1 or 2 turns of game-bird feather. Your flies are wonderful sparse beauties.

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    1. Chuck Coronato
      Thanks
      Chuck he's right. But those same anglers will fill their boxes with 3.00 flies that will never catch a fish.

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  7. Great looking flies Alan. It does make me wonder why people go through so much to tie complicated flies when simpler seems to work well.

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    1. Howard Levett
      Thanks
      Howard there are plus and minus to all types of flies. But the simplicity and effectiveness of soft -hackle/spiders makes one think WHY?

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  8. Alan
    I have become a fan of this pattern, and I use these when other patterns aren't producing. Thanks for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell
      Thanks
      Bill those times when trout can be so selective soft-hackles can make the difference.

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  9. Alan,
    These are gorgeous! You have raised the bar in beauty and simplicity! Your Barlows Badger is one that makes me want to run to my vice and start filling that little bitty space left in my box with this beauty! I can see your speckled darlings falling for any of the above! John Shaner is a master at tying spiders and wets and is quite a historian of the same! A great guy to talk to as well!
    Beautiful, beautiful work Alan! I love your style of tying!
    Doug

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    1. Dougsden
      Thanks
      Doug, you as a fly tyer know that we must always have the next pattern we see hold a slot in our fly box. The histories of these flies are what led me to first tie them, and when they're fished that decision to do that is reinforced.....tie on friend.

      Delete
  10. Alan, I love that "Barlow's Badger." What color/type of thread did you use there?

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    Replies
    1. Ditto! Is it peacock herl body and a badger soft hackle?

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  11. Very nice flies, Alan. I am really digging that Barlows Badger pattern.

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    Replies
    1. Justin Carf
      Thanks
      Justin quite a few have said the same. I do really favor the "Orange Starling"

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