Andora Spey
This
pattern has captured my fascination since described to me by Bryant
Freeman one fine fall day on River Philip Nova Scotia. Bryant is
well known in salmon circles, as a master fly-tier, and even better
story teller, a great guy who always greets with a smile and a
laugh, a true ambassador of the sport of chasing Atlantic salmon.
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Athol Butterfly
The
original Engle's Butterfly is a favorite of many anglers and
justifiably so, since it's such a producer. It stands out among
hairwings in it's originality of the concept of a laid back hair
wing but split. The vastly accepted Mirimachi butterfly is somewhat
different, tied primarily on turned down eye hooks, and with wild
color combinations. MORE...
Athol Wine
This
fly stems from asking a guy what he caught a grilse on one morning,
and he lied and told me it was similar to this pattern, but I found
out later, it was actually something else he caught it on. Me being
a young guy and bothering him to ask "whatcha catch that on?",
he wasn't a very friendly sort, so he reluctantly answered me,
telling me it had a wine colored body, squirrel wing, and yellow
hackle. MORE...
Brown Tippet
This
fly is very simplistic and has become one of my best fishing flies
for salmon. This color scheme is a spinoff of my original Tippet
fly. I have searched every book I can find, as simple as it is, the
closest I've seen to this pattern is called the Black Jack, and it
is tied the same, but no wing, hackle only. The original is orange
tippet tail, black seal body, black fox fur wing, black hackle, but
this pattern seems to work well also. Easy to tie and catches fish,
and still looks decent in a variety of colors.
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Calf Killer
This
fly would be a "cousin" to my Forbsie pattern. It secured
itself a spot in my box the first season I tied it by catching me
several salmon that year, including 5 in one evening. I had worked
all day, leaving work 15 minutes away from River Philip and the Town
Pool in Oxford at 4:30 pm, I didn't have much more than an hour
before sunset when I got there, it being the fall season.
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Grandma's Coat
This
fly is made to be as colorful as that old coat your Grandma used to
wear, at least when I was a kid, my grandma had one. I'm not sure
what inspired me to tie it in this particular way, maybe the
combination of the shrimp style flies being so productive, and the
ever present desire to show the salmon something different.
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March Brown Salmon
This
fly is tied in the style of the Fur Flies that I have used with
success over the last few years. They are tied to be somewhat of a
spey pattern, but using only fur as the palmered "hackle". This
color combination is deadly for the trout and salmon in my area,
spring, summer or fall. The Fur fly series breathes under water,
bringing the fly to life in current, and a translucent glow most
appealing when wet. MORE...
October Copper
Just
a little home grown pattern, the copper is the key, not a lot of
traditional fly pattern options for the color of copper, other than
the Copper Killer. This fly produced 2 salmon the first day I used
it. Copper is a color that salmon that are used to flies, don't see
very often and may be different enough to attract the salmon's
interest, especially on a sunny October day.
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Orange Forbsie
Not
that this pattern is so different than any other, I have not seen it
in any book, exactly as it is. The original pattern I called the
Forbsie Worbsie, a few of the old timers in my area really liked
this pattern, including my father, who taught me everything I know
about catch Atlantic Salmon.
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