#pryce-tannatt

[flytyingarchive]

Green Highlander. One of those patterns you either love or hate. It has an unusual color scheme which is probably the reason why it has become so popular. It’s one the classic flies that I’ve tied the most and it’s a pattern that I like to tie every once in a while to sort of see how I’ve progressed in my tying. As usual when I start tying a fly for this blog I do a quick search on Google to see what’s already out there. Although this version from T.E. Pryce-Tannatt’s How to dress Salmon Flies from 1914 is probably the most known there were not many that were fully tied according to the pattern. I admit that I like to mix the patterns too but thought that I’d tie one just as the book describes as a reference for people looking for the P-T version. Two alterations I made is that I tied the tippets from full feathers as I think is appropriate when tying the fly in larger sizes and I moved the Peacock wing to the bottom of the wing as I struggled to find long enough Peacock for this 4/0 hook by Jarkko Reinola. For the version from Kelson click here. Green Highlander (Pryce-Tannatt 1914) Tag: Silver tinsel. Tail: A topping and barred Summer Duck in strands. Butt: Black herl. Body: First quarter, golden yellow floss; remainder, bright green floss. Ribs: Oval silver tinsel. Hackle: A grass-green hackle. Throat: A lemon hackle. Wings: Mixed--tippet in strands; “married” strands of yellow, orange and green Swan, Florican, Peacock wing and Golden Phesant tail; "married” narrow strips of Teal and barred Summer Duck; narrow strips of brown Mallard over. Sides: Jungle Cock. Cheeks: Indian Crow; a topping over all. Horns: Blue and Yellow Macaw.

[flytyingarchive]

Alexandra Simple pattern that's better known as a trout fly and was quite controversial fly early on in the trout streams of England. This version however is aimed more for salmon and I tied it on an antique double hook to give it even more bulk. The dressing is nice and simple but there are couple things to note on the wings. Make sure that you get feathers from both right and left side when buying Peacock sword feathers. It's important to have equal amount of fibers from both sides on the wing and preferably both on their own sides. This way the wing will be symmetrical and not curve to one side. I usually tie the wing from 2 to 3 smaller bunches on both sides to make it more secure.  Here's the pattern as per Pryce-tannatt for this fly with numerous variations.

Tail : Scarlet Ibis. Body : Flat silver tinsel. Throat : A black or badger hackle. Wings : Peacock sword feather in strips. Cheeks : Jungle Cock.

[flytyingarchive]

Greenwell Another classic salmon fly that is found in many variations in the old books. This one is tied according to the pattern in T.E. Pryce-Tannatt's How to dress Salmon Flies (1914) that is usually concidered to be one of the last classic books on salmon fly tying. The pattern again differs a bit from the older ones published. The Greenwell is usually said to have been designed by the famous Tweed tyer James Wright and it could very well be true after all he knew C.W. Greenwell who designed the famous Greenwell's Glory and had Wright tie it to him. Kelson for example is very specific in his Land & Water series that this is one of Wright's original patterns and named after Canon Greenwell. I tied this one a bit larger than usual on a 6/0 hook so I had to omit the teal mentioned in the pattern as first part of the married main wing as there simply isn't one long enough. Also used different kind of turkey for the white-tipped under wing than usual. This one has a nice light mottled base as opposed to the more traditional dark brown but I think it suits the pattern nicely. The underwing is probably the most crucial part on a fly like this as it's hard to tie in so that it sits low and doesn't kick up and get hidden inside the main wing. There are few things you can do to prevent this. First the point where you tie the under wing should be as flat as possible. This means that you must build it up with your tying thread so that the base is leveled with the bump caused by the throat hackle. The tie in point should also be leveled so that it's not slanting forward at an angle. When these preparations have been made it should now be a bit easier to tie in the white-tipped turkey. Moisten the fibers from the tie in point. Hold the slips parallel to the shank when tightening down and it should lay nice and low. You can then hump the wing by drawing the top fibers from the shoulder forward(and up) and it will make the wing curve down a bit. Check the tie in point so that the wing has compressed nicely and there are no creases. The Greenwell as per T.E. Pryce-Tannatt Tag : Silver tinsel. Tail : A topping and a pair of Jungle Cock  feathers (back to back).   Butt: Black herl.   Body : Pale blue floss.   Ribs : Broad flat silver tinsel and twist.   Hackle : A pale blue hackle.   Throat : Widgeon.   Wings : A pair of black white-tipped Turkey  tail strips (back to back) ; over these,  but not entirely hiding them, a mixed  "sheath" of "married" strands of Teal,  yellow and blue Swan, Bustard, Florican, and Golden Pheasant tail ;  " married " narrow strips of Pintail and  barred Summer Duck ; narrow strips of  brown Mallard over. Cheeks : Jungle Cock ; a topping over.   Horns : Blue and Yellow Macaw.

[flytyingarchive]

Mar Lodge Very popular classic salmon fly that can be found in many fly boxes even today. One of the nicest things about this fly is that it uses only natural materials so no feather has to be dyed for this one. The black bar in the center can also be tied longer 1/3 of the body but I prefer it to be shorter. The recipe says two or three turns of Black floss which isn't really accurate description.  The ribbing is another part that you can play with. I like to use seven turns instead of my usual five and measure it so that there's three turns on each section of silver and one turn goes straight through the black bar in the middle. The pattern specifies the underwing to be "Mixed - Tippet in strands". For aesthetic reasons I chose to tie whole tippets back to back and stripped the top side of the feathers. For a fishing fly I would tie it either in strands or with whole feathers depending on the size of the fly and the bulk I would be looking for. As other famous flies of the period different variations can be found in number of books but I really prefer T.E. Pryce-Tannatt's recipe for this one. I think it's the most balanced variation and the different materials complement each other brilliantly.

Mar Lodge (hook, 1 1/4 to 3 inches) Tag: Silver Tinsel. Tail: A Topping and a pair of Jungle Cock feathers (back to back). Butt: Black Herl. Body: Flat silver tinsel, jointed at the middle with two or three turns of black floss. Ribs: Narrow oval tinsel. Throat: Speckled Gallina. Wings: Mixed - tippet in strands; "married" strands of white Swan, Bustard, Florican, cinnamon, mottled grey and mottled brown Turkey tail and Golden Pheasant tail. Sides: Broad strips of barred Summer Duck. Cheeks: Jungle Cock; a topping over all. Horns: Blue and Yellow Macaw.

[flytyingarchive]

Jock Scott Step by Step Probably the best known and most popular Salmon Fly of its time. Famous anglers such as Major J.P. Traherne have said that if they could have only one fly to fish with it would be a Jock Scott. Bold statement from a man who himself is regarded as the finest fly designer by many today. If you are interested in the history of this pattern there is a magnificent article on the web by David Zincavage that you might want to look for. The pattern I used is from T.E. Pryce-Tannatt. It's rarely tied today using all of the original materials because some of them are rare and quite expensive. So feel free to substitute some of the materials with similar ones if you don't have them. Jock Scott (hook, 1 1/4 to 3 inches) Tag: Silver Tinsel. Tail: A Topping and Indian Crow. Butt: Black Herl. Body: In two equal halves - first half, Golden Yellow Floss butted with black herl, and veiled above and below with six or more Toucan feathers; second half, Black Floss. Ribs: Fine oval Silver Tinsel over Golden Yellow Floss, broader oval Silver Tinsel or flat Silver Tinsel and Twist (in the large sizes) over the Black Floss. Hackle: A Black Hackle over the Black Floss. Throat: Speckled Gallina. Wings: A pair of black White-tipped Turkey tail strips (back to back); over these, but not entirely covering them, a "mixed" sheath of "married" strands of Peacock wing, Yellow, Scarlet and Blue Swan, Bustard, Florican and Golden Pheasant tail; two strands of Peacock sword feather above; "married" narrow strips of Teal and barred Summer Duck at the sides; brown Mallard over. Sides: Jungle Cock. Cheeks: Blue Chatterer; a Topping over all. Horns: Blue and Yellow Macaw.

[flytyingarchive]

Black Doctor as per T.E. Pryce-Tannatt Another well known classic salmon fly. Most salmon fishers can point out a Doctor fly when they see one but there's so many variations today that I think it's good to tie it once in a while following the old recipes. There are of course older versions of the Black Doctor than the Pryce-Tannatt's one but I think this is the mostly used pattern for variations. I personally like the one in Kelson's Salmon Fly with a blue hackle even more than this one. Doctor series is perhaps easiest to identify from the red Berlin Wool butt and head. My suggestion is to never tie them from a yarn but instead dub the wool to your tying thread. This way you will have more control on the form and make a sturdier fly for fishing. I like to form the head by dubbing the thread from front to back and making a whip finish with the last turns of dubbing to the base of the wing. The Black Doctor recipe like it is in T.E. Pryce-Tannatt's How to Dress Salmon Flies from 1914 Black Doctor (hook, 1 1/4 to 2 inches). Tag : Silver thread and lemon floss. Tail : A topping and Indian Crow. Butt : Scarlet Berlin wool. Body: Black floss. Ribs : Oval silver tinsel. Hackle : A dark claret hackle. Throat : Speckled Gallina.  Wings : Mixed tippet in strands with strips of Golden Pheasant tail over ; " married " strands of scarlet, blue and yellow Swan, Florican, Bustard, Peacock wing, and light, mottled Turkey tail ; " married " narrow strips of Teal and barred Summer Duck; narrow strips of brown Mallard over ; a topping over all. Head : Scarlet wool.

[flytyingarchive]

The Baron One of the legendary patterns from T.E Pryce-Tannat's book How to Dress Salmon Flies. I took some artistic freedom with the excecution but here's the pattern as described in the book. Tag:Silver thread and ruby red floss Tail: A topping, Indian Crow and Blue Chatterer Butt: Black herl Body: In two equal halves - first half, flat silver tinsel, butted with black herl and veiled above and below with Indian Crow ; second half, black floss Ribs: Oval silver tinsel Hackle: A dark claret hackle over the black floss Throat: Jay Wings: Mixed - tippet in strands ; "married" strands of scarlet, blue and yellow swan, Florican, Bustard, grey Turkey tail and strips of Teal and barred Summer Duck ; narrow strips of brown Mallard over Sides: Jungle Cock Cheeks: Blue Chatterer ; a topping over all Horns: Blue and Yellow Macaw

[flytyingarchive]

The Baron from T.E. Pryce-Tannatt step by step