while all of us in the Northern Hemisphere are secretly hating all those that aren’t, impatiently waiting for open waters and better days… here’s a more than amusing and informative and oh boy, once again reminder that while certain details have changed through fly fishing history, the bigger picture hasn’t evolved that much.
a few tidbits-
and if those don’t get your interest, this one on rod-holding ‘butt spears’ should do the trick.
click either text/image to access the complete 400 or so page book. its well worth the read, besides, well, its well worth the read.
the guy sure had a lot to say about everything one might want to know and then more. enjoy !
* please don’t ask. i have no idea and i really don’t want to know.
i of course don’t mean any disrespect as i really like this video and Herman’s demeanour but ! apart from the bright green egg sack, to be honest, i can’t for the life of me see this fly as anything caddisy… but (again) ! lets have a closer look at this fly’s other component, one we can easily transfer over to countless other dry/emerger/floating nymph patterns; the Christie-style Parachute hackling method.
no style is an end-all but this one really stands out from the crowd on several levels, most notably by its ‘puffed-up in a ball’ fibre positions but also overall strength and resistance to fish teeth and other abrasions.
more ‘traditional’ hackling around the hook shank has the fibres oriented vertically when the fly is resting at the surface whereas others where the hackle is wound on a post such as the Klinkhammer or Christie styles have them horizontally, parallel to the water’s surface.
generally speaking, vertical fibres will have only their tips in contact with the water’s surface, thus the fly’s body is suspended above the surface whereas horizontal fibres are splayed out on the water. the latter leaves a bigger imprint on the surface but also does a better job at suspending what’s beneath it, in this case, the fly’s body or ‘floating nymph’ as it where.
as to it’s sturdiness, what makes this one so close to the proverbial bullet-proofness is that the hackle stem it enclosed within the nylon loop. should one segment be torn, the rest still hold their place, something traditionally wound hackles can’t claim. one little nick and the fly needs to be changed.
i don’t loose a lot of flies so how they hold up through time is important. (i’m also very lazy when it comes to tying sessions, or rather, it’s hard for me to actually start tying flies. once i’ve started i can’t stop and it’s not like flies are precious but i just don’t know when i’ll feel like tying again so the ones that have hatched are expected to last. i’ve digressed enough….) anyhow !
a while back we’d already seen Roy’s Reverse Parachute step-by-step and complete video tutorial and while Herman’s version isn’t a night and day variant, something about it makes the whole nylon post and hackling method seem simpler, something that should be of great interest for the person wanting to learn and try out this hackling method.
my guess is the ‘simpler’ part might have to do with using a Gallows tool to hold the nylon post vertically and tight whereas Roy does without. i’ve been tying mine for years without the tool and it of course works very well but i’ll give it a try soon as i suspect it makes winding the hackle easier and more importantly, easier to keep the winds compacted close to the hook before tightening the loop.
in a pinch, you can make a little metal hook from a paper clip and attach that to a rubber band, the lot suspended from your tying light or have someone hold the nylon post while you wind the hackle. it only takes a few seconds, plus its a good way to put your partner/spouse/sexdwarf/roommate/butler or whomever’s handy to good use… ummmm, enjoy !
i can imagine three possible explanations to this rare beauty and only one makes sense.
– there was nothing above such as a tree or whatever where water could have fallen and frozen stalagmite-like.
– water could have been pushed up from the ground. that’s indeed plausible but by the inner bubble formations it would seem that they expanded outwards from the ice formation’s core and not from the ground.
– fairies made this just for me to force me to question everything i’ve learned and accepted as fact so far. i’ll take this one.
Loren Eiseley’s fantastic “If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in Water” quote instantly comes to mind and today’s little discovery couldn’t be a finer example of what she meant. i wonder if she too believes in fairies.
this is where i regularly practice my casting when there’s no need for current. grass fields are ok and certain elements of different casts are best addressed on land but why not make it a bit more ‘real’ specially when that real is just a short drive from home in such a nice setting.
i’m holding a course today with two lovely and very enthusiastic people. that last part is what really pushes me to try to do my best. if i manage to fulfil half my personal expectations things should be more than fine for them. we still have a few things to work out on grass but next series of courses will be here, can’t wait to be back ‘home’.
another doozy from the infamous “Detached Badger of “The Field” *, Frederic Michael Halford, first printed in 1889 via openlibrary.org
