I hope you all will excuse me for taking so long to comment on the last couple of flies that Ray has posted. Many of the flies in this thread appear in Rob Smith's recent book, but even though the first fly in question is included, he doesn't name it. But here's the beauty of the book; I was able to...

I have been fortunate to have dressed flies with Water Rat and my observation is that it is spikier and glassier than mole. Remember, a mole has no guard hairs, his fur is omni-directional. Otherwise he would have trouble backing up in his tunnel. WR on the other hand has guard hairs that are remove...

Bill, This original Dark Watchet is most likely dubbed with Water Rat, now almost impossible to get. The often stated substitute is mole, hardly a spiky dubbing material! What you are seeing is an extreme close up of a fly roughly size 16 so the individual fibers appear much coarser. The hackle as r...

The Dark Watchet, a real classic North Country Spider and my personal favorite. This the screen-saver on my laptop........

I got the following from Rob Smith this morning. Rob's knowledge of just this one pattern and the research he put into it's history is exactly why anyone with an interest in North Country flies will want a copy of his upcoming book! Hi John, This is going to be a LONG EMAIL hope you are sitting comf...

Rob Smith tells me it is a " Hackled Duel Cruik". In Geoffrey Bucknall's "The Bright Stream of Memory" he gives a pattern for a "Devil Crook". Wings: Quill Feather of a Partridge Body: Ash Colored Silk dubbed with a little fur from a Hare's Ear Hackle: Partridge Feather...

I've seen some tied on top and some on the bottom of the hook. There may be some slippage during the process of "whipping" the gut to the hook and that what may be happened in the case of this fly. John Jackson in "The Practical Fly Fisher" recommended tieing the gut in on top of...

William,

I think you have the tying sequence exactly right! Under magnification it looks as if there is just a turn of gold tinsel for a tag. The peacock is matched perfectly as to length, a really beautiful fly.

Must be late Ray.......To answer your question, I did steam this particular fly a bit, but otherwise it's in "as found" condition and just a fine and bright as if, like you said, it was tied five minutes ago. Also, it looks like it was dressed with orange silk. It's pattern no. 56 in Pritt...

Rob Smith sure is a wealth of information! I doubt that anyone knows, or has ever known, more about the North Country Spider and it's heritage than Rob. I've been corresponding with him for quite some time and the depth of his knowledge is astounding. He's also a really nice guy! His book is due out...