Phil, that rod looks suspiciously like a PHY Perfectionist, perhaps from the Summers era. You have good taste....... I've had mine for over 30 years and it's still an amazing stick.

JC, Yes, I'm planning on attending the Expo again in 2019 and it looks like they are going to have me do a tying demo which will be my first one at this event. Also, I'm tentatively planning on doing a tying class at Gate's in May. If/when this is scheduled I'll post it on the Forum. I've seen the c...

All this talk of Funeral pie and Shoo Fly pies, both wet and dry bottom is making me hungry! Actually, I was in Lancaster, PA just yesterday. Having enough PA German in my ancestry to be genetically hard wired to crave that stuff, but also knowing that the girlfriend is baking up a Holiday storm, I ...

35.jpg Here is a fly from the Henry Walbran Cooper collection that Rob Smith has identified as a "Great Brown Deel Crook" or March brown. The photo was taken by my brother and appears on page 16 in Rob's book. What is interesting with this particular fly is the use of the wing butts to fo...

And a tip of my hat to John the Magician! Much better!

What doesn't show is their size, no larger than a modern 18.

Tups TFAL.jpg These flies are the specimen Tups flies from the De Luxe edition of Eric Taverner's Trout Fishing From All Angles 1929, and were dressed by Miss Austin. The pattern on the left is the Nymph and on the right is the Spinner. I apologize for the blurry photo but the flies are housed unde...

Skues' TI Dubbing Sample.jpg Here is a scan of the sample that is shown in the FFCL Journal. The photo in the Journal isn't the best and some allowances should be made for the scan, but I think it translates the color relatively well. In the article, it is stated that the sample was kept in a dark ...

Both samples are much pinker than the sample shown in the FFCL's Journal. Of course, any fur blend can and will vary with each batch and over time. I think the point to be made is that the original was not the solid pink that most TI's now exhibit, Syl Nemes' flies being a good example of this color...

Phil, You beat me to it! The reason that I posted the Tups material was that the latest edition of the Journal Of the Fly-Fishers' Club of London just reprinted the original 1934 article and I thought that some would like to see it. But you saved me the trouble! There is a photo of two TI's dressed ...

John, thanks for your insight. The hooks that I have seen in photos of genuine Frank S PT’s look fairly long in the shank and certainly have huge barbs compared to modern day hooks. Does the colour or the fly make much difference? In my experience as a long in the tooth guide there are days when it...