The Snipe Bloa
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 11:21 am
The Snipe Bloa appears as Pattern #30 (illustrated on Plate 6) in T.E. Pritt’s 1886 Second Edition of “North Country Flies”. He describes it as being “… a splendid killer” and advises that “… it is fished universally in Yorkshire and Lancashire.”
As for its origins, Pritt states that “It is Theakston’s Bloa brown, and is probably to be identified with the Light Bloa of Jackson.” These gentlemen both published fly listings in the mid-1800s (Michael Theakston’s “List of Natural Flies …” in 1853 and John Jackson’s “The Practical Fly Fisher …” in 1854.) However, the pattern appears twice on a seasonal listing of flies by Jonathon Pickard of Yorkshire in 1820, so it obviously had been around somewhat earlier.
In his book The North Country Fly, Robert Smith advises that the Snipe Bloa serves well as an imitation of the English Blue-winged Olive dun stage (a distinctly different insect from the North American Baetis family), and also works well when Common Yellow Sally stoneflies are about.
Pritt’s recipe and my version of the fly are as follows:
Hook: 0 (I have used a Mustad 94840, Size #14)
Hackle: Hackled with feather from under Snipe’s wing (undercovert)
Body: Yellow silk with a spare dubbing of Mole’s fur, but not sufficient to hide the yellow body
(I have used Pearsall’s Gossamer #5 yellow)
As for its origins, Pritt states that “It is Theakston’s Bloa brown, and is probably to be identified with the Light Bloa of Jackson.” These gentlemen both published fly listings in the mid-1800s (Michael Theakston’s “List of Natural Flies …” in 1853 and John Jackson’s “The Practical Fly Fisher …” in 1854.) However, the pattern appears twice on a seasonal listing of flies by Jonathon Pickard of Yorkshire in 1820, so it obviously had been around somewhat earlier.
In his book The North Country Fly, Robert Smith advises that the Snipe Bloa serves well as an imitation of the English Blue-winged Olive dun stage (a distinctly different insect from the North American Baetis family), and also works well when Common Yellow Sally stoneflies are about.
Pritt’s recipe and my version of the fly are as follows:
Hook: 0 (I have used a Mustad 94840, Size #14)
Hackle: Hackled with feather from under Snipe’s wing (undercovert)
Body: Yellow silk with a spare dubbing of Mole’s fur, but not sufficient to hide the yellow body
(I have used Pearsall’s Gossamer #5 yellow)