Re: North Country spider article
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2020 10:18 am
I love stuff! So glad you choose this forum to have this discussion.
Be our guest and all. I will reply to any reasonable question, and I am sure so will Rob.
A forum to discuss tying and fishing wingless wet flies and other soft hackle fly patterns
https://flymphforum.com/
Especially not the donkeys. A lot of the way we fish today is governed by what happened in the past, but it doesn't mean to say that what they did way back was right. Personally, I will settle for any shade of Fiery Brown that doesn't involve me collecting donkey pee.wsbailey wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 10:40 am When I first got into fly tying years ago; I learned that one of the mysteries of fly tying was; how did Rogan got the color for his Fiery Brown fly. The only clue, apparently, was that he used donkey urine. I did a huge amount of research, traveled hundreds of miles, did a number of dye experiments and spent a ton of money. In the end I learned that nobody gives a #&%@.
I called these my "Fiery March Brown Soft Hackle Nymphs"Anherd wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 10:47 amEspecially not the donkeys. A lot of the way we fish today is governed by what happened in the past, but it doesn't mean to say that what they did way back was right. Personally, I will settle for any shade of Fiery Brown that doesn't involve me collecting donkey pee.wsbailey wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 10:40 am When I first got into fly tying years ago; I learned that one of the mysteries of fly tying was; how did Rogan got the color for his Fiery Brown fly. The only clue, apparently, was that he used donkey urine. I did a huge amount of research, traveled hundreds of miles, did a number of dye experiments and spent a ton of money. In the end I learned that nobody gives a #&%@.
It is interesting, I have a feeling we won't ever quite get to the bottom of it though.wsbailey wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 11:07 am Aged urine has been used since ancient times for cleaning and dyeing. I have an Irish dye book from around 1900 that tells how to make an indigo vat with it. In County Donegal, where Rogan lived, the weavers were still gathering lichens (crottle) up to 1940 to dye the wool for their tweed clothing. Francis Francis tells us that believed Rogan used crottle for dyeing.
That might well be right, but remember that article in Alexander's Salmon Fishing in Canada? Even in the 1860s there must have been a lot of disagreement about what the 'real' fiery brown was!wsbailey wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 11:28 am I think the reason Rogan never revealed the process in print is because it was common knowledge. I have some of the extract that was used to dye Tyrian purple. The exact process was lost to history in the 15th century. Later the process was re-discovered centuries later. But because it was a result of experimentation and not an actual written record; we can't say this is the purple of ancient times. It's a modern interpretation.