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Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 9:39 am
by tie2fish
Back in 2013, fellow member Dougsden let me borrow his copy of Sylvester Nemes' book Six Months in Scotland -- a telling of Nemes' adventures while spending half a year in northern Scotland living in a cottage hard by a noted salmon river. One of the more memorable parts of the book is a somewhat sketchy description of a moderately outlandish fly he concocted specifically to see if he could actually catch a salmon with it.

There is a listing of the components in the text for what he named "Salar's Nemesis" and in some copies of the book there is a photo of the fly on the facing page. After reading the book (thank you, Doug), I naturally had to tie a version just to see how it would look, despite the fact that I did not have all of the exact materials at that time. It didn't look too bad to me then, and I did post it on the Forum.

Recently the author of another fine soft hackle forum (Alan Petrucci's "Small Stream Reflections") did a couple of posts about this fly, including his efforts to downsize it from a salmon fly to a trout fly and use it to fish some of the excellent brook trout streams that he frequents. Well, as it turns out, the wild brook trout he seeks out really like it. Being the shameless copycat that I am, I decided to give this pattern another go, this time tying it on a much smaller hook with the intentions of trying it out on brown trout. Here's the result:

Hook: Daiichi 1760, Size 12
Thread: Pearsall's Gossamer #19, hot orange
Tail: Golden pheasant tippets
Rib: Flat gold tinsel, small
Body: Alec Jackson silk floss, orange
Thorax: Seal dyed "Tangerine" in split thread
Cheeks: Jungle cock nails
Hackle: Saddle hackle, fluor orange
Head: Thread wraps coated with Griff's Thin (2 coats) and then Veniard's Cellire #1 Clear Varnish (3 coats)

Image

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 10:25 am
by Roadkill
Great looking tie!! 8-)

What size did Nemes tie it in?

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 12:41 pm
by tie2fish
Roadkill wrote: What size did Nemes tie it in?
Big. Atlantic salmon size -- probably #2 or #4, but don't know for sure. BTW, Atlantic salmon aka Salmo salar.

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 10:09 pm
by DOUGSDEN
Wow Bill! Your version is fantastic! I can see this one doing service on all trouty or salmony waters where ever it lights! I want to try this one out on my discriminating piglets in the ponds down below! Your tying is just awesome and I am certain that Syl would be very proud of your redux! I know we are!
Dougsden

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 6:43 am
by tie2fish
Thanks, Doug. I can always count on you and Bill to comment. Others not so much.

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 11:53 am
by Roadkill
Bill,

I post because you are a friend, a fine tyer and source of inspiration...

my sincere form of flattery this morning...

on an Alec Jackson 2050 #3.

ImageIMGP2880 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

Thanks to Doug as well!
Bill

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 1:03 pm
by tie2fish
Lookin' good, William. Your hackle is probably closer than mine to what Nemes used.

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 2:55 pm
by redietz
tie2fish wrote:... a moderately outlandish fly ...

I'm not so sure about that. It might be a reasonable shrimp pattern.

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 9:31 pm
by DOUGSDEN
Again, Wow Guys! Both patterns are exceptional! That Alec Jackson hook has some good looks about it for sure! Bill S., I like the "fortified" body of your pattern. That adds a new dimension and look to your already great work in that area!
You guys are making history with your contributions here and it is very much appreciated! Please, someone else throw their hats in the ring and give this one a try! As you can see, it's not hard to tie! Go ahead! I strongly encourage you to try this beautiful pattern!
Excited in the Den,
Doug

Re: Salar's Nemesis Redux

Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 9:08 pm
by gingerdun
So interesting — #3 or #12, both impressive flies. Thanks to Doug for sharing the book, and to Bill S and Bill L for the photographs of their little beauties.