Tommy's Favourite

[A. Fluker]

Anyone have the dressing on this old fly from the nineteenth century?

And has anyone experience of fishing with it?

Cheers in advance.

[A. Fluker]

Found It!

Last seen a Taff Price book third edition of "Fly Patterns an International Guide" under Grayling flies.

Hook: 14-16
Thread: Black
Tail: Red Wool
Body: Yellow/Blue Macaw tail fibres
Hackle: Blue Dun

Taff suggests that the body of macaw could be sustituted with a yellow strand and a blue strand of swan and twisted together to achieve the same effect.

Here is my take on it as "an illustration only" appears in the book making it difficult to interpret.



Nothing on the fishing of it. But let you know!

[Chris Reeves]

That has Grayling written all over it, especially for those stretches that have seen it all before!

[arkle]

Chris, I'll post you some macaw tomorrow.

[maharg]

It's a wasp with it's ar$e hanging out

[Mrtrout]

Originally Posted by Loopy

Anyone have the dressing on this old fly from the nineteenth century?

And has anyone experience of fishing with it?

Cheers in advance.

Haven't a clue Chris, but loving the blog.
S.

[A. Fluker]

Originally Posted by mrtrout

Haven't a clue Chris, but loving the blog.
S.

Cheers Mr T.

Thanks for your kind comment.

[A. Fluker]

Just a bit more on the pattern...

Had a peep in Moderrn Trout Fly Dressing - Woolley and it gets a mention as Tommy's Favourite.
However it is also known as Tommy's Fancy.

Both names appear in Angling with the Fly - J N Watson and is noted as follows......

"This pattern was tied for and dedicated to a friend of Roger Woolley's, Major T H Oakden of Rolleston-on-Dove. With this pattern and the White Witch, the two anglers took 103 grayling in a day from the Okeover Club stretch of the Dove at the invitation of the then waterkeeper Gregor Mackenzie. The fly was also popular on the Manifold in the 1933's, another river fished by both men."

In both books the dressing is recorded as:-

Hook: Sizes 00-1
Body: Quill from a yellow blue macaw tail feather, the yellow to show as a body and the blue flue as rib.
Tag: Red Floss, tip of silver under tag
Hackle: Medium Blue Hen