tippet topping?

[horses50]

Got the recipe for the traditional "Kate Mclaren" now it calls for the tail to be "golden pheasant topping" now excuse my ignorance but is that the same as golden pheasant tippets? thank you.

[Former member]

What you want is the crest sometimes referred to as topping.

Here is dyed crest on a Kate MacLaren Muddler variant that I use.


Cheers
Gerry

PS Did your missus send me an email yesterday, as only had first name attached to it and no other details

[Ephemerella]

The same? No.
The topping (crest) is yellow and curved, the orange and black tippets lie just below on the same bird.

[guest3]

Hi', Horses. The crest feathers from the top of the scalp of golden pheasant are used to outline the top of the wing of some classic salmon fly patterns. Very often, they meet the tips of the shorter crest feathers used at the butt end, making an attractive 'frame'.
Short crest feathers are also used in tailing traditional Stoat's Tail, e.g. among numerous other flies.
Tippets are used in tailing such flies as Black Pennell and Mallard and Claret.
TerryC

[maharg]

Horses, the head hackle is brown HEN not cock as quoted in many patterns

[horses50]

Thanks for the replies,okay now for a couple of questions,can you buy just the toppings as i already have the tippets? Can the Kate Mclaren also be fished as a dry i hope so as i have tied a few up as per the recipe BROWN COCK HACKLE not hen as maharg has informed it should be tied with?

Gerry yes she posted you an order for the feathers.

[Scratch]

Originally Posted by horses50

Thanks for the replies,okay now for a couple of questions,can you buy just the toppings as i already have the tippets? Can the Kate Mclaren also be fished as a dry i hope so as i have tied a few up as per the recipe BROWN COCK HACKLE not hen as maharg has informed it should be tied with?

Gerry yes she posted you an order for the feathers.

Yes, you can buy topping and tippets separately, or together on a charming scalp as pictured above. The natural colours, as I'm sure you know are a golden yellow on the topping, and yellowy orange for the tippets. These can be also be bought dyed... a popular dyed alternative for the tippets is red, and for the topping green, 'orkney peach', and red. All are available from Gerry. Try the green topping tail on the Kate.. it's been an extremely effective pattern for a couple of pals of mine for a season or two.

The Kate is not really designed to be fished dry. Nowt to stop you doing so if you dress it on a lightish hook and maybe gink it up. There are however much better flies to fish as out and out dries, and the Kate would be wasted, not to mention outfished by yer boat-partner on say, an F-fly or a shippy.

The Kate excells as a true wet fly, and I think the trick is to dress a standard Kate on the lean side. Try it on the bob or the tail, most people prefer the bob I think, and I have not come across many who deploy it in the middle. It will work in the middle though, as it will on any line. The Kate will be most effective though on a line that occupies somewhere in the top foot or so of water. A nicely tied Kate, well presented, and swilling around in the surface film before re-casting is a very difficult thing for a trout to resist!