Kate McLaren,
For me this is THE classic Scottish wet fly. Not to have a kate in your box when chasing broonies is criminal. My all time favourite top dropper fly.
First tied by William Robertson for John McLaren, and named after his wife, it was brought to fame by their son, Charles.
Covered in his book,
The Art of Sea Trout Fishing, 1963, it was introduced to anglers around the world. While deadly for sea trout I think it is at its best for brownies.
- Hook Wet fly 14 - 8
- Tail Golden pheasant crest
- Body Black seals fur
- Rib silver tinsel, wire in the smaller sizes
- Body hackle Black cock
- Head hackle Brown hen, to work properly
One superb variant I will introduce is the kate muddler. This fly supplied by Gerry at Art
ifly.
Another couple of variants.
Green tailed kate.
It is used on my club loch, but I am not a big fan, much prefering the original.
Sunburst kate,
Another variant, but I feel drifting to much to a mini lure.
I hope I have done this truly great fly justice with my modest efforts. Would you like to share your experiances and variants?
All the best, Graham
The Classics: Kate McLaren
lovely tying and great photos,
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