Hi', Bob. I definitely agree with you on this one --- the myth of the Chadwick's wool I liken to the story of the old king's birthday suit, in that people believe what they want to believe.
A little, very little, Terry's Story for you. An old colleague, a wet-fly only angler at the time, was fishing with a mutual friend, who was my old best mate. They were fishing at night on Ullswater when 'G' lost his point fly, and before he could open his tackle bag, Ken offerd him one that was stuck in his jacket lapel. Unknown to 'G', Ken had been asked while on his break at work if he would show one of the new lads how to tie a fly. All he had in the way of gear was a box of fly hooks. So he paddled around near the air intake filters for the building, and came up with a few tatty feathers small enough for a size 12 or 14 wet fly; for tying thread, he unpicked the braiding on an old telephone cord (we're going back to the 1960s ) and he tied up a Sparrow and red using his fingers to grip the hook.
Yes, that is the fly that Ken gave 'G', in the dark. He cast out and caught a fish right away on tne new point fly. After dispatching the trout he asked Ken what was the pattern? When Ken told him, he snapped off the fly and handed it back to Ken, as there was no way he was going to fish with a fly tied with telephone braid material and a sparrow's feather. There's nowt so queer as folk.
I am utterly convinced that we are conned, and con ourselves, as we develop as anglers. Some of us wise up fairly quickly, others take a bit longer, some never learn!! I'm quite sure that if we were to use a different feather for all our Pheasant Tails and their variants, we'd catch just as many trout on dries and wets as we do using the 'genuine article.' It only needs one step of faith to get an army marching. Cheers, and congrats on your sale of the Chadwicks'. TerryC
Chadwick's spoof?
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