Flies The Old Timers Used

[laker67]

Another old time fly is the "salmon fur bug" created at bssp. It is made from hair ribbon that seperates into 6 different strands. It is a salmon or orange color and makes an ever better egg pattern after the original fur bug shape. For those who do not recall the fur bug, it is just a blob tied to a hook. A buddy and myself bought 6 pounds of the material in the 70's and divided it up. Do you have any idea how much hair ribbon material is in 3 pounds? We didn't. I have used about half of what I started with, and still have 33 quart size ziplock bags full of the unseperated material. A good fish catcher still today.

[Greasy B]

What about the fly made from the stuffing inside a life preserver? I think this was also a bssp special. K-Pock ?

[Gavin]

Kapok...Still have a bag of that someplace.

[jdmidwest]

Another old time fly is the "salmon fur bug" created at bssp. It is made from hair ribbon that seperates into 6 different strands. It is a salmon or orange color and makes an ever better egg pattern after the original fur bug shape. For those who do not recall the fur bug, it is just a blob tied to a hook. A buddy and myself bought 6 pounds of the material in the 70's and divided it up. Do you have any idea how much hair ribbon material is in 3 pounds? We didn't. I have used about half of what I started with, and still have 33 quart size ziplock bags full of the unseperated material. A good fish catcher still today.

I think you can credit Charlie Reading on that one, he brought it here when he moved from the West Coast.

I think most of the old time flies were wet flies of various styles. Hair bugs and streamers. Bucktails. Maybe even the Prince Nymph.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I think you can credit Charlie Reading on that one, he brought it here when he moved from the West Coast.

Don't think I ever heard Charley mention them. Charley moved to Bennett from eastern Laclede county and went to school at the School of the Ozarks.

[laker67]

I think you can credit Charlie Reading on that one, he brought it here when he moved from the West Coast.

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Got to agree with Wayne on this one, Charlie grew up in Lebanon and worked for Tony and Shirley at spring view fly shop when this came about. I caught my very first lunker on the salmon fur bug in 1975, and I think we started using it the year before. Not sure who came up with the material , but I can tell you that I have caught more lunkers on this fly than most people would believe, and continue to catch a few each season.

[Gavin]

Would gladly take a bag of that salmon fur bug material off your hands Laker..You've probably caught more lunkers than anyone. A sample tie would be great.

Looked in the bookcase for my first "fly tying" book. Say's Kennerly Elementary School Star Wars 5th Grade Autograph Book 1978 on the cover. No autographs...but I guess it was handy notebook for my dad to illustrate, and take notes. Mr. & Mrs. Sanguient (sp) taught the class at Paul's Bait & Tackle...... Need to scan that, and tie up some of those old patterns.

[jdmidwest]

Strike up a conversation on the subject the next time you are in his shop,

[laker67]

Strike up a conversation on the subject the next time you are in his shop,

I will check it out JD.

[Nortrad]

Good stuff...nice to hear about the local history of fly tying.