I saw this dry fly tied and posted by Robert this morning and I just had to post about it on FrankenFly. Great proportions and a terrific dry fly variant of a very old style fly that was actually a wet fly.
Here is the information provided on the original from “Favorite Flies and Their Histories” by Mary Orvis Marbury, published by The Lyons Press.
“The larvae of these flies feed upon the excrement of cattle, and the females may be seen hovering in its vicinity, as they lay their eggs near or upon it. The females are short-lived and do not wander, but it is stated that the male flies prey upon smaller insects, especially the tiny water-flies, which they hold with their anterior feet while they suck the blood of the bodies. In their greed they often venture too far, and fall into the water there they furnish a fat morsel for the waiting trout.
Their color is a brown similar to the tints of many of the caddis flies, – that favorite food of the trout and grayling, – so that they are likely to be successful in any streams where the Phryganidae are familiar food to the fish.”
I think Robert came up with a super variant dry fly with this version.
Materials list:
Hook: TMC 113blh size 14
Thread: Danville Spiderweb
Tail: furnace spade feather
Body: olive hare
Hackle: Whiting Bronze Grade saddle in furnace
Wings: mallard primaries
