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A recent article in Fly Tyer magazine* about deceivers sparked
quite a debate on the streamer list about the use of this popular and
effective saltwater fly in fresh water. The debate found the authors
"defending" the fresh water deceiver and prompted us to write a small
feature on some of our own deceiver patterns.
The deceiver was first tied by Lefty Kreh in the 50's for
striped bass in the Chesapeke Bay. The fly was extremely successful and
soon spread to all saltwater environments and even into the freshwater
world. The original fly has been changed and modified numerous times;
however, there are two telltale signs that you're looking at a deceiver.
First is the wing placement--the saddle hackle wing is positioned near
the bend of the hook. Second is the hair collar which surrounds the
wing and prevents it from fouling. As with most saltwater patterns,
flash is usually added somewhere in the pattern. Whether you scale down
saltwater versions of this fly, adapt other traditional streamer
patterns, or create new patterns, you should experiment with this fly in
fresh water--its a good one.
*(Fly Tyer, vol. 5, no. 1, Spring '99)
"Traditional New England" Deceivers - Will Taylor
One can legitimately question the need for any "new" fly for landlocked
salmon or trout fishing. In the smelt-filled rivers & lakes of Maine, a
handful of traditional New England streamer patterns provide perfectly
credible forage fish immitations in the waters and water conditions
encountered. Pattens in blue dunn, blue, pink, yellow, white or purple,
with some peacock herl & golden pheasant crest for flash, will keep one in
business all season; I would feel very well-equipped with a
casting-streamer selection of Gray Ghosts, Ripogenus Smelts, Pink Ladys,
Barnes Specials, Black Ghosts and Magog Smelts. So why introduce Deceivers
to the streamer wallet?
Why not?
Rainbow smelts are very long, slender fish, very active swimmers, with
incredible multichromatic flash. If one were to start ground-up to design
an immitation, you could hardly do better than to begin with Lefty's
Deceiver for a body-plan. This is a pattern that has proven itself many
times over as an imitation or general slender-minnow attractor for a wide
varity of saltwater gamefish. With deserved respect for the color
combinations that have proven themselves over time on landlocked salmon,
I've designed the following Deceivers, each named for the classical
streamer pattern that inspired it.
Deceivers have several unique features to recommend them to fishing and to
the tying bench:
- They tie up a lot quicker & easier than a traditional feather-wing
streamer
- They're a good way to use up some of those saddle hackles not suitable
for traditional streamers
- They very optimally marry the properties of feather-wing and hair-wing
streamers
- They allow the use of modern flash materials that would look gaudy and
out of place when merely added to traditional patterns
- They're very tough, and stand up well to abuse in casting & catching fish
- They have a very narrow, fishy profile, particularly well-suited as a
smelt immitation
- Varying the dressing density and hook weight can produce flies that
fish near the surface or sink quickly for deeper pools
- They cast like a dream & the wings never foul around the hook
Deceivers will never displace the classical New England streamers in my
streamer wallet; I enjoy tying and fishing those traditional patterns far
too much for that to be a temptation. But they are earning a place
alongside their long-hooked siblings.
Will's "Traditional New England" Deceivers
"Untraditional Deceiver Patterns" - Robb Nicewonger
For the creative tyer (or one who can't follow a pattern) the
nicest thing about the deceiver is the flexibility of the pattern. One
can take advantage of this and tie not only imitation of smelts, but
also other forage fish, leeches, small snakes, and attractor patterns as
well. Materials for the tail can be the traditional saddle hackle,
marabou, hen body feathers, rabbit strips, rubber legs, etc. The collar
can consist of any type of natural or synthetic hair. While the heads
can be nice and small or built up very large with prismatic stick-on
eyes. Virtually any hook type can be used--regular shank length hooks
for small, fat flies or long shank for thin, slender ones. I've
included a few patterns that I developed primarily when I was living in
the Finger Lakes region of New York. Although I've only been in New
England for about a year, I'm sure these will translate well. Some of
you more traditional streamer flingers will probably cringe at some of
these patterns, but give 'em a chance. Tie a few up and I'm sure you'll
be pleasantly surprised at the results.
Robb's "Untraditional Deceiver" Patterns
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