A few from Ora Smith

Variations on Smith's tiny casting streamers

By Bob Petti

It was a sad day when Paul Schmookler published the final issue of his epic "Art of Angling Journal". Each issue was teaming with eye candy for the fly angler and fly tyer, especially when he'd rummage through his vast collection of flies and publish specimens that had never seen in print before. Sometimes collections of flies would find him - such as when Steve Cullen submitted a collection of Ora Smith flies in Vol 2 Issue 1 in 2003. Ora Smith had been published before in a number of places, no less than Stewart and Leeman's seminal work "Trolling Flies for Trout and Salmon". Smith was not as well know in the non-streamer community as Carrie Stevens or Herbie Welch perhaps, but he definitely made a contribution and had a unique perspective. His fame, as it was, was most likely drawn from his streamers featuring wings comprised of multiple golden pheasant crest feathers, such as the Maynard Marvel, Canopache, and the Pumpkin Head. He used Golden Pheasant Crest like it was the most common material available. Wings featuring a dozen or more GP crest feathers, throats, tails, underwings - anywhere he wanted a splash of yellow you were sure to see some GP crest feathers. I would be curious to know his source for these feathers. As a commercial tyer supplying paying clients, I'm sure he went through golden pheasant scalps at an alarming rate. I had known about Ora Smith before, having spent many evenings flipping through the pages of S&L and staring at the flies. Not only did Smith's use of Golden Pheasant catch my eye, but also his break away from traditional streamer construction by the heavy use of synthetic materials. He clearly was a tinkerer - never satisfied with a fly as given. You can see that in the many variations of the Grey Ghost he tied. Thus I was quite happy to find a huge collection of Ora Smith flies in Schmookler's periodical. What a treasure! Two hundred forty two flies to mull over and consider. With the magazine kaput - it makes me wonder how many other fly collections are out there gathering dust. Ora Smith used Golden Pheasant Crest like it was the most common material in the world. What I find curious is his use of yellow synthetic in so many flies alongside the use of golden pheasant crest in others. He must have had a fetish for using a glossy rich transluscent yellow in his flies. I wish I could ask him why he used natural GP crest in some flies but synthetics in others. Was he running out of GP crests finally - and looking for a modern synthetic alternative? A Grey Ghost variation with a synthetic, but a tiny casting streamer with the real thing. Makes you go "hmmm....". The flies in that really caught my attention were the little casting streamers with duck flank wings. They are not flat wings - streamers with whole sections of duck flank tied flat on top of the fly - but more like elongated wet flies. I sat down over a weekend and tied up a selection, imaging some warm late spring day when I could cast these tiny flies on a light line to some spooky brook trout. There is a stream a couple hours north of me that I've got plans for. A quick note - I was a little heavy handed in my "variant" approach to these flies. I have two GP crests in my collection and if I tied the flies as listed, I would have none left, especially if I added some of his GP crest winged patterns. As noted earlier, Ora Smith was not adverse to making use of alternative materials and tinkering with fly patterns, so I am sure he wouldn't argue with my choices below. Even so, I made sure to call out my changes so that readers will know the original pattern. All the flies tied below were tied on a Mustad R75 5X long round bend streamer hook, mostly size 8 or 10.
RED DEMON (variant) Tail: Red Hackle Body: Flat Copper Tinsel Rib: Copper Wire Throat: Red Hackle Wing: Bronze Mallard Head: Black This is a variant in that the original called for brown floss body without a rib. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Plain brown floss? Yuck. Sorry Ora.
RED SILVER GOLD (variant) Tail: Red Hackle Body: Embossed Silver Tinsel Underwing: Yellow Goat Wing: Two White Hackles Head: Black The original calls for an underwing of Golden Pheasant crest. As we discussed in the intro, Ora Smith is Public Enemy #1 to Golden Pheasants.
PIED PIPER Tail: Red Hackle Body: White Floss Rib: Embossed Silver Tinsel Wing: Gray Mallard Throat: Guine Fowl I put a couple strands of white bucktail inside the wing to serve as support.
DUBLIN SPECIAL Tail: Gray Mallard Body: Golde Embossed Tinsel Throat: White Bucktail and Red Hackle Wing: Gray Mallard Head: Black The original has a painted eye on the head. This fly is so small that there really wouldn't be room to do a painted eye justice.
ORANGE TAG Tag: Orange Floss Body: Peacock Herl Hackle: Brown, palmered Wing: Bronze Mallard The "floss" on this fly is Glo Brite #8.
FULLER'S SPECIAL (variant) Tail: Gray Mallard Body: Embossed Gold Tinsel Throat: Orange Hackle Wing: White over Black Goat The original has a synthetic wing listed as "white over black nylon". I'm not sure what he would use in this instance - floss? I prefer the natural taper of a real hair. I also sub'ed embossed tinsel since it would stand up to fishing pressure better than a layer of mylar.
BEETLE Tail: Golden Pheasant Tippet Body: Peacock Herl Wing: White Goat Topping: Teal Throat: Red Hackle The original calls for polar bear in the wing, a material which is heavily restricted. Use a suitable substitute, or just bucktail. Don't as me why this is a beetle. Maybe he meant Beatle, like John and Paul and Ringo? Dunno.
WOODIE VARIATION (variant) Body: Embossed Gold Tinsel Throat: Yellow Goat and Red Hackle Wing: Lemon Woodduck Head: Black The original calls for (you guessed it) GP crest in the throat. It also calls for a natural red hackle, which may be brown but it was hard to tell from the photo.
CELESTE Tail: Peacock Sword Body: Flat Copper Tinsel Rib: Copper Wire Throat: White Calftail and Red Hackle Wing: Lemon Woodduck Ora probably used a real metal tinsel for the body, but since the fly shown has mylar I added a copper wire rib for protection. I also used goat in place of calftail for the throat.
CHARLIE'S CAMPBELL Tail: Red Hackle Body: Embossed Silver Tinsel Throat: Red Hackle Wing: Bronze Mallard Head: Black
GRANITE LAKE SPECIAL Tail: Red Hackle Body: Gray Floss, Corded Wing: Teal Throat: Yellow Hackle The original has a throat of Golden Pheasant Crest.
HAROLD THOMPSON SPECIAL Tail: Red Hackle Body: Embossed Gold Tinsel Throat: Red Hackle Wing: Badger
WARDEN (variant) Tail: Golden Pheasant Tippet Body: Peacock Herl Wing: Red Goat Topping: Bronze Mallard Throat: Red Hackle I kinda went off the reservation with this one by adding a throat. I just thought the fly as tied looked too top heavy without one. I tied another without the throat and still preferred this one. Probably too much goat in this wing.