Vintage Streamers

I saw a post by Ted Patlen on a fly tying bulletin board. It was a simple post - a photo of a group of flies and a short statement stating his intention of tying the flies as close as possible to the way the originator tied the flies.

Published on Jun 29. 2013 - 11 years ago
Updated or edited 1 days ago

Carrie Stevens

New England

7 comments

Bob Petti

Vintage streamers

Bob Petti

His post stuck with me for awhile, before I got up the gumption to send him an email asking if he would be interested in submitting his flies to GFF for an article.
I have long been a student of classic fly tying - especially streamers and wet flies. I am not alone in that regard - as there has been an obvious resurgence in popularity of these flies as evidenced by numerous books, magazine articles, and web sites putting a new spin on a very old tale. While this is all good - I would hate to see these styles of flies go the way of greenheart rods and blueback trout - I have noticed that not all the tyers of these flies have a solid foundation in the history and original designs they are mimicking, and I'll admit it sometimes bugs me. To see a Carrie Stevens fly that is misproportioned with elements out of place, yet tied to surgical precision, irks me like a stone in my wading shoe.
I had those thoughts in mind when I saw a post by Ted Patlen on a fly tying bulletin board. It was a simple post - a photo of a group of flies and a short statement stating his intention of tying the flies as close as possible to the way the originator tied the flies. The selection was great - all the big names and styles were represented. The quality of tying was what you would expect from someone of Ted's caliber - well tied flies but tied for fishing in the way a commercial tier of the time would produce them.
His post stuck with me for awhile, before I got up the gumption to send him an email saying a) cool!, b) I appreciate his persistence in presenting the historical aspect of streamer fly tying, and c) I think what you are doing is worth sharing with a larger audience. In short, I asked if he would be interested in submitting his flies to GFF for an article showing in definitive fashion how these flies were offered by their originators - and how they should be tied today if people want to be historically accurate.

From Ted

I was asked to tie classic northeastern streamers/bucktails at the 2013 Swedish Fly Fair and chose these patterns to show a variety of styles besides the original look.
They are classics because of the problems solved by the original tyers. So why should I make them differently than they did? I am not going to improve upon the original ideas. Sure, I may adjust them a little to suit myself but not for presentation at a show. People deserve to see what the originals looked like, but also need to know why and how they wound up the way they did.

Were they tied for presentation as seen at most fly tying shows? Did it take 30 minutes to tie a fly? Were they highly polished, silk gloved entities we see across the internet and magazines? Of course not!!

How did Lew Oatman get those smooth tapered bodies? How did he apply the floss? Did he use single or multiple strands? Why did Carrie Stevens glue her wings together? Why is the head on Art Flick's Black Nosed Dace so huge when his dry flies are known for their sparseness and delicacy? Modder muddles are so different that people don't recognize the original.

My problem was to get my work to look very much like theirs, using similar methods, materials, and as many vintage hooks as I could. I found that if I functioned as a commercial tier would, fast with simple work habits, I got fairly accurate results.

All flies tied by Ted Patlen


Black Ghost Originator: Herb Welch Tail: Yellow Hackle Barbs Rib: Flat Silver Tinsel Body: Black Floss Throat: Yellow Hackle Barbs Wing: White Saddle Hackles (4) Cheek: Jungle Cock

Black Nosed Dace Originator: Art Flick Tail: Red Wool Yarn, short Rib: Oval Silver Tinsel Body: Flat Silver Tinsel Wing: Natural White Polar Bear, then Black Skunk or Bear, then Brown Bucktail (bottom to top)

Black and White Originator: Austin Hogan Tail: Red Hackle Barbs Body: Flat Silver Tinsel Belly: Pink Bucktail Throat: Red Hackle Barbs Wing: White Hackles flanked on the outside by Black Hackles with the bottom of the hackle stripped Shoulder: Black Duck Flank Cheek: Jungle Cock

Brook Trout Originator: Lew Oatman Tail: Orange hackle barbs Body: Read three fourths white floss, front one fourth salmon pink floss, tapered Rib: Flat Gold Tinsel Throat: Orange hackle barbs Underwing: Sparse orange bucktail to the end of tail Wing: Olive over grizzly hackles. The outer olive wing is spotted with red and yellow dots along the center stem. Cheek: Jungle Cock Head: Olive, with the bottom half painted white

Bumblepuppy Originator: Theodore Gordon Tail: Red Hackle Fibers Body: White Chenille Rib: A single strand of Red Wool Yarn Hackle: Four turns of large white hackle followed by four more turns of red hackle. Wing: White Bucktail with slips of brown mottled turkey along the side and upper edge of the bucktail. The bottom half of the bucktail wing is cut square half the wing length.

Cain's River Silver Doctor Originator: Fred N. Peet and C. Jim Pray Tail: Matched sections of barred woodduck Body: Flat Silver Tinsel Wing: Brown hackle outside of which is grizzly hackle extending well beyond the tail Hackle: A full collar in front of the wing comprised of a few turns of French Blue followed by a few turns of Grizzly

Chief Needahbeh Originator: Chief Needahbeh Head: Black Tail: A section of red duck or goose quill Body: Red Silk. Tthe original version has a red hackle "throat" one third of the way forward on the body. Rib: Narrow Flat Silver Tinsel Throat: A red saddle hackle tied on as a collar after the wing has been applied. It is dressed rather full. Wing: A red saddle hackle on each side of two yellow saddle hackles. Cheeks: Jungle Cock

Edson Dark Tiger Bucktail Originator: Bill Edson Head: Yellow Tail: The tips of two extremely small yellow neck hackles, back to back Body: Wound with fine yellow chenille Throat: The tips of two extremely small red neck hackles Wing: A small bunch of the brown hair from a bucktail dyed yellow, extending just beyond the bend of the hook. Cheeks: Gold metal "Edson" cheeks

Green Beauty Originator: Carrie Stevens Head: Black (original with signature red band) Tag: Four or five turns of narrow flat silver tinsel Body: Dressed thin with orange floss Rib: Narrow flat silver tinsel Throat: An extremeley small bunch of white bucktail extending beyond the barb of the hook, under which is a golden pheasant crest feather as long as the shoulder and curving upward Wing: Five or six strands of bright green peacock herl, over which are four olive-green saddle hackles Shoulders: Woodduck Flank Cheeks: Jungle Cock

Hewitt Streamer Originator: Ed Hewitt Head: Black Body: Narrow slip of red duck quill Tail: Red Hackle Barbs Rib: Narrow flat silver tinsel Wing: Silver Badger, long Cheeks: Jungle Cock NOTE: Ed Hewitt was known for using what many may think as undersized hooks on his flies - such as his Neversink Skaters and the streamer shown here. This was a size 16 up-eye sproat-bend dry fly hook.

Jesse Wood Streamer Originator: Jesse Wood Head: Black Tail: A narrow section of red duck wing quill, rather long Body: Flat Silver Tinsel Rib: Oval Silver Tinsel Throat: Furnace hackle tied around the hook and bunched downward, short and thinly dressed. Wing: Two Bali Duck shoulder feathers extending just beyond the tail. Cheeks: Jungle Cock

Ken Lockwood Originator: Rube Cross Head: Black Body: Scarlet Floss Rib: Flat Silver Tinsel Throat: White bucktail, as long as the wing Wing: Blck Bucktail

Morning Glory Originator: Carrie Stevens Head: Black (original with signature red band) Tag: A few turns of flat silver tinsel Body: Red Floss Rib: Flat Silver Tinsel Throat: White bucktail beneath which is a black silver pheasant crest feather and then a very small bunch of blue hackle fibers. Wing: A black silver pheasant crest feather as long as the saddle hackles and curving downward, over which are four bright yellow saddle hackles. Shoulders: Red Mackaw body feather Cheeks: Jungle Cock

Muddler Minnow Originator: Don Gapen Head: Black Tail: A small section of natural turkey wing quill, slightly longer than the hook gap Body: Flat gold tinsel Wing: A moderately large bunch of gray squirrel tail on each side of which is a fairly large section of natural turkey wing quill tied on nearly as long as the squirrel tail Shoulders: Natural deer hair, spun on to surround the hook, flatted and clipped short at the front and tapering long backward, leaving a small part as long as possible. Read much more here.

Superviser Originator: Joseph Stickney Head: Black Tail: A thin section of red wool, rather short Body: Embossed silver tinsel Rib: Oval Silver Tinsel Throat: A small bunch of white hackle fibers Wing: An extremely small bunch of white bucktail, over which are four very light blue saddle hackles, both extending well beyond the tail. Topping: Six or seven strands of peacock herl, as long as the wing Shoulders: Pale green shoulder hackle, two thirds as long as the wing. Cheeks: Jungle Cock

York's Kennebago Originator: Bert Quimby Head: Black Tag: Three or four turns of narrow flat silver tinsel Tail: Golden Pheasant Crest, curing upward Butt: Two or three turns of scarlet silk Body: Flat silver tinsel Rib: Oval Silver Tinsel Throat: A small bunch of red hackle fibers Wing: Four golden badger hackles with a pronounced black stripe, longer than average Topping: A small bunch of red hackle fibers Cheeks: Jungle Cock

Sections

Patterns

Streamers

Comments

My tying skills are

My tying skills are so mediocre my muddlers have and always will be shaggy Gapenesque type monstrosities, that although not a whole lot to look at, LL salmon and Brook trout dont seem to mind here in the streamer capitol of the world my beloved Maine.

I recently acquired

I recently acquired several streamers...a "Polar Bear" pattern signed by Bert Quimby as well as some "York's Kennebago", "Chief Needahbeh" and "Bonbright Ross McKenney" some of these streamers are on cards which read Genuine "Irresistible" Lures, while others are simply in cello wrap pacs. They came with several wet fly packets of 12 #16 flies made in Czechoslovkia circa 1950's. Any comments regarding these flies will be appreciated.

Nothing like todays stuff

timo,

yeah the original muddler is nothing like todays stuff...people have adapted them for themselves and different applications that the original was intended for. the muddler was at first tied to sink as fast as possible and imitate a wide body sculpin. the original's wide sparse collar and heavy hooks represents this fish well.

florian...yes many of those very long shanked hooks were for trolling or just hanging off the end of a canoe when anchored...these flies are just examples of how some of the original flies were tied mainly to imitate smelt.

VERY well done Bob!

Great looking flies

Great looking flies Ted and good approach to tying them. I did a similar thing for a muddler article couple years ago tying one like the modern standard and one more closely to original. I think that pattern is probably the best example of what you are talking about.

BR,

Timo

Nice ones :)

Nice ones :)
For a while the grey ghost was a standard I tied and fished, but did away with it, From a catching point of view a downsized clouser (size 8; white arctic fox,a hint of flash and grey squirrel) is better and the tying is by far not as time consuming.
In my understanding quite a few of these patterns, the one on the very long shanked hooks, are more for trolling from a canoe than for casting.
TL
Florian

fave flies

Got to love these old streamer patterns, many from Maine! Like Cain's and all are nicely tied.

Image gallery for Vintage Streamers

I saw a post by Ted Patlen on a fly tying bulletin board. It was a simple post - a photo of a group of flies and a short statement stating his intention of tying the flies as close as possible to the way the originator tied the flies.

From Ted

Black Ghost

Black Nosed Dace

Black and White

Brook Trout

Bumblepuppy

Cain's River Silver Doctor

Chief Needahbeh

Edson Dark Tiger Bucktail

Green Beauty

Hewitt Streamer

Jesse Wood Streamer

Ken Lockwood

Morning Glory

Muddler Minnow

Superviser

York's Kennebago

Comments

My tying skills are

I recently acquired

Nothing like todays stuff

VERY well done Bob!

Great looking flies

Nice ones :)

fave flies

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