Purple and Black

[brooktrout308 0]

I hear so much about the Purple and Black fly what is it suppose to imitate ? I've read where you can tie it from size 14 - 18 ? and what time of the year does this fly hatch ?

[FlatsRoamer 0]

I main staple for any saltwater backcountry scenarios, where the water is really murky.

 

But hell, it works like a charm

[Moshup 0]

Blurple one of the best color combos in the briny at night. Water does not have to be murky for it to be very effective. As far as it's effectiveness in fresh water I don't have the experience to advise.

[mikechell 0]

Are you talking about any fly tied in those colors ... or a specific fly called a "Purple and Black"?

 

I tried Googling a Purple and Black fly pattern, and it brings up dozens of different patterns in those colors.

 

So, based on just the colors, they have worked for decades in all forms of lure fishing, including fly fishing.

Since no one is truly sure how the fish actually process colors, it's anyone's guess of why purple and black works so well, but it does.

[Bimini15 0]

I have no evidence to back it up, but I heard a long time ago that black and darker colors are great at night because of the contrast against the moonlight.

I guess then that the profile of a black and purple generally imitates a baitfish swimming near the surface.

 

PS. I have always heard black and purple in relation to a tarpon style fly.

[flytire 0]

I hear so much about the Purple and Black fly what is it suppose to imitate ? I've read where you can tie it from size 14 - 18 ? and what time of the year does this fly hatch ?

 

 

are you asking about the snipe and purple wet fly for freshwater?

 

http://english-fly-fishing-flies.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/spider-snipeandpurple.html

[flytire 0]

I main staple for any saltwater backcountry scenarios, where the water is really murky.

 

But hell, it works like a charm

 

what saltwater fly do you tie in size 14-18 as requested by the original poster?

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Or what time of year does your saltwater fly hatch?:-)

[Dave G. 0]

I have no evidence to back it up, but I heard a long time ago that black and darker colors are great at night because of the contrast against the moonlight.

I guess then that the profile of a black and purple generally imitates a baitfish swimming near the surface.

 

PS. I have always heard black and purple in relation to a tarpon style fly.

My reply probably is ot to the OP but I just wanted to say to you Bim, that we ( my boys and I) have adhered to this dark fly at night or even last light of day theory and had success in catching some of the best fish of a days worth of fishing. I first read about the dark colors at night in a fishing magazine. Then locally a guy caught a record small mouth on a black top water bait at first light of morning, which in my mind kind of confirmed the story I had read. So I came up with this big black marabou streamer and that spun off into also a purple one and then this really big zonker streamer in purple.. We named them Big Black and Big Purple and Really Big Purple ( just our own code names, no official pattern you can dig up in a book someplace but that we could shout out to one another as to what we had on as we got a big fish and the other guy maybe not.). We started slamming big fish on those in the last light of day but after the sun went down and when the typical patterns stopped working. We used these on both floating line and also a slow sink rate sinking line but very often the biggest fish have been caught on that slow sink line. Our MO became to change over the line in the falling light after the sun dropped out of the scene but you still enough light to perform the task, and give the water a rest from our flies for a half hour or so. Usually top water action is done, the hatches have stopped for the day and you see no fish rising at this point. My only confirmation that this was working for us is that our typical gray marabou flies and such were not getting the fish but the dark colors seem to instead. Also on dank dark drizzly days too sometimes. Same thing, sink tip line in this case but get the fly down a bit is part of our tactic..

[flytyerinpa 0]

Sorry guys, I was referring to the snipe and purple, the pics. I saw sure looked black and purple to me. I'm talking fresh water fly for trout fishing.

[vicrider 0]

How about Purple and Purple?

 

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Black and purple colored flies work in both fresh and saltwater... In the salt we use them for low light tarpon fishing (dawn and dusk) and I must have tied at least 100 dozen black and purple tarpon flies for the various shops I've tied for over the years... I'm also partial to black and purple maribou flies (size #4 up to size #1) when we're fishing in cold water winter conditions when the water is very clear and big fish (particularly redfish and speckled trout) are on station ready to feed.... Come to think of it, for me it's always a toss-up between black and purple or just all black when dark flies are on the menu....

 

The fly for freshwater that comes to mind has to be the Wooly Bugger and all its variations....

[brooktrout308 0]

I think Flytire hit the nail on the head with the pic he posted I only ever saw a hand drawn picture of it done in lead pencil but I'm 99% sure that's it