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James

Spey Flies

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Spey flies typically are works of art as well as reliable attractor patterns that are mostly used on salmon and migratory trout.  They imitate nothing in nature and rely on color blends often using exotic materials, hints of flash, and sparse, balanced, construction designed to move through and cross currents as if alive.  They are mostly delivered on two handed rods and swung down and across.    

Done right, tying them is time consuming; often expensive -- as only the finest and often hard to find materials pass muster; demanding in the use of materials; and a serious test of anyone's mastery of tying techniques.

They are not to be confused with fully functional salmon or steelhead flies that you can knock out assembly line style by the dozen in an evening .

 

 

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On 11/21/2020 at 3:28 PM, chugbug27 said:

A stupid question... What do modern tyers use for spey hackle? 

And a rude question, it turns out -- I just read the article you posted @Sandan, great stuff there. 

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4 hours ago, chugbug27 said:

And a rude question, it turns out -- I just read the article you posted @Sandan, great stuff there. 

@chugbug27Not rude at all, IMHO. Mr. Lucas sure does know his s###.  Glad it was of use.

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1 hour ago, chugbug27 said:

I'm liking the Eric Austin articles too...

Thanks for that head's up. Great site

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15 hours ago, Rocco said:

Spey flies typically are works of art as well as reliable attractor patterns that are mostly used on salmon and migratory trout.  They imitate nothing in nature and rely on color blends often using exotic materials, hints of flash, and sparse, balanced, construction designed to move through and cross currents as if alive.  They are mostly delivered on two handed rods and swung down and across.    

Done right, tying them is time consuming; often expensive -- as only the finest and often hard to find materials pass muster; demanding in the use of materials; and a serious test of anyone's mastery of tying techniques.

They are not to be confused with fully functional salmon or steelhead flies that you can knock out assembly line style by the dozen in an evening .

 

 

So are the classic Victorian salmon flies we see in "Artistic & Classic Salmon Flies" and spey flies all one and the same? Or are spey flies different?

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http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/atlantic/spey-dee/lesson3.php
 
The Speys were introduced in the 1800's for fishing the River Spey In Scotland. The Dees were introduced on the River Dee in Scotland.

 

Both styles are similar yet, different. The one big difference is in the wing style. The Spey typically sports a Bronze Mallard wing that sits low along the hook shank while the Dee wing is split and somewhat drooping along the hook shank and, is generally of Turkey.

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If you speak of the entire range of classic, traditional, Atlantic salmon patterns within which you find the Spey and Dee flies, you probably should also mention similar but distinct styles and patterns from Irish, Scandinavian, and other European and even North American salmon fisheries.  Like the Spey and Dee styles I would guess there are river specific patterns and variants in those regions. 

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19 hours ago, Jaydub said:

If you really want to know what a Spey Fly is from a historical perspective, listen to April Vokey's podcast with John Shewey: https://anchoredoutdoors.com/anchored-podcast-ep-21-john-shewey-on-spey-flies-and-their-history/

Put it on in the background while your tying.

 

2 hours ago, Mark Knapp said:

So are the classic Victorian salmon flies we see in "Artistic & Classic Salmon Flies" and spey flies all one and the same? Or are spey flies different?

Listen to the podcast.  There's a lot in there you probably don't need to know, but Shewey explains definatively what is and isn't a Spey Fly. A lot of what we label "Spey Flies" really aren't.

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13 minutes ago, Jaydub said:

 

Listen to the podcast.  There's a lot in there you probably don't need to know, but Shewey explains definatively what is and isn't a Spey Fly. A lot of what we label "Spey Flies" really aren't.

 

14 minutes ago, Rocco said:

If you speak of the entire range of classic, traditional, Atlantic salmon patterns within which you find the Spey and Dee flies, you probably should also mention similar but distinct styles and patterns from Irish, Scandinavian, and other European and even North American salmon fisheries.  Like the Spey and Dee styles I would guess there are river specific patterns and variants in those regions. 

OK, Thank you guys, I'm beginning to get it all straightened in my mind now.

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