Grand Pa's Flies

[utyer 0]

Chapter 1

 

I remember fishing many times with my Grandfather, in Westchester County NY. We didn't fly fish, but there was some fly fishing stuff around. I never remember him or my dad ever fly fishing when I was a kid. Decades later, after he passed away, I was able to collect his old tackle box. These "flies" were in it. They started out as heddon fly rod plugs, and the feathers were added. I am not sure who added the feathers, could have been my dad, or grandfather, or someone else.

 

I Googled these as Dustin suggested, and sure enough they were sold that way be Heddon and other companies way back when. They were so poorly made, I just thought it had to be an addition. I did find one just like one of mine for sale by someone.

 

The last picture is I believe some Shad Darts.

 

I do know there was a fly tying setup in the house when I was growning up, and I did get the stuff out and play around with it in the mid fiftys. Later when I really wanted to start tying, the tools were still around, but the materials had been eaten up.

[utyer 0]

Chapter 2

 

These are NOT my grandfathers flies, but were a very popular style of fly in the west when I started fishing out there in 1957. They were still being sold years later when I started working in tackle stores.

 

These are Potts hair flies, in several styles. The bodies are woven with horse hair, and various yarn or thread, and the hackles are horse hair knotted on thread. The Royals on the card from Z C M I were priced at 40 cents. The Sandy Mites were priced by hand on the back at 20 cents.

 

These flies are more most likely 40 to 50 years old.

[NJ All Day 0]

Thanks for sharing! I always seeing stuff from the past! See how much we have evolved to today, but most will still work.

[Bryan Wright 0]

I find it very interesting to see how they did the Hackles on these. It is so different from the way we do ours these days.

[feathers5 0]

Thanks, guys, for showing those old flies. I love looking at those old ties.

Bruce

[Dustin Guyette 0]

actually, the feathers were on them when your grandpa got them, that is how heddon made them.

they were made to look like big moths and butterflies, and things like that. you could probably find

some of them on google.

[utyer 0]

Thanks Dustin, I did look these up, and you are correct.

[buggybob 0]

Pott's Flies were made with a variety of hairs, from ox hair to badger guardhairs and some with horse hair and some other hairs we can't get anymore. The bodies like on a Lady Mite were woven badger guardhairs and the hackle was as well. George Grant has probably the most complete listing of Pott's flies in his book. I've tied some of these and they still work very well.

[Fred H. 0]

Thanks utyer for posting the pics. It's cool to see how things were done long ago and on some patterns how little has changed.

Fred