utyer 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2012 Claudius Ælianus gave us the one of the first (maybe the first) accounts of the tying and use of the artificial fly. Aelian (to use the English translation,) was a Roman scholar and historian from the late second century AD. Writing about 200 he collected 17 volumes of natural history from around the Roman Empire. Fly fishing was well established by that time, and fly tying had to have been as well. Aelian states that the anglers of Macedonia made their own flies as using the naturals as bait was not possible since they were very fragile. The pattern was given as follows: Red (crimson) wool body, and two feathers from under a cocks wattles. So rooster hackle was used even then. Very little other information was given about the pattern, so there are several alternate ways the fly could have been made. Here is the way I like to tie it, along with a group of other possibilities. Since I like to fish these flies, I tie them with modern hooks. From what I know of fly tiers, they love to have and use the finest available tools and materials, so I like to think that the Macedonian anglers would have taken full advantages of every new innovation in hooks and materials. For a more complete account of these and other fly fishing history check out the Fly Fishing History site by Dr Andrew N. Herd. This pattern is known today as the Soldier Palmer. It is the original of the woolly worm, and the woolly bugger. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C LeBo 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2012 Nice collection of history and information, and great flies. Well Done! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
novabass 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2012 Nice post! Nice flies! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
