Last year I posted about a cobblers daughter who tied flies professionally for close to seven decades. She trimmed the hackles to match the hook size and her pattern recipies ( or rather her father's) called them "brush", not hackle. Her father, Oscar Fick, started the business in 1918 and Alma started tying in her early teens. Oscar was fishing his flies with the "looped rod", which could be up to eight metres long. Some photos can be seen here:http://www.rackelhanen.se/swe/1504.htmDuring my recent trip to Syracuse, I was talking to John Shaner (Greenwell), about the use of trimmed hackle flies. He said that trimming the hackle was common in older flies.
Yallerhammer: http://www.rackelhanen.se/eng/10384.htm
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