The Long Rod, Reverse Hackled Flies etc.

[DNicolson]

I was not sure which board this item should be in, anyway;
I have been making some modifications to my web-site.
There is now a section on the Long Rod (Loop Rod) ancient and modern.
There is a section on Reverse Hackle flies and within that an updated
Tenkara section, quite a few flies added.
The Long Rod
http://donaldnicolson.webplus.net/page491.html

Reverse Hackle Flies
http://donaldnicolson.webplus.net/page498.html

Tenkara Style
http://donaldnicolson.webplus.net/page304.html

They are all inter-connected, for obvious reasons, I had already a lot of
this info on the web-site, but re-organising it took quite a bit of time.
Luckily my eyes do not seem to be bothered by my working on the internet.

My next job is to dress some flies which I will have to do gradually and not
strain the 'old eye-balls'. I want to complete the Leisenring Nymph section.

[fleaflicker]

Fantastic Stuff Donald... I think we spoke many years ago re the loop rod or long rods for the special fishing techniques of spiders etc.. My user name was Hove at the time & there was a good bunch of us lot on the ol fish & fly forums, when it was good!...

Anyhows, re: reversed hackle flies, some known to us border fishermen in wales are those of the design by Cosmo Barrett of Presteigne, flies including Barrett's Bane and Barrett's Professor among others advertised in the 1930's also known as "Improved dry flies, though there were people in the area fishing hen hackles pushed up forwards on their hooks, used both as wet, dry & damp.. I used to have a small book of flies from the area with this feature on many of the patterns, not to any particular dressing... The sad thing about it is the book of flies went amiss many years ago when moving homes, grrrrrrr....

Cheers
Math

[DNicolson]

That is very interesting Math, I have never heard of Cosmo Barrett and that there was a reverse hackle
culture in Wales. Are there any books

[hankaye]

Donald, Howdy;

Would appear that you have a new "Quest", in the making....
Please keep us informed.

hank

[willowhead]

This is cool stuff.......

[Ruard]

The Funneldun of Neil Patterson is a reversed fly also. That is a dry fly. I know that is not the subject of this forum, but the i think we are speaking of a way of tying a hackle.

Greeting

[DNicolson]

You are right Ruard, problem is I have never dressed one and as I prefer to show flies
that I have tied I suppose I could show someone else's and give them credit.

[fleaflicker]

Confusion on my part... What i badly explained in my post above was that the only flies refered to as reversed on the border streams were those tied backwards, hackle at rear of hook, and, at the time , they were different and they were dry flies... Only those i personally had as a kid represented forwards angled hen hackle.. I remember them clearly as they were different to everything i had in my box. I do remember thinking that someone had tried to dress a dry fly , but with different material for the legs & no tails.. There was no doubts that the maker of those flies had their reason for dressing them as such, though i dont recall them explaining how i should fish them, just as usual it was the "here boy, try a couple of these" approach and off ye went... Was he out of rooster hackle? or did he have his reasons for the dressing as it was? i doubt i will ever find out, though in conversation recently with an elder who used to fish the area , he suggested it not unheard of for flies to have been dressed in this manner for emerging duns in slower glides with the effectiveness of a moving hackle that would not swamp the body, and give a little kick,
Math, oft time he said adding in a sparse turn or two of the rooser feather to enable its floating qualities....

I do believe that wales is very much an understated country with respect to the genius of fly pattern design & ingenuity... We all know of patterns like coch-a-bon-ddu (correct spelling) which is fished world wide , that many associate with scotland or ireland when it is infact from the lands of Cymru, the list is endless, as are many other localised patterns that never made public!

Cheers
Math

[willowhead]

Cool stuff Math.....keep it commin'......i gotta pal here named Davy Wotton.....he's a Welshman and a world class angler and tyer. Hope he sees your post.

[fleaflicker]

I believe Mr Wotton is from a town just 10 mins from me, very close... Ive no doubts that we share some local haunts, mayhave even tread the same rocks before!

Lets get back and waterknot the lines of this thread

I do wish to make a hex Loop rod someday... A light whispy loop rod to dabble a team of three, bamboo ferrules , cork right through, uluminium slide bands... No question about it, it certainly wont be feathereight, but i bet it will be a joy to use if set up to be balanced two handed as they once were.... the controll of such a long rod pays dividens when dibble dabbling flymphs & northcountry spiders et al, especially usefull when drifting on the downstream.
Something i miss quite abit since i started making cane, was the ability to really reach and fish just your leader and a few feet of line, playing Hand of the wing technique, a saying i like to familiarise with the old Feng Shou Kung fu art , there is a ring to it which makes sence in terms of technique.... The kung fu technique if masterfully learnt , swift quick movements utilising your oponants strength against them selves, where we anglers of the fly can bare this in mind & use our oponants strengh to play or flies , our oponant being the blustery wind up high on a mountain reservoir or on the wind swept river, utilising its gusts and lulls to pick our flies up, only to put them down again swiftly, dappling them in glassy windows, when the wind will pick them up anagin to the very skim of the surface , creating that featherlike movement just when the speckle fish likes to lash and dance with that fly.......

Hmmm, cabin feaver