Historical Pattern Question (February Red - circa 1496)

[daringduffer]

You have probably seen this already:http://globalflyfisher.com/global/february-red/ This is one species.
This is another; British:http://www.buglife.org.uk/bugs-and-habi ... bruary-red.

Michael Theakston skips February Red in his British Angling Flies https://archive.org/stream/britishangli ... 0/mode/1up
In his scheme, "Dun" is caddis, "Spinner" is diptera, Drake is 'mayfly' and "Brown" is stone-fly.

Roger Woolley gives both winged and hackled pattern of Feb. Red. "The February Red and the Winter Brown are two of the earliest flies that appear on our streams, and are somewhat similar in size and appearance, the winter brown being of a shade darker brown on the body, and its wings more mottled, whilst the February Red is more of a reddish-brown hue, its wings of a brownish horny colour".
He calls for a "darkish, well-rusted blue cock". I understand you are looking for a less modern pattern, but I need an explanation of that wing colour.

When looking into this, haphazardly, I found a reference to an old manuscript at Yale, with a text that pre-dates Dame Julian(a) by a few decades. Some of it is almost the exact wording. I found this in my copy of a book by Gunnar Johnson and Anders Forsling, issued 1996 (not 1496). Added to the book is a water-colour of a trout and that "Dun fly", with a partridge wing. Their interpretation doesn't look much like "our" February Red".

I'm unsure of what stage you intend to represent; the creeper or the adult, egglaying or drowned. Roger Fogg gives the following (traditional) pattern in his "The Art of the Wet Fly" (1979):

Hook: 16 - 14
Body: Reddish claret silk or seal's fur at the tail, remainder lightish brown.
Hackle: Dark grizzle dun hen.
Wings: Speckled hen wing.

Need a break now...

dd

[Ruard]

I found the following text:



see this link now I understand peahen:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjpj22awSYI

greeting

Ruard

[daringduffer]

Hi Ruard,

Would that be Ogden?

dd

[letumgo]

You guys AMAZE me! What a cool discussion this has become. Lots of great information and references. I am struck by how strange some of the color descriptions are (such as "its wings of a brownish horny colour"). I hate to ask, but what color is "horny"?

Thank you all for the effort you have put into this thread. Wonderful.

[Mataura mayfly]

Usually a "flushed" red?

Guess it depends on the donor horn, I am guessing cow horn...... which still leaves a pretty vast colour palette.

[daringduffer]

Some more to make things dizzier:

https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000022413

http://www.first-nature.com/insects/ple ... bulosa.php

Very few fish have access to those links.
------------
The following comes from Mr Neat himself, and can be found here:

http://www.flymph.com/html/patterns.html

"21. Brown Shiner:
Wings and Legs: light brown mottled Moor-Game's (Red Grouse) feather from bottom of neck
Body: light orange silk at tail, and green Peacock's feather close under wing, headed with
green Peacock
Silk: light orange
Note: at particular times, especially after rains, it is made with mulberry-colored silk, and
dark brown tammy ** twisted upon the silk; wing, a Grouse feather, nearly black
This is a great killer after rains and in black waters; by some anglers called Old Joan"

I don't remember who gave this recipie.
-
"Courtesy of Donald Nicholson
Fogg, Roger W.S.: 1988: A Notebook of North Country Flies

6. Crimson Woodcock:
Hook: 18-14.
Thread: crimson silk
Hackle: well-marked red-brown feather from the marginal coverts of a woodcock
Body: crimson tying silk, floss silk or wool. a thorax or peacock hurl or red fox fur produces an
attractive fly.
Note: the Crimson Woodcock may be regarded as a general river pattern and is particularly
useful as an imitation of early stoneflies including the February red.

53. Crimson Partridge:
Hook: 16 to 12.
Thread: crimson silk.
Hackle: a well-speckled partridge back feather.
Body: a slim and short body of crimson wool.
Note: this provides a good imitation of the February red stonefly and does well when the river is
discolored. It also seems to fish well in peaty little lochs and may be used on a traditional
loch styled cast when boat fishing".

dd

[wsbailey]

This is a picture of some wool yarn that I dyed using Medieval era dyes for a book on the history of flies. The light and dark gray yarn is natural. No one knows what the actual colors looked like but I used the dyes mentioned in the Treatyse for dyeing fishing line. In the center is barked hemp using the recipe from the book. Barking hemp has been a common way to waterproof lines and nets up until recent times. It may still be used in some remote areas of the world. The yarn is made from Ryeland sheep which was a breed used in the Medieval era. Bill

[daringduffer]

Bill,
The barked hemp you mention reminds me of something Johnson/Forsling writes in their book "Dame Julianas Flugor". They compare text from her treatise with text from Walton.

She writes "bounde on with barkyd hemp" whilst Walton writes "bound with braked hemp". They suggest a few possible interpretations for 'barkyd* (one of them being leathercoloured), and then goes on to stress how hazardous it can be to take a text out of its context.

Can you add something to this?

(The manuscript i wrote about earlier is to be found in "The Beincke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University").

dd

Edit. By "out of its context" I mean interpreting "outside that period of time when it was written". Can't find the right words right now. Right?

[letumgo]

Bill - Do you sell sets of that yarn? I'd be interested in buying a set if you do. Shoot me a PM with the specific.

[wsbailey]

Bill,
The barked hemp you mention reminds me of something Johnson/Forsling writes in their book "Dame Julianas Flugor". They compare text from her treatise with text from Walton.

She writes "bounde on with barkyd hemp" whilst Walton writes "bound with braked hemp". They suggest a few possible interpretations for 'barkyd* (one of them being leathercoloured), and then goes on to stress how hazardous it can be to take a text out of its context.

Can you add something to this?

(The manuscript i wrote about earlier is to be found in "The Beincke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University").

dd

Edit. By "out of its context" I mean interpreting "outside that period of time when it was written". Can't find the right words right now. Right?

John McDonald wrote "The Origins of Angling" which discusses the Treatyse at length. In it he states:" 'Barked hemp' is a rope cord steeped in a dye made of the bark of certain trees (for the preservative action)". Some suggest that braked hemp is the intended meaning but I believe that is not the case. Braked hemp would be raw fiber and would presume that the head was dubbed with it. Type "tannin fishing nets" in Google and you will find abundant information about the subject. McDonald's book was originally a four part series in Sports Illustrated back in 1957. You can see the articles starting here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm It takes a bit of practice to read the articles but it is well worth the time. I bought the four issues on eBay and I have the book. Bill