Fall Favorite
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Red
Body - Embossed silver tinsel over an underbody of tapered white floss or yarn
Hackle - Scarlet red tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Orange calf tail tied over the body
Author's Note
Lloyd Silvius of Eureka, California, originated this pattern in the mid-1940s.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Deschutes Skunk
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tail - Scarlet red hackle barbs
Ribbing - Embossed silver tinsel
Body - Dubbed with black lamb's wool
Hackle - Black tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Natural deer hair tied over the body, with a sparse overwing of white bucktail
Don and Lola McClain of Portland, Oregon, originated this pattern.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art
Deschutes Special
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tail - Scarlet red hackle barbs
Ribbing - Oval silver tinsel
Body - Dubbed with chartreuse lamb's wool
Hackle - Blue dun tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Gray squirrel tail tied over the body
Mike Kennedy of Lake Oswego, Oregon, originated this pattern.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Doc Spratley
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tail - Barred mallard barbs
Ribbing - Oval silver tinsel
Body - Dubbed with black lamb's wool
Hackle - Grizzly tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Bunch of ringneck pheasant tail feather barbs tied over the body
Authors Note
Dick Prankard of Mt. Vernon, Washington, originated this fly about 1949. The fly was named after Dr. Donald Spratley who was a dentist in Mt. Vernon. He and his friends used it for fishing the lakes in British Columbia that had large caddisfly hatches.
I was first introduced to this pattern in 1963 on northern Washington's Ross Lake where it was the only fly we used for a full week. The version of this fly that we were fishing with had a peacock herl head and grizzly hackle barbs for the tail. I later learned that it was proving successful for both summer and winter-run steelhead. Needless to say, you will find a great many variations of this pattern and I have found it tied up to size 1/0.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Doc Spratley
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tail - Barred mallard barbs
Ribbing: Oval silver tinsel
Body - Dubbed with black lamb's wool
Hackle - Grizzly tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Bunch of ringneck pheasant tail feather barbs tied over the body
Head - Peacock herl
Green Conrad
Hooks - Single salmon, size 2-6
Thread - Black
Tail - Golden pheasant crest
Butt - Bronze peacock herl
Ribbing - Oval gold tinsel
Body - Embossed gold tinsel
Wing - Green bucktail and green Flashabou Accent mixed and tied low over the body
Hackle - Fluorescent green hen hackle tied on as a collar and tied back
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Green Plume
Hook - Single salmon, size 2-6
Thread - Red
Tip - Flat silver tinsel
Tail - Golden pheasant tippet barbs
Butt - Insect green ostrich herl or substitute
Body - Fluorescent green floss, with a joint of insect green ostrich herl (or substitute) tied in at the front
Hackle - Grizzly hen hackle barbs tied in at the throat
Wing - Dyed green gray squirrel tail tied low over the body
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Golden Hope
Hook - Single salmon, size 2-6
Tip - Fine gold wire
Tail - Golden pheasant crest feather
Butt - Fine black chenille
Ribbing - Oval gold tinsel
Body - Fluorescent orange floss
Wing - Red pine squirrel tail tied low over the body
Hackle - Furnace tied on as a collar and tied back
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
