Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
British flies are often named with a sense of whimsy, such as the Welshman’s Button, Wickham’s Fancy, Houghton Ruby, and Dotterel Dun. The list is long. Such names conjure images of long-forgotten anglers, quaint old-world locations, or feathers plucked from an exotic bird. The Tup’s Indispensable is one such flight of fancy. ‘Tup’ is a Scottish term for a male sheep. ‘Indispensable’ refers to the magic ingredient supposedly needed for the fly’s effectiveness … the secret sauce, the indispensable mojo, the fly-tying secret guarded from public disclosure for over 30 years.
The Tup’s Indispensable was the brainchild of R.S. Austin, a merchant and fly tyer of Tiverton, England. Austin developed the Tup’s around 1900 to imitate pale-colored mayflies. Author G.E.M. Skues corresponded extensively with Austin, experimented with both dry and wet versions of the pattern, and introduced Tup’s Indispensables to the world through his highly visible writings. Skues even suggested to Austin the fly’s snappy name. Skues’ praise of the Tup’s brought notoriety both to the fly and to Austin. Theodore Gordon, James Leisenring, Eugene Connett, and other influential American authors similarly praised the Tup’s prowess. All credited its uncanny success to properties of Austin’s dubbing mix. Skues described the magical dubbing best: “When wet, the Tup’s wool becomes somehow illuminated throughout by the colour of the red [seal fur], and the entire effect of the body is extraordinarily filmy and insect-like.”
Austin was a commercial fly tyer, and his dubbing blend was a closely guarded secret. He shared the recipe with only two confidants, one of whom was Skues. Such secrecy was part of the fly’s allure. If you wanted genuine Tup’s Indispensables – and Skues’ writings insured that you would – buying them from Austin was the only source. Secrecy did not deter others from attempting to guess the recipe, and many absurd creations were marketed as the real thing. They were all wrong, and Austin himself supplied the only authentic Tup’s Indispensables. Tying the fly became somewhat of an Austin family industry, but success carried a price. Austin tired of tying immense numbers of one fly, and he confided to Skues that his home water, the River Frome, “stank of Tup’s Indispensables from Maiden Newton [its headwaters] to the sea“.
After Austin died in 1911 and after his daughter retired from fly tying in 1934, the Austin family gave Skues permission to publish for posterity the dubbing recipe. Skues revealed the magic formula in a 1934 article in the Fly Fisher’s Club Journal. So, what was the secret of Austin’s dubbing? Skues describes it:
“The essential part of this dubbing is the highly translucent wool from the indispensable part of a Tup, thoroughly washed and cleansed of the natural oil of the animal.”
There you go! All you need for genuine Tup’s Indispensables is fine wool cut from the testicles of a white ram. Yeow! No wonder other writers failed to decipher the recipe. Remarkably, Austin was not the first to incorporate fur of a ram’s testicle in fly tying. Alexander Mackintosh published a Green Drake pattern tied of such fur, which he described as “a beautiful dusty yellow” (The Driffield Angler, 1806). Beautiful? Indeed! Plentiful? Not! Fortunately, synthetic dyes and alternative furs make gathering Tup’s materials far more pleasant today.
Try fishing a Tup’s Indispensable to imitate light colored mayflies. In Wisconsin, sulphurs, pale BWOs, light Cahills, and light Hendricksons are very Tup’s-friendly. Fish a Tup’s wingless wet as an emerger awash in the surface film or drifted subsurface as a dropper trailing behind a dry fly. The list of authentic Tup’s ingredients always provokes a chuckle, but it’s no joke that you should tie one on and see for yourself what Austin’s magic is all about.
Copyright 2022, Rusty Dunn
Tup’s Indispensable (Skues)
The wingless wet pictured here is tied with authentic Tup’s dubbing as described by R.S. Austin.
| Hook: |
Wet fly hook, size to match natural |
| Thread: |
Primrose silk (Pearsall’s Gossamer No.3) |
| Tail: |
Yellow-spangled light blue dun hackle fibers |
| Abdomen: |
Primrose yellow silk |
| Thorax: |
Scrotum wool of a tup mixed with fur of a lemon-colored spaniel, fur of a hare’s poll, cream-colored seal fur, and red seal fur or mohair to give a pinkish shade. (Substitute natural furs as needed.) |
| Hackle: |
Yellow-spangled light blue dun hen hackle |
Tup’s Indispensable (Skues)
Leave a Comment
Last Updated: June 7, 2022 by Drew Kasel
by Rusty Dunn
British flies are often named with a sense of whimsy, such as the Welshman’s Button, Wickham’s Fancy, Houghton Ruby, and Dotterel Dun. The list is long. Such names conjure images of long-forgotten anglers, quaint old-world locations, or feathers plucked from an exotic bird. The Tup’s Indispensable is one such flight of fancy. ‘Tup’ is a Scottish term for a male sheep. ‘Indispensable’ refers to the magic ingredient supposedly needed for the fly’s effectiveness … the secret sauce, the indispensable mojo, the fly-tying secret guarded from public disclosure for over 30 years.
The Tup’s Indispensable was the brainchild of R.S. Austin, a merchant and fly tyer of Tiverton, England. Austin developed the Tup’s around 1900 to imitate pale-colored mayflies. Author G.E.M. Skues corresponded extensively with Austin, experimented with both dry and wet versions of the pattern, and introduced Tup’s Indispensables to the world through his highly visible writings. Skues even suggested to Austin the fly’s snappy name. Skues’ praise of the Tup’s brought notoriety both to the fly and to Austin. Theodore Gordon, James Leisenring, Eugene Connett, and other influential American authors similarly praised the Tup’s prowess. All credited its uncanny success to properties of Austin’s dubbing mix. Skues described the magical dubbing best: “When wet, the Tup’s wool becomes somehow illuminated throughout by the colour of the red [seal fur], and the entire effect of the body is extraordinarily filmy and insect-like.”
Austin was a commercial fly tyer, and his dubbing blend was a closely guarded secret. He shared the recipe with only two confidants, one of whom was Skues. Such secrecy was part of the fly’s allure. If you wanted genuine Tup’s Indispensables – and Skues’ writings insured that you would – buying them from Austin was the only source. Secrecy did not deter others from attempting to guess the recipe, and many absurd creations were marketed as the real thing. They were all wrong, and Austin himself supplied the only authentic Tup’s Indispensables. Tying the fly became somewhat of an Austin family industry, but success carried a price. Austin tired of tying immense numbers of one fly, and he confided to Skues that his home water, the River Frome, “stank of Tup’s Indispensables from Maiden Newton [its headwaters] to the sea“.
After Austin died in 1911 and after his daughter retired from fly tying in 1934, the Austin family gave Skues permission to publish for posterity the dubbing recipe. Skues revealed the magic formula in a 1934 article in the Fly Fisher’s Club Journal. So, what was the secret of Austin’s dubbing? Skues describes it:
“The essential part of this dubbing is the highly translucent wool from the indispensable part of a Tup, thoroughly washed and cleansed of the natural oil of the animal.”
There you go! All you need for genuine Tup’s Indispensables is fine wool cut from the testicles of a white ram. Yeow! No wonder other writers failed to decipher the recipe. Remarkably, Austin was not the first to incorporate fur of a ram’s testicle in fly tying. Alexander Mackintosh published a Green Drake pattern tied of such fur, which he described as “a beautiful dusty yellow” (The Driffield Angler, 1806). Beautiful? Indeed! Plentiful? Not! Fortunately, synthetic dyes and alternative furs make gathering Tup’s materials far more pleasant today.
Try fishing a Tup’s Indispensable to imitate light colored mayflies. In Wisconsin, sulphurs, pale BWOs, light Cahills, and light Hendricksons are very Tup’s-friendly. Fish a Tup’s wingless wet as an emerger awash in the surface film or drifted subsurface as a dropper trailing behind a dry fly. The list of authentic Tup’s ingredients always provokes a chuckle, but it’s no joke that you should tie one on and see for yourself what Austin’s magic is all about.
Copyright 2022, Rusty Dunn
Tup’s Indispensable (Skues)
The wingless wet pictured here is tied with authentic Tup’s dubbing as described by R.S. Austin.
Share this:
Category: Fly Tying, Rusty Dunn Fountains of Youth
Recent Posts
Categories