Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
When you next tie a size #20 fly to your leader, give some thought to the engineering behind that little wisp of forged steel underlying the fur and feathers. The strength of your hook might be key to subduing the trout of your dreams. We take strong, lightweight hooks for granted, but prior to the late 1800s, hooks were big, heavy, and poorly suited for dry flies. Dry-fly fishing developed in the late 1800s due to advances in hook manufacturing. George Selwyn Marryat, arguably the greatest pioneer of dry-fly design, described at the time properties of a hook needed for dry fly work:
“…the temper of an angel and penetration of a prophet; fine enough to be invisible and strong enough to kill a bull in a ten-acre field.”
You may not land a raging bull on your size #20 hook, but that tiny curl of steel will have no difficulty corralling an angry trout.
Englishman Henry Sinclair Hall, an engineer, metallurgist, and avid fly angler, developed strong, light, fishing hooks in the 1870s. With assistance from George Bankart, Hall improved hook manufacturing and produced the first eyed hooks truly suited for dry flies. Most trout flies prior to Hall were tied on “blind eye” hooks, so named because they are eyeless. The shank of blind eye hooks simply terminates at a straight blunt end. Flies tied on blind eye hooks attach to their leaders via a ‘snell’, a short length of tippet material that is lashed to the hook shank before the fly is tied. The fly is dressed over the snelled hook, and a loop on the snell attaches with a loop-to-loop connection with one on the leader. The system, however, is not very durable. Friction between the blunt end of the hook and the flexible snell weakens the material to the point where perfectly good flies must be discarded due to a worn connection. Hall replaced the blunt end of blind eye hooks with a small circular loop formed of the hook wire, much as with hooks of today. Hall’s hooks had turned-up eyes and offered a durable connection that could be quickly snipped off and retied, something that is important when rapidly changing flies during a hatch. Hall did not invent the circular eye itself, for crude eyed hooks had existed for over a century. Rather, Hall introduced thinner, stronger steel and refined the mechanics of forming a small, neat eye. He mass-produced lightweight eyed hooks in the 1870s and patented the process in 1879. Anglers for the first time could tie flies that floated indefinitely and were easy to change. Hall’s hook design quickly overtook the fly-fishing world and was later described as one of “the two biggest advances of the nineteenth century in trout fishing”, the other being development of the dry fly itself.
Dry flies of the period had tails of stiff hackle fibers, upright divided wings, and a bushy collar of dry fly hackle. Sound familiar? English dry flies were the foundation of the American Catskill style. Such flies land gently, float high, and are perceived by trout as the real deal. F.M. Halford, the great angling author who refined and systematized dry-fly imitation, credited Henry Hall as the originator of many of his important patterns. Hall, however, credited his friend and collaborator George Marryat as being the true fly designer. Hall engineered the hooks, and Marryat designed and tested the flies. The two together plus angling legend Francis Francis founded a new school of fly design and angling methodology that endures to this day.
George Marryat was averse to writing and never published an angling book. Much of his wisdom pertaining to the dry fly, however, is contained in the landmark books of F.M. Halford, with whom Marryat fished and collaborated for seven years before Halford published Floating Flies and How to Dress Them in 1886.
Marryat’s most famous fly is the ‘Little Marryat’, an imitation of English ‘pale watery duns’ (Baetis fuscatus), which are small mayflies with pale straw bodies and light dun wings. The species is not found in North America, but a Little Marryat imitates any small, light colored, mayfly dun. Try a Little Marryat during a sulphur or PMD hatch. When your tiny hook holds fast to a fat trout, give thanks to the engineer and the fly designer who made it possible.
Copyright 2024, Rusty Dunn
Little Marryat
This Little Marryat pattern is from F.M. Halford, Floating Flies and How to Dress Them (1886).
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Hook:
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Dry fly, #16 – #18
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Thread:
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Not stated, but pale yellow works well
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Tail:
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Hackle fibers of a Buff Cochin rooster chicken, a color similar to today’s light ginger
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Body:
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Fur from the flank of an Australian opossum, but any finely textured, light-colored dubbing works well.
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Wings:
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Wing quill slips of a pale starling
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Hackle:
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Rooster hackle, light ginger
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Little Marryat
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Last Updated: November 4, 2024 by Drew Kasel
by Rusty Dunn
When you next tie a size #20 fly to your leader, give some thought to the engineering behind that little wisp of forged steel underlying the fur and feathers. The strength of your hook might be key to subduing the trout of your dreams. We take strong, lightweight hooks for granted, but prior to the late 1800s, hooks were big, heavy, and poorly suited for dry flies. Dry-fly fishing developed in the late 1800s due to advances in hook manufacturing. George Selwyn Marryat, arguably the greatest pioneer of dry-fly design, described at the time properties of a hook needed for dry fly work:
“…the temper of an angel and penetration of a prophet; fine enough to be invisible and strong enough to kill a bull in a ten-acre field.”
You may not land a raging bull on your size #20 hook, but that tiny curl of steel will have no difficulty corralling an angry trout.
Englishman Henry Sinclair Hall, an engineer, metallurgist, and avid fly angler, developed strong, light, fishing hooks in the 1870s. With assistance from George Bankart, Hall improved hook manufacturing and produced the first eyed hooks truly suited for dry flies. Most trout flies prior to Hall were tied on “blind eye” hooks, so named because they are eyeless. The shank of blind eye hooks simply terminates at a straight blunt end. Flies tied on blind eye hooks attach to their leaders via a ‘snell’, a short length of tippet material that is lashed to the hook shank before the fly is tied. The fly is dressed over the snelled hook, and a loop on the snell attaches with a loop-to-loop connection with one on the leader. The system, however, is not very durable. Friction between the blunt end of the hook and the flexible snell weakens the material to the point where perfectly good flies must be discarded due to a worn connection. Hall replaced the blunt end of blind eye hooks with a small circular loop formed of the hook wire, much as with hooks of today. Hall’s hooks had turned-up eyes and offered a durable connection that could be quickly snipped off and retied, something that is important when rapidly changing flies during a hatch. Hall did not invent the circular eye itself, for crude eyed hooks had existed for over a century. Rather, Hall introduced thinner, stronger steel and refined the mechanics of forming a small, neat eye. He mass-produced lightweight eyed hooks in the 1870s and patented the process in 1879. Anglers for the first time could tie flies that floated indefinitely and were easy to change. Hall’s hook design quickly overtook the fly-fishing world and was later described as one of “the two biggest advances of the nineteenth century in trout fishing”, the other being development of the dry fly itself.
Dry flies of the period had tails of stiff hackle fibers, upright divided wings, and a bushy collar of dry fly hackle. Sound familiar? English dry flies were the foundation of the American Catskill style. Such flies land gently, float high, and are perceived by trout as the real deal. F.M. Halford, the great angling author who refined and systematized dry-fly imitation, credited Henry Hall as the originator of many of his important patterns. Hall, however, credited his friend and collaborator George Marryat as being the true fly designer. Hall engineered the hooks, and Marryat designed and tested the flies. The two together plus angling legend Francis Francis founded a new school of fly design and angling methodology that endures to this day.
George Marryat was averse to writing and never published an angling book. Much of his wisdom pertaining to the dry fly, however, is contained in the landmark books of F.M. Halford, with whom Marryat fished and collaborated for seven years before Halford published Floating Flies and How to Dress Them in 1886.
Marryat’s most famous fly is the ‘Little Marryat’, an imitation of English ‘pale watery duns’ (Baetis fuscatus), which are small mayflies with pale straw bodies and light dun wings. The species is not found in North America, but a Little Marryat imitates any small, light colored, mayfly dun. Try a Little Marryat during a sulphur or PMD hatch. When your tiny hook holds fast to a fat trout, give thanks to the engineer and the fly designer who made it possible.
Copyright 2024, Rusty Dunn
Little Marryat
This Little Marryat pattern is from F.M. Halford, Floating Flies and How to Dress Them (1886).
Hook:
Dry fly, #16 – #18
Thread:
Not stated, but pale yellow works well
Tail:
Hackle fibers of a Buff Cochin rooster chicken, a color similar to today’s light ginger
Body:
Fur from the flank of an Australian opossum, but any finely textured, light-colored dubbing works well.
Wings:
Wing quill slips of a pale starling
Hackle:
Rooster hackle, light ginger
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