Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”

by Rusty Dunn

Fly tying as practiced today owes much to Charles Cotton, who in 1676 authored “Part II” of Isaac Walton’s classic The Compleat Angler. Cotton was not the first author to list artificial flies and describe how they are tied, but prior accounts were sketchy at best. Cotton gave detailed instructions on materials, tying methods, insects being imitated, and the best months for each fly’s use. Cotton’s flies are remarkably modern in appearance, being small, sparsely dressed, and neat in appearance. His meticulous approach began a rich literature of fly tying instruction that persists to the present day.

No material was more important to Cotton than his bag of fur dubbings. He wrote of them with great affection and praised their ability to imitate natural insects. Speaking as Piscator in The Compleat Angler, Cotton wrote:

“Piscator: Boy, come, give me my dubbing bag here presently; and now, sir, since I find you so honest a man, I will make no scruple to lay open my treasure before you.

Viator: Did ever any one see the like! What a heap of trumpery is here! Certainly never an angler in Europe has his shop half so well furnished as you have.”

The softness, shine, and buoyancy of natural hair and fur are unexcelled for imitating insect bodies, legs, tails, and even wings. Fur transmits light through the fibers, something that Cotton understood well. Viator, while being tutored on fly tying, described a dark fur dubbing as “very black”, to which Piscator responded,

“It appears so in the hand; but step to the door and hold it up betwixt your eye and the sun, and it will appear a shining red; let me tell you, never a man in England can discern the true colour of a dubbing any way but that.”

Natural furs are outstanding for the dressing of wet flies and nymphs. Soft furs soak up water and become even more flexible. A thinly dubbed body of fur overlying a base of tying thread whose color shows through the fur imitates insect translucency better than any other method.

Dave Whitlock is a native Oklahoman who made a career in the fly angling industry. Oklahoma is not traditional fly fishing country, but Whitlock was attracted to the sport as a teenager. He learned tying and fishing by reading his granddad’s Field & Stream magazines and outdoor catalogs. He had no access to pricey tying materials, so Whitlock tied with sewing threads plus furs and feathers that he harvested locally.

Whitlock entered college as an art and journalism major, but his family persuaded him to choose a more employable profession. He thus became a science major and worked as a research chemist well into his 30s, at which time he bolted for a career in fly fishing. But Whitlock never abandoned his artistic and scientific tendencies. He is an accomplished artist who, like John Atherton, designs strikingly beautiful flies. Beauty alone does not catch fish, but that’s where Whitlock-the-scientist comes forth. His flies derive from careful experimentation and observation. He ties a pattern, fishes it, makes changes, fishes it again, makes more changes, fishes it again, etc. until completely satisfied. The resulting flies are both beautiful AND effective.

The Red Fox Squirrel Hair Nymph and Dave’s Hopper are, arguably, Whitlock’s signature flies. The Red Fox Squirrel Nymph is an impressionistic fly that is effective in virtually all trout waters. Red fox squirrel skins are richly mottled in cream, black, tan, and orange. Whitlock developed the pattern in the late 1960s, having been strongly influenced by the writings of Polly Rosborough and Ted Trueblood. Like other champion flies such as the Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear and Wooly Bugger, the Red Fox Squirrel Hair Nymph is remarkable for its cunning ability to out-fox a wily trout.

Copyright 2016, Rusty Dunn

Red Fox Squirrel Hair Nymph

Hook: 2X-long nymph, #2 – #20, weighted with wire over the middle half of the shank
Thread: Black or orange, 8/0
Tail: Small tuft of back fur of a red fox squirrel
Abdomen: Orange belly fur of a red fox squirrel, mixed 1:1 with “sienna” or “fox tan” Antron
Rib: Oval gold tinsel, sized to match hook
Thorax: Back fur of a red fox squirrel mixed 1:1 with charcoal Antron; wound loosely, bulging, and shaggy
Hackle: Soft webby hen or brown partridge feather; one turn in front of the thorax