Flies

LITTLE  RED  SEDGE

Origin

Developed by George Edward MacKenzie Skues who was without a doubt one of the greatest fisherman that ever lived.  He was born in England in 1858 and died in 1949.  He caught his first fish in 1874 with an eleven foot rod, a silk and horsehair line, and a Wickham’s Fancy fly.  His first day fishing on a chalk stream was the Itchen in 1887 and a year later he wrote his first article in the angling press. His first book, Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream, was published in 1910 after careful exploration of the possibilities of nymph fishing at a time when the dry fly reigned supreme.
His achievement was the invention of fly fishing the nymph, an achievement that was not without controversy.  At that time, and even yet, fly fishing in England was basically done only with dry flies to rising trout. Although he was known for his nymph patters that are very much like our hare’s ear nymphs, this is a dry fly pattern that he developed.

Pattern

    • Hook     --  wet fly type, sizes 12 & 14
    • Thread   --  hot orange
    • Tail        --  none
    • Body      --  dark hare’s fur
    • Rib         --  short fiber red hackle – palmered on the body
    • Counter rib  --  fine gold wire
    • Wing      --  landrail wing, bunched and rolled and sloping well back over
    • The tail  ( Landrail is a bird that I think is similar to the partridge )
    • Hackle    --  deep red cock in front of the wings  ( longer than the body )

Tying Instructions:

  • Pinch down the hook barb
  • Wrap on thread base and cement to the hook
  • Tie on the red hackle at the bend of the hook to use later
  • Tie on the gold wire to be used later
  • Dub on the body of hare’s dubbing – stop at about the 1/3 point of the hook
  • Palmer wrap the red hackle and tie off at about the 1/3 point
  • Counter wrap the gold wire and tie off
  • Tie on the wings on top of the body , make the wings a little longer than the hook
  • Tie on and wrap the red hackle feather in front of the wings, make about five wraps
  • Whip finish the thread and cement

Flies  Imitated:  You will notice that this is very similar to our present day Elk Hair Caddis, except for the hackle in front of the wing.  It does imitate a small reddish brown caddis

How to fish: Like any dry fly – dead drift in the foam line, around rocks and structure.

Gary Kutz, Golden State Flycasters, May 2006