Why are they Different?

The original Speys, Dees and Tays were distinguished mainly by the slender, long shanked hooks, the materials used in the construction of the body, hackle and the wing, and often by multiple flosses and tinsels used in complex ribbing patterns, as well as by the arrangement and alignment of the wings themselves. Of course there were exceptions to these criteria, but those came to be more in later flies, not the early ones. The main criteria I will introduce here in the introduction though is the wing arrangement and the long hackles. All of them were simple strip wings, to use Pryce-Tannatt's vernacular. The Speys however were winged with a pair of bronze mallard (usually) strips, humped low over the body, producing an effect like a "keelless racing-boat placed upside down." Dees usually had a narrow strip of cinnamon or white turkey, tied horizontally, splayed wide in a V, and Tays, the best way to describe them would be to send you over to http://nwflytyer.wordpress.com/ and look at Monte's rendition of the Black Dog.
Most of them used either herons hackle, tied as long as possible, or Spey cock hackle. These days heron has given way to smaller hooks and Blue eared pheasant as a sub, and Spey cock is now schlappen, our best guess at what Spey cock was back then. There was a certain group of Dees that even used eagle thigh feathers or marabou(from the marabou stork), neither of which we can use today at all. Fortunately, turkey thigh 'marabou' is indistinguishable apparently from the real thing, so we have that covered also.
I shall show examples of all of these styles, with exceptions eventually as time allows for tying, writing and posting.
For those readers wanting a complete, in-depth, up to date history with tying instructions, of the Spey flies, I urge you to visit the best site I have seen for this: http://nwflytyer.wordpress.com/tying-notes/an-introduction-to-spey-flies/ It has everything.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Deschutes River Dees

Back when I was in college, in Olympia, Washington state, I became acquainted with the Deschutes River, which runs through town. ( Washington's Deschutes River) Seeing and hooking nice fish convinced me that this was a river to remember.  Ten years or so later, moving back to Olympia renewed my interest in the river and it's sea-run cutthroat trout, steelhead and salmon.  This was about the time everyone in the fly fishing community was buzzing about Spey flies and to a lesser extent Dees, so I decided to do a Dee/ Spey style fly for the Deschutes trout.  Not being satisfied with just one colour however, I eventually came up with ten, then later added the Red Special as the eleventh.  Characterized by a two part body, and the use of "truffle" turkey for the wing, with married in strips of various colour goose, these look good and fish well.  They have met with a good reception where-ever I have shown them.  They are a little complicated to tie however, so eventually I moved on to other patterns.  Browsing my files the other day however reminded me of the fun I had with these, so I thought I would share.  Pardon the photos.  They were taken with one of the first digital cameras on the market.  Not bad for an old camera.
Truffle turkey is a colour of turkey we bred that has a deep chocolate irregular mottling in the tail, with a lot of iridescence, quite unlike domestic or standard wild turkey on the market.  It is much darker, and reminds one of deep chocolate truffles, hence the name.


Pattern #1 Deschutes River Dee, Red
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: fine gold thread and claret silk 
Tail: topping and barred wood duck
Body: 4 equal parts Fiery orange SLF #16, Fiery claret SLF # 13, Fiery brown SLF#35, Black SLF# 41
Rib: oval gold tinsel
Hackle: black over all, guinea dyed red over front half
Collar: lemon wood duck
Wings: a pair of truffle turkey tail covert strips, tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping

Pattern 2 Deschutes River Dee, Blue
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: fine silver thread and canary yellow silk
Tail: topping and kingfisher
Butt: black ostrich herl
Body: in two halves; rear, flat silver tinsel veiled with two matched kingfisher side by side, above and below, butted with black ostrich herl. Front, darkest blue, almost black silk
Rib: oval silver tinsel over both halves individually
Hackle: guinea dyed blue
Collar: lemon wood duck
Wings: a pair of truffle turkey tail covert strips, with narrow strip of blue goose shoulder married through the middle, tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping

Pattern 3 Deschutes River Dee, Yellow
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: fine silver thread and chartreuse silk
Tail: topping and tippet in strands
Butt: black ostrich herl
Body: in two halves; rear buttercup yellow silk veiled above and below with yellow macaw in strands, butted with black ostrich herl.  Front, Black SLF#41
Rib: oval gold tinsel on both halves individually.
Hackle: guinea dyed yellow
Collar: peacock breast
Wings:  a pair of truffle turkey tail covert strips, with narrow strip of yellow goose shoulder married through the middle, tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping





Pattern 4 Deschutes River Dee, grizzled
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: flat silver tinsel
Tail: topping and barred wood duck
Butt: black ostrich herl
Body: in two halves, rear; flat silver tinsel veiled with oily black rooster saddle in strand, above and below, butted with black ostrich herl.  Front, Black SLF#41
Rib: oval silver tinsel, front half only
Hackle: natural black and white guinea
Collar: teal
Wings:  a pair of truffle turkey tail covert strips, with narrow strip of white/black/white goose shoulder married through the middle, tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping

Pattern 5 Deschutes River Dee, Peacock and Orange
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: fine silver thread and canary yellow silk
Tail: topping and tippet in strands
Butt: black ostrich herl
Body: in two halves, rear hot orange SLF#15, Front, peacock herl
Rib: oval silver tinsel over all
Hackle: hot orange over all, guinea dyed chartreuse over front half. 
Collar: peacock breast
Wings:  a pair of truffle turkey tail covert strips, with narrow strip of green goose shoulder married through the middle, tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping



Pattern 6 Deschutes River Dee, Sunburst
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: fine silver thread and canary yellow silk
Tail: topping and golden pheasant breast in strands
Butt: black ostrich herl
Body: in four equal parts, Hot orange SLF#15, Fiery orange SLF#16, Crimson SLF#17, Fiery claret SLF#13,
Rib: oval gold tinsel
Hackle: yellow over all, guinea dyed red from the Crimson SLF#17
Collar: lemon wood duck
Wings:  a pair of truffle turkey tail strips, with narrow strip of yellow/orange/red goose shoulder married through the middle, tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping


Pattern 7 Deschutes River Dee, Orange and Blue
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: fine gold thread and canary yellow silk
Butt: black ostrich herl
Tail: topping and kingfisher
Body: in two halves, rear orange silk veiled with golden pheasant breast in strands, butted with black ostrich herl. Front, peacock herl
Rib: fine gold thread over rear half, wound close (6 turns), oval gold tinsel over front half
Hackle: guinea dyed orange
Collar: golden pheasant back
Wings:  a pair of truffle turkey tail strips, with narrow strip of yellow/blue/orange goose shoulder married through the middle, tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping

Pattern 8 Deschutes River Dee, Yellow and Blue
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: fine silver thread and canary yellow silk
Butt: black ostrich herl
Tail: topping and kingfisher
Body: in two halves, rear canary yellow silk veiled with golden pheasant breast in strands, butted with black ostrich herl. Front, peacock herl
Rib: fine silver thread over rear half, wound close (6 turns), oval silver tinsel over front half
Hackle: guinea dyed yellow
Collar: cobalt blue vulturine guinea fowl
Wings:  a pair of truffle turkey tail strips, with narrow strip of orange/blue/ yellow goose shoulder married through the middle, tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping


Pattern 9 Deschutes River Dee, Gold and Green
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: flat gold tinsel
Butt: black ostrich herl
Tail: topping and golden pheasant breast in strand
Body: in two halves, rear; flat gold tinsel veiled with peacock rump in strand, above and below, butted with black ostrich herl.  Front, mallard green silk
Rib: oval gold tinsel over both halves separately
Hackle: guinea dyed yellow
Collar: lemon wood duck
Wings:  a pair of truffle turkey tail strips tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping

Pattern 10 Deschutes River Dee, The Godfather
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: flat silver tinsel
Butt: black ostrich herl
Tail: topping and kingfisher
Body: in two halves, rear; flat silver tinsel veiled with oily black rooster saddle in strand, above and below, butted with black ostrich herl.  Front, Black silk
Rib: oval silver tinsel over both halves separately
Hackle: natural black and white guinea
Collar: striped vulturine guinea
Wings:  a pair of goose shoulder strips married as follows; 2 strands black, 2 strands white, 2 strands black, 1 strand white, 1 strand blue, 1 strand white, 2 strands black, 2 strands white, 2 strands black
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping

Pattern #11 Deschutes River Dee, Red Special
Hook: Partridge N single low water size 1
Thread: black 8/0 uni-thread
Tag: fine gold thread and claret silk
Tail: topping and barred wood duck
Body: 4 equal parts Fiery orange SLF #16, Fiery claret SLF # 13, Fiery brown SLF#35, Black SLF# 41
Rib: oval gold tinsel
Hackle: black over all, guinea dyed red over front half
Collar: lemon wood duck
Wings: a pair of truffle turkey tail covert strips, with narrow strips married red/black/red goose shoulder in the middle, narrow strip of purple goose shoulder on the outside edge. tied flat
Cheeks: jungle cock drooping