What's this?

[hooker-of-men]

My friend was gifted an old box that was tangentially family related. What's this pattern?

 

[DrownedFish]

Looks like a variation of a hare's ear. Is the body chenille?

 

[Skook]

If not chenille, it looks like the body might be ostrich herl (???). It appears that it might be a damsel fly nymph pattern, but I can't really judge what size hook it is tied on.

 

[hooker-of-men]

I know as much about the materials as you do from the photo, and my friend is across the country and not a fly tyer. Not much to go on beyond the photo.

The hook size is pretty large. Another photo had it in a box beside a streamer that looked like a black nose dace, and the hook on this was slightly smaller. I'm guessing the dace was maybe a long 4 or 6, so this could be 6 or 8ish??

My best guess was something along the lines of a woolly bugger or worm, given that size. But that spiral body really intrigues me. I feel like I've seen similar older big stonefly nymph patterns with that twisted body, but I can't find an example now.

 

[JeffK]

If it was clipped deer hair, might be a strawman, a cased caddis pattern from Paul Young. I'm guessing it is some sort of old school cased caddis pattern. I remember all sorts of patterns like that, but not the names. Polly Rosborough had a march brown nymph tied with clipped hackle like that, but it was shorter to have the silhouette of a clinger nymph.

In Maine they have a simple pattern called the maple syrup that is just a tan chenille body with a bucktail tail that looks similar.

 

[dc410]

I don’t know what pattern it is other than a generic type nymph pattern, but the body looks to me to be a dubbed, clipped fur body (maybe muskrat or beaver) with a dark vinyl type rib.

 

[dryflyguy]

Adams nymph?

 

[troutbert]

It looks like a crudely tied no name pattern that will catch big trout after a good rain makes the water high and murky.

 

[tomgamber]

It's an "Ivegotthisfourinchpieceofchennileidontwanttothrowawaysoillmakesomethingupandtryitinastateofdespirationsomedayandseeifitcatchessometjing" fly.

I used to carry a few of these.

 

[PennKev]

It's an "Ivegotthisfourinchpieceofchennileidontwanttothrowawaysoillmakesomethingupandtryitinastateofdespirationsomedayandseeifitcatchessometjing" fly.

I used to carry a few of these.

That's a killer variation of the "ijuststartedtyingandionlyhavetworandommaterialssoletsputitonahook"?

 

[redietz]

It looks like a crudely tied no name pattern that will catch big trout after a good rain makes the water high and murky.

I don't think it's crudely tied, but that it looks exactly like the tyer intended.

Depending on size, it might be a nymph of a burrowing mayfly, like a green drake or a hex.

 

[Solitariolupo]

Looks to me like they wrapped the feather cut fine left a tail. Then a wrap of black wire. All on a 2x nymph hook 12 to 10 size.

 

[hooker-of-men]

I believe it's bigger than that. I do agree, though, that the tail feather seems to also be wrapped around the body.

In fact, after looking at pics of other flies in the box that have deteriorated, I don't think it is a wire wrap at all but rather the hackle stem with all the hackle fibers deteriorated. There are dries in the box where the hackle is completely gone and just a body wrap is left.

This all leads me back to the belief that it started life as something like a bugger / woolly worm / the maple syrup pattern JeffK mentioned.

I found this unrelated (online) pic of old 1930s buggers that seems close in some ways. Check out the one at left center with the brown body and tail:

In any case, thanks for the thoughts everyone! The box is from an ADK tyer from the 60s/70s that had some connections to the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, so it has been cool just to check out the stuff!

 

[10November]

That looks like a Michigan Wiggler which is used as a Hex nymph during the Hex hatches or for Steelheads.