tuber Posted February 25, 2006 Posted February 25, 2006 Not sure how many usenet junkies are out there, but there's an interesting thread (well, I thought it was anyway ) that got started a couple days ago in this newsgroup called Top 5 Fly list. There are a lot of common flys but one that seemed to get repeated a lot was called the "Usual" Anyone here know what that might be? Quote
Michael Dell Posted February 25, 2006 Posted February 25, 2006 tuber, The "Usual" is a fly first tyed by Fran Betters. It is tied on a standard dry fly hook. The tail, wing, and body are all tied with hair from the foot of a snowshoe hare. Here is a link to a swap with the pattern plus variations on the Usual: Anything But the Usual Fran Betters has a flyshop: Adirondack Sport Shop Michael Quote
Michael Dell Posted February 25, 2006 Posted February 25, 2006 tuber, A little more information about the Usual. According to Fran Betters' Fly Fishing - Fly Tying and Pattern Book, he tied up a half dozen of these as an experiment with the materials. A local angler named Phillips saw them and took them fishing. He reported back that they worked. When Phillips was asked by another angler what fly he was using, he replied "the usual." So Betters called the fly Phillips Usual, which was shortened to the Usual. The real advantage of these flies is that they float like corks. You can pull them under the surface and they will pop back up. There was an article in one of the magazines in which the author, in jest, said that you had to use the hair from between the toes of the left foot. Actually the best hair to use is further back on the pad of the foot. I've seen a lot of articles on this fly and its variations lately. And you can buy the feet easily now, unlike years ago when you had to search through many flyshops before finding them. One more link: Usual from Fly Fisherman pattern archive Michael Quote
RangerBob Posted February 26, 2006 Posted February 26, 2006 (edited) Hey Al, Your secret is out on the "TU" -- even though you and I tied some up for the KISS swap here: http://nlft.org/fly_swap6.php Yeah, we gotta do that article now... I'll bring the camera. My growing collection of bunny feet since the float down the Red Deer four years ago. RB Edited February 26, 2006 by RangerBob Quote
RangerBob Posted February 26, 2006 Posted February 26, 2006 (edited) There was also an article in Fly Tyer magazine a while ago. A few more I tye up with SSH. Nice links Michael.. I'm dumping them into CyberFly now. Edited February 26, 2006 by RangerBob Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.