Argus 3/0

[eunanhendron]

First salmon fly in a quite a while.

This pattern is from Maxwell's Fishing at Home and Abroad.

Pretty much as described in the pattern, chenille butt and all. Only thing i changed was the collar. Pattern asks for fluffy white argus, i only had fluffy white chicken.

For your entertainment. Hook is a Harrison Hollow Point 3/0

 

[Rolf]

Fluffy white chicken looks damn good! 🙂

 

[whheff]

Very nice Eunan.

 

[Maurice]

Very sexy!

 

[afishinado]

Yes. Nice.

I never heard of an "argus"

Here it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Argus

 

[blueheron]

Guinea throat? Beauty

 

[JackM]

What's with the eye? It looks to be made of mono-filament. The hook is black, but the eye is semi-translucent?

 

[Maurice]

JackM wrote:
What's with the eye? It looks to be made of mono-filament. The hook is black, but the eye is semi-translucent?

On traditional colonial hooks there was no eye. The horse hair tippet was tied into the fly and stored with the fly in the box. My guess is Eunans Salmon fly hooks are of this type and he adds a loop of mono to the end.

 

[eunanhendron]

eyed hooks weren't manufactured until the later 19th century, and certainly weren't trusted to hold a fish until much later than that.

Blind eye hoosk, as i use for all the Atlantic salmon flies i tie, were the 'norm', and still are for these flies.

The eye on this is made from silk worm gut, as was the case in the early to mid 19th century when most of the classic Atlantic salmon fly patterns were concocted.

The gut was stretched to a fine filament, then twisted using a gut twister, (today i use a power drill) in two or three strands, then tied in the full length of the shank of the hook, in order that they would hold a salmon safely. Bear in mind, the atlantic salmon returns to british and Scandinavian rivers were much greater in both number and mass per fish, so a lot of faith was put in the gut, and more so the hook, as only hooks from very few manufacturers (particularly Irish manufacturers) were recommended.

anyways, i hope that answers the question, and for anyone interested, i can bring a small sample of modern blind eye hooks to the tying jam in December, as well as some 'gut'

Edit: the horsehair mentioned was used as leaders, and sometimes as a snell on certain flies, but most had gut eyes.

 

[JackM]

I guess time marches on for no reason.