[SpeyHermit]

There seem to be numerous variations of this fly in books and especially online. Which, makes me wonder, "What is the only true and real Thunder & Lightning Pattern and Recipe?".

Thank you.

 

[failtospey]

Gosh, you'd have to go back, not even sure if you could pinpoint who and what the original recipe was, not to mention if and when the original.pattern was tweaked and variations of the variant were made by others.

Here is a picture from Long Nguyen's handy work.
If I was to try and tie one it would be to replicate this.
Long is highly regarded IMO and it would be a treat to even get close to this.
Oh yah Hook by Yasuhiro, one of the finest hook makers in the world.

 

[fish0n4evr]

Yeah - quite a few variations. Good question and from what I gather - yellow and black floss, flat tinsel, orange hackle, Jay throat, BM, horns and a topping are pretty consistent though. Blue floss in the tag, JC eyes, mixed and married-wings are variations depending on who's list you look at. Safe to say that from there - anything different is a substitution...?

 

[Bwana Bill]

I thought we were about to have another T&L frenzy!!!!!!

I believe that the pattern "failtospey" posted is the earliest rendition of the fly, attributed to James Wright, somewhere in the mid-19th century. I'm sure that some of our resident historians will chime in soon enough.

-Bill

 

[CaneCaster]

I seem to recall coming across a very old dressing for this pattern somewhere that was a very basic mostly black fly with an olive mohair head.... very basic. Anyone else come across this dressing?

Cheers.
J.

 

[Hardyreels]

I thought we were about to have another T&L frenzy!!!!!!

-Bill

Me too Bill, I was just about to start posting T&L tubes when I spotted this

 

[kova1385]

You can find books online for free, and find variations of every known pattern between the books. Choose one (or all) you like and try it out!

 

[kova1385]

I like the kelson one the best but havnt tied it yet cause the vertical BM wings scare me. The PT one was one of my first married wing flies. I always wonder where each author got their variations from.

 

[Bwana Bill]

I seem to recall coming across a very old dressing for this pattern somewhere that was a very basic mostly black fly with an olive mohair head.... very basic. Anyone else come across this dressing?

Cheers.
J.

I believe the fly you are referring to was an early rendition of the Black Dog.

-Bill

 

[CaneCaster]

Bill.

Your absolutely correct, it is the black dog.

Thanx.
James

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

James Wright was the originator of the pattern some where around 1850 .

Tip: Oval silver
Tag: Bright Yellow silk
Tail: Topping
Butt: Black ostrich
Body: Black silk
Rib: Oval silver
Hackle: Orange from second rib
Collar: Long flowing guinea
Wing: Bronze mallard , set low with a topping over all
Cheeks: JC nails , long set to the side
Horns: Blue/Gold macaw
Head: Black

This fly was tied in all sizes . Sometimes tied on very long heavy irons . At that point an underwing of hen pheasant was used under the bronze mallard wing that extended past the mallard .

One of my all time favorite salmon flies , in all the variations . I love to play with this pattern


Mike

 

[Bwana Bill]

One of my all time favorite salmon flies , in all the variations . I love to play with this pattern


Mike

Hah! Don't we all!!

-Bill