Classic salmon flies have quite a following and many publications, organizations and tyers have devoted themselves to all aspects of these patterns. This does not appear to be the case with classic saltwater patterns. Certainly most do not have the beauty of the full-dressed salmon flies but much can be learned from them. Afterall, they are a part of saltwater fly fishing which started a whole new tying revolution aimed at catching saltwater species. Furthermore, many of those earlier patterns are still tied according to their original design and used quite successfully today.

For those interested the article and flies were completed 3 years ago and only recently were the flies photographed to complete this for viewing. I collected information for this article based upon many resources including old books and articles, and therefore the historical content is a compilation of many perspectives. Of course based upon the resources available and the difficulty in accumulating historical facts (specifically dates and presumed original tyers) there may be some associated inaccuracies. Furthermore it is important to point out that this is by no means a comprehensive article and the flies associated are just examples. Nonetheless I hope this acts as a learning tool for older patterns in terms of the progression of saltwater fly tying over the years.

Brief History

The roots of saltwater fly fishing are rather difficult to trace although it was a topic mentioned in various fishing publications since the late 1800s. Certainly no one is credited with catching the first saltwater fish on a fly. The general concensus is that the first saltwater species were caught by accident while fishing for salmon, sea-run brown trout or shad. Based upon this the first flies used for saltwater fish were apparently full-dressed salmon flies and a variety of freshwater patterns including streamers. Most fly fisherman are familiar with classic salmon flies. Some of those patterns are beautiful works of art! While these patterns were not designed specifically for fishing the salt, stripers and other inshore species were triggered to strike them! As more and more anglers began to probe the bays and oceans with their fly rods there was an emergence of fly patterns designed specifically for saltwater. Some of these patterns originated in Florida where pioneers of the sport reported catching bonefish and tarpon. Other patterns came out of the Northeast where anglers noticed the willingness of striped bass and bluefish to readily eat a fly. Saltwater patterns were being designed and used successfully during the 1920s and particularly from the 1940s through the 1960s in Florida and the Northeast. Saltwater fly fishing and tying continued to build from the 1970s to the present.

The first book on saltwater fly fishing was written by Joe Brooks in 1950. Although this book was out of print for many years it was recently reprinted in a larger format. Without a doubt, Joe Brooks is considered one of the pioneers of the sport and his book covered many of the basic aspects of fly fishing. His chapter on saltwater flies which was actually entitled “Lures” presented a brief synopsis of the history and outlined some of the saltwater flies of that time. Brooks credited Tom Loving of Maryland with possibly being the first person to his knowledge to tie flies specifically for saltwater fly fishing during the 1920s. Loving’s Bass Fly which is basically a tail tied of white bucktail with red hackle palmered at the head was described as an effective pattern for stripers in the Chesapeake Bay. This pattern although rather simple in design still catches fish today. Interestingly, Brooks had not yet developed his “blonde”series of flies as there was no mention of this classic pattern. Brooks indicated that many anglers tied their own individual patterns for saltwater fish and stated it would be impossible to list all of them. Instead, he focused on commercially tied saltwater flies. He did make special note of the Upperman Joe Brooks flies including streamers, bucktails and popping bugs. These flies were apparently designed by Brooks but tied commercially by Bill Upperman of Atlantic City, New Jersey. In addition to his own patterns tied by Upperman he also made mention of the Waspi Company of Iowa and several patterns tied by the Mad River Tackle Shop of Ossining, New York. Several of these patterns were designed for stripers, shad and sea trout as well as bonefish and tarpon. Many of the patterns listed did not even have names but were referred to by their catalog numbers.

The sport of saltwater fly fishing gained more of an organized following in the 1960s with the formation of the Saltwater Fly Rodders of America (SWFROA). The SWFROA started in 1962 as a result of the initiatives of Elwood “Cap” Colvin and Fred Shrier. The club which only numbered a dozen or so at the beginning met at the tackle shop of Cap Colvin (now the 3Cs Luncheonette) in Seaside Park and regularly fished Barnegat Bay. Over the next few years the club grew and brought together many of the pioneers of saltwater fly fishing including Joe Brooks, Harold Gibbs, Stu Apte, Joe Bates, Hal Lyman, Charles Waterman, Leon Chandler, Lefty Kreh, Frank Woolner and Lee Wulff. The club’s newsletter, the Double Haul, began in April, 1967 and spoke of the impact and growth of this sport at that time. To quote Joe Brooks from the first newsletter: “Salt water fly fishing is not new by any means, but it is gathering devotees in a hurry, and in the past few years has proven volcanic in its impact on the fishing scene.” Frank Woolner also contributed a piece to the first newsletter and the following are excerpts from his article: “There is no real past in this game: there is only a bright future. The really exciting thing about our present upsurge in saltwater fly casting is the influx of new blood. Every American coast is blessed with a rapidly increasing number of enthusiasts. Some of these people are destined to join the ranks of the immortals. Already such stalwarts as Brooks and Wulff have contributed a classic beginning. They are today’s titans, yet I hold that the real masters of the sport are still wearing intellectual swaddling clothes. Fifty years from now, a very few of the young infidels who have launched SWFROA will be regarded as the Hewitts and the Gordons of marine fly casting.” In retrospect Woolner was indeed correct!!!

The Double Haul newsletter published several articles on saltwater flies over the years. Hal Lyman wrote a short editorial on fly patterns in the Fall issue of 1968. He credits the first saltwater patterns to Howard Bonbright and his tarpon flies although others mention L. Dana Chapman as the creator of these flies. Nonetheless he continued to write about the development of flies in the Northeast from the vices of Harold and Frank Gibbs, Joe Brooks and Gordon Dean (whom he credits with the split wing idea for streamers). Interestingly he mentions these flies as simple bucktail streamers with jungle cock eyes or “optic bucktails”. Examples of this type of fly are the Gibbs striper fly, Palmer Diller and Lyman’s Terror. He claimed in 1968 that classic patterns of saltwater flies were actually few and far between. It was his opinion that the basic patterns of the time were simple streamers and poppers.

Lefty Kreh contributed an article to the Double Haul in the Fall issue of 1973 and noted that few standard fly patterns emerged for saltwater fly rodding in contrast to the freshwater world. Lefty gave words of advice on early tying materials (see below) but pointed out that flies for saltwater fishing need not be exact imitations of marine creatures. He stressed that size, shape and shades of color were important. Most of the flies again were simple bucktail streamer patterns. However, topwater flies were also used and of particular interest to our local waters was the Ka-Boom-Boom popper created by Cap Colvin. This fly’s ability to take stripers and bluefish in Barnegat Bay was legendary. Other flies that are certainly used extensively today but originated in the 1970s include 2 patterns from Bob Popovics (who was a young member of the SWFROA), the Surf Candy and the Semper Fleye (originally called the Jersey Knight). The Surf Candy added a new facet to saltwater fly tying by incorporating epoxy as a body. This revolution in tying added durability and a transparent coating that also added shape.

Notably, it was not until 1972 that the first book devoted entirely to saltwater fly patterns was written by Ken Bay. The book featured eight patterns in detail with photographs and step-by-step instructions. Included in the featured flies were the Deceiver by Lefty Kreh, Ka-Boom-Boom Popper by Cap Colvin and the Platinum Blonde by Joe Brooks. In addition to the featured flies, Bay listed nine patterns which he “deemed old enough and sufficiently alluring to game fish of the brine to have earned their place as classics”. This included the Bonbright Tarpon Fly (Howard Bonbright), Dean Bead Head (Gordon Dean), Horror (P. Perinchief), Rhode Tarpon Streamer (Homer Rhode, Jr.) and the Sands Bonefish Fly (Hagen Sands) which targeted bonefish and tarpon on the southern coast. Other classics according to Bay included the Palmer Diller (Harvey Flint), Pigtails (Edward A. Materne), Loving Bass Fly (Tom Loving) and the Gibbs Striper Fly (Harold Gibbs) which all originated in the Northeast for stripers. This book formed the foundation by which many fly tyers learned the basics of saltwater fly tying. Since the publication of that book the sport has grown increasingly popular and really exploded during the last 14 years.

Materials

As I previously mentioned, there are many diverse tying materials available today . Anglers are privy to an unlimited supply of flash and synthetics in different textures and colors in addition to easily obtaining the traditional tying materials (bucktail and hackle). Earlier patterns were tied almost exclusively with bucktail and hackle although these materials were only available in a limited variety of colors. Most patterns were tied using the primary colors of white, yellow, red, green and blue. It was not unusual for tyers to use rare or exotic feathers or fur such as jungle cock nails and breast feathers as well as polar bear hair. Peacock herl was used quite often as it is today. In order to obtain the materials needed for flies, some tyers were also hunters or had close connections with taxidermists. Others actually raised birds or even sheep. Since color selection was limited, it wasn’t unusual for early fly tyers to dye their own materials to suit their needs and creativity. The only synthetic material which I have seen used prior to the 1970s was a nylon monofilament that was similar to ultra hair but much courser and thicker in strand diameter.

Flash was not used as extensively as today but in the early to mid 1900s tyers utilized metal-silver tinsel which unfortunately tarnished after its first dip in saltwater. The advent of mylar which is referred to in Ken Bay’s book as a “space age material” was a great improvement for the tyer as this polyester plastic was able to withstand the harsh saltwater environment. Strips of mylar became available in widths of 1/32-inch and 1/64-inch and mylar piping was discovered by tyers as a product from the millinery industry. Holidays associated with gifts were a great time to find some of these materials.

Two obvious necessities of tying, thread and hooks, also deserve special mention. Earlier patterns were tied with silk thread which was a carryover from tying salmon and freshwater patterns. This thread did not stand up very well to the saltwater and the development of monocord which is a multifilament nylon material was a big improvement. It is still a popular tying thread used today that is now available in many diameters and colors.

Hooks in the early 1900s were produced without eyes and are referred to as “blind eye hooks”. It was necessary to tie an eye onto the hook by the use of silk gut material. Monofilament was used for the same purpose after it was developed in the late 1930s. Hooks in the mid 1900s were primarily Z nickel or duranickel and tin plated. Stainless steel hooks eventually were developed and are still used extensively today. Hook styles were by no means as extensive as the current selection but long and short shank hooks were available from several manufacturers.

Note: Classic Saltwater Patterns

At the present time, patterns considered “classic” by my definition would be those designed from the early 1900s through the 1970s. For this article, I have particularly focused upon those flies designed to catch saltwater species common to our Northeast waters although a few others are highlighted for historical purposes. In tying these flies I used original materials including the hooks when available (not an easy task in itself). I tied them as I saw them photographed to mirror them as they were represented. I hope to post a materials list and a few words about the pattern and/or creators in the future as time allows. Comments and suggestions are welcome!!