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Contents
A Catalog of Spey and Dee Flies
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Cover

Preface

"A steelhead is too fine a game fish to be insulted with ugly flies."
-- John Shewey

These flies were all tied to fish with, not to hang on the wall in a frame. The only way one of these flies would look good on the wall would be if it caught a huge fish, in which case it should be put in the fish's mouth and the fish hung on the wall.

Each recipe gives the actual ingredients used to tie the particular fly that was photographed. Like a good cook, you should substitute ingredients when you do not have the ones called for, or to achieve the effect that you desire. Be aware that changing the ingredients or colors sometimes results in a fly with a different name, sometimes not.

Ingredients are listed in the order in which they are first tied into the fly, not necessarily the order in which they are actually used in the fly. For instance, a piece of tinsel might be tied in, and then ignored as other ingredients are tied in and used, and then considerably later, that tinsel would get used and tied off and trimmed. That tinsel would be listed before those other ingredients.

It is the responsibility of the tier to know how to work with these materials. This catalog is not intended to be a tutorial on Spey fly tying. Many good books are available to introduce the new tier to basic techniques. Spey flies are not introductory flies. John Shewey's book "Spey Flies & Dee Flies, Their History & Construction" is one good reference to provide the experienced tier with the techniques peculiar to Spey and Dee fly tying.

Despite numerous proof-readings, there are bound to be errors in some of these recipes. Most errors will be one of four types: errors in attribution, where the name of the originator of the pattern or the name of the fly is wrong; errors in content, where an ingredient is wrong or other directions or notes are incorrect; grammatical errors; and typographical errors, including spelling. If you notice any errors, please notify the author. Thank you!

All flies tied and photographed by R. J. Brown.

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Last modified: Mon Apr 28 23:54:35 CDT 2003

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