FLY
Classic Wet Fly, North Country Spiders, Wet Fly
Dark Snipe
Tied by Brent Jones
Dark Snipe recipe
| Hook | Lightning Strike NW3 size 14 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Uni 8/0, Purple |
| Body | Thread |
| Hackle | Grey/Blue Hen |
| Wings | Starling Quill Slips |
| Head | Thread |
About this fly
No. 5. Dark Snipe or Snipe and Purple. Ephemeridæ. Hook 1. Wings.—Hackled with the dark feather from the marginal coverts of a Snipe’s wing. Body.—Purple silk, No. 8. Head.—Purple silk. March to middle of April, and again in September.
What the Dark Snipe imitates
- Mayfly dun (adult dry)
Tied for: Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Grayling, Rainbow Trout, Trout (general)
Where the Dark Snipe came from
- Described by T.E. Pritt, 1885. Snipe outer-wing hackle, purple silk; a favourite on the Ribble for cold early-season days.Source: Pritt, Yorkshire Trout Flies (1885), Plate 2 No.10
- Originated by unknown, Yorkshire/Lancashire, England. Traditional North Country soft hackle; no maker recorded.Source: Pritt, Yorkshire Trout Flies (1885), Plate 2 No.10
Where sources tell it differently, each account is listed with its own source.
In the old books
Original dressing as pictured in Edmonds & Lee, Brook and River Trouting (1916), Plate p32, No. 5. The photo above is a later tie, not the original.
Inside the vault every material on this fly opens to its own card, and you can save the fly to your own boxes.
