FLY
Spiders
Little Black
Tied by Christian Andrews
Little Black recipe
| Hook | #16 - 14 fine wire |
|---|---|
| Thread | purple silk, waxed |
| Hackle | black cock or starling |
| Body | Magpie tail barb lightly dubbed (spiral wrapped) |
About this fly
No. 2 from North-Country Flies (1886) by T. E. Pritt in the example, an iridescent blue barb from a Mallard secondary flight feather is used instead of Magpie tail.
What the Little Black imitates
- Soft hackle / North Country spider / flymph / wet fly
Where the Little Black came from
- Described by T.E. Pritt, 1885, Yorkshire, England. Black cock or starling hackle, purple silk body dubbed with magpie herl; used on Ullswater; a later-season variant has green plover/swift hackle and black silk.Source: Pritt, Yorkshire Trout Flies (1885; archive.org yorkshiretroutfl00pritrich; same list in 2nd ed. North-Country Flies, 1886), No.2, Plate 1
In the old books
Original dressing as pictured in Pritt, North-Country Flies (1886), Plate 1, No. 2. 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.
