FLY
Classic Salmon Fly
The Champion
Tied by Rich LaMonte
The Champion recipe
| Hook | Byron Bjerke Harrison Bartleet 4/0 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Veevus 12/0 |
| Tip | Xtra small silver oval tinsel (veevus) |
| Tag | Yellow silk floss (lagartun) |
| Tail | Golden pheasant Crest veiled by red and light blue turkey tail |
| Butt | Black Ostrich herl |
| Rib | Flat and oval silver tinsel (veevus) |
| Body | One turn light blue silk (mulberry), 3 equil segments of yellow red and black seals fur of |
| Body Hackle | Black saddle hackle |
| Throat | 3 eurasian jay feathers |
| Underwing | Barred wood duck |
| Wings | From bottom to top; yellow red and light blue dyed turkey, argus side tail, kori bustard, golden pheasant tail |
| Sides | 2 strips of GP tail and Amherst tail, extending back to thw wing, then teal |
| Cheeks | 2 kingfisher rump feathers on each side |
| Overwing | Also called the roof (bronze mallard) |
| Topping | Golden pheasant crest |
| Horns | Blue and gold macaw tail |
About this fly
This is a pattern found in George Kelsons book; The Salmon Fly. Also found in the book; The Essential Kelson.
What the The Champion imitates
- Salmon / steelhead classic wet (floss, tinsel, hackle)
Tied for: Salmon (general)
Where the The Champion came from
- Originated by G. M. Kelson. Kelson's heading credits himself (Kelson); figured on his Plate 1.Source: Kelson, The Salmon Fly (1895), p.130, Plate 1
In the old books
Original dressing as pictured in Kelson, The Salmon Fly (1895), Plate 1, 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.
