This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the White Wulff, a Lee Wulff fly pattern.
A friend of mine let me borrow this fly to use as a TBT fly. You know who you are!
The White Wulff imitates the Ephemera guttulata mayfly or Eastern Green Drake spinner. Walt Dette and Ted Townsend developed the Coffin Fly in 1929 to imitate this mayfly spinner.
Ironically, Lee Wulff and Q. L. Quackenbush are both credited with developing the hairwing fly patterns that were eventually called the Wulff style. Around 1929 – 1930, these two fly tyers independently modified the Fanwing Royal Coachman using hair for the wings and tail.
Rube Cross, a great fly tyer in his own right from the Catskills in New York, tied the Quackenbush versions commercially. They were called the Quack Coachman, Hair-winged Royal Coachman, and the Quack Special.
Lee Wulff worked with Dan Bailey of Livingston, MT in the 1930s who talked Lee into renaming the Ausable Gray, Coffin May, and Bucktail Coachman to the Grey Wulff, White Wulff, and Royal Wulff. The Blonde Wulff, Brown Wulff, and Black Wulff were three other fly patterns developed at the close of 1930.
Ray Bergman in his epic book Trout, features the White Wulff on Plate No. 13 (page 332). Here is how he describes the fly pattern.
White Wulff
Body
Cream Color Fur, Wool or Something of that Nature
Tail
White Bucktail
Hackle
Light Badger
Wing
White Bucktail
I don’t know about you, but I think I like the name Wulff flies rather than Quack flies!
Enjoy…go fish!
