This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Henryville Special.
I’ve had this fly in my caddis box for awhile. Not sure where I bought it.
The Henryville Special is a caddis imitation and was created by Hiram Brobst of LeHighton Pennsylvania in the 1930’s for the Broadhead Creek section of river called the Henryville House in the Pocono mountains.
Some believe the Pocono mountains may be the real birthplace of fly fishing in the United States, not the Catskills. I won’t argue either way. My point is some older patterns are still worth having in your box!
There were many variations to this fly including the Hemingway Caddis, developed by Mike Lawson of Island Park, Idaho for fishing the Henry’s Fork of the Snake river. I’ll present that fly in a future Throw Back Thursday Fly post.
Hi John,
The Henryville and some of it variations have a regular place in our personal fly boxes. We usually add a very sparse under wing of hair (usually squirrel or what we have available) before topping it with the quill wings. Tied in a dark gray (almost black) it is a great pattern for the black caddis on the Bighorn River in Montana. That hatch is usually focused around the month of September and first part of October but weather can change the hatch times/rates. Take care & …
Tight Lines – Al Beatty
Al
Thanks for your comment. Always enjoy reading them!
John