Ray Bergman Orange Black

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Ray Bergman Orange Black.

Since it’s Halloween, I thought it appropriate to post an orange and black fly.

Bergman’s Orange Black is listed on page 122, Plate No. 6 of Ray Bergman’s book entitled Trout (1940 – fourth printing).

As I’ve mentioned many times, I enjoy highlighting a Bergman wet fly because it forces me to sit down and tie these elegant flies.

I must say, it’s much easier to pick apart my own fly after taking an image in close-up mode. I like my tail and wing on the fly, but noticed the head is too long. I usually tie just one fly before posting it as a TBT fly. I’m sure a second fly would have seen improved proportions. I’ll keep that in mind for the next one.

Bergman was well known for his wet flies, but his book also lists dry flies, streamers, nymphs, steel head and land locked salmon flies.

If you are a regular at RiverKeeper Flies, you recall Bergman’s book includes colored plates to illustrate the dry and wet flies with a description of each fly in the back. It was the first book to provide color fly illustrations.

Other Ray Bergman flies I’ve included as Throw Back Thursday Flies include: the Abbey, the Arthur Hoyt, the Babcock, the Blue Bottle, the Bostwick, the Bouncer, the Brown Turkey, the Chantry, the Dark Spinner, the Darling, the Irish Turkey, the Light Blow, the Mark Lain, the Montreal, the Montreal Yellow, the Mrs. Haase, the Olive Dun, the Rio Grande King, the Loyal Sock, the Pathfinder, the Peacock, the Prime Gnat, the Silver Stork, the Undertaker, the Walla-Walla, the Whirling Dun, and the Wilson Ant.

The Orange Black

Tied on TMC 3906B, size 10

Enjoy…go fish!