Ray Bergman’s Red Ash

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Ray Bergman’s Red Ash.

I enjoy featuring and tying Ray Bergman flies. While they appear simple to tie, I struggle to set many of the wings. One reason I feature his flies is to force myself to practice tying them.

Watson’s Fancy is simple wet fly listed on Plate No.7, page 169 of Bergman’s Trout (1940 – fourth printing).

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.

I’ve featured several Ray Bergman flies as a Throw Back Thursday Fly. If you’d like to see more, click on the Ray Bergman Flies Category on the right-hand panel. HERE

Bergman’s Red Ash

Note: Order is as listed in Bergman’s book; tied on a Mustad 3906B, size 12; used Collins hen barred dun hackle)

Enjoy…go fish, stay safe!