This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Rogan’s Fancy.
I found this fly on the wall in the cabin we stayed in on the Madison River. wasn’t aware at the time, but my friend Richard Rohrbagh tied it.
Here is the information that went with the fly:
“Nestled on the banks of the mighty River Erne in northwest Ireland, Ballyshannon is one of the oldest and earliest settled towns in the country. It is also home to the oldest fly tying firm in the world. The firm was founded early in the 19th century by James Rogan, but it was his son Michael, born in 1833, who first brought world-wide acclaim to the Rogan flies. Among the many patterns Michael created the best-known are the Green Parson, the Ballyshannon and, of course, Rogan’s Fancy.
The Rogan’s Fancy was probably first tied in 1845 when Michael was 12 years old. Earlier, Irish salmon flies had tended to be rather dark and drab, showing little imagination in the use of color. But this pattern, the first with bright, hand-dyed colors, was an immediate success. Its rapid spread across Ireland, Scotland and England inaugurated a trend toward beautiful, brightyly-colored flies, the style that came to characterize the famous “full-dress” classics of the Victorian era.”
Enjoy…go fish!
