Fake or Fur?
Natural or Synthetic?
Some unresolved arguments, not unlike a visit from a relative, seem to last for years: tastes great/less filling; boxers/briefs; Army/Navy; potāto/potǎto.
As unlikely as it seems, even we fly fishers have our disagreements; left-hand reeling/right-hand reeling; sink tip/full sinking lines; hippers/waders; graphite/bamboo.
A more mundane, contemporary argument involves fly tying materials - natural versus synthetic. There was a time we had no choice because synthetics had yet to be invented so everyone used materials, au natural. We can blame the British Empire for the demand for natural materials because their salmon and trout fly patterns called for exotic materials that became difficult to obtain. Not a problem for the English because, as they used to say, “The sun never sets on the British supply of fly tying materials.”
American fly tiers took their lock-step lead from the British and used natural materials. But, they began substituting more available indigenous species. Soon, it became the unwritten law that you must use the same materials called for by the pattern’s originator. This movement created a sub-cottage industry we’ve come to know as the fly pattern book. These days, every jerk with a computer has written a book. (See my bio at the end of this column.)
Requiring the originator’s materials put quite a strain on certain supplies such as the off-pink fur for Hendrickson dry fly bodies – the urine stained fur from a vixen (female red fox). While I won’t go into details, I know of more than one guy who “experimented”, out behind the barn, with unstained vixen fur in a manner that might have gotten them arrested in less liberal times.
Anyhow, somewhere along the way, following WWII, someone thought they’d try some of the new synthetic materials and the movement caught on. However, the entrenched fly dressers rose up in reaction and picketed fly shops across the US. “It’s okay to use tinsel but natural fibers are the only way to go,” they insisted. The upstarts replied with “Up your nose with a (synthetic) rubber hose.” The war was on and there was no turning back. It was a dark time that pitted father against son and many families were torn apart. Some went so far as to avoid attending holiday gatherings like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Opening Day.
Those hidebound traditionalists continue on, happy as clams, looking for natural materials. The materials alone, in some traditional full dressed salmon patterns cost enough to make a payment on my ’92 Ford pickup. I once watched a guy at a fly show pay more than $70 for a matched pair of swan feathers. Hell, I’d run one over and give him the entire critter for less than that!
The list of useful synthetic materials continues to grow. Every week there’s some new addition that we just have to try. I think we’re keeping the petrochemical industry in business with our need for new fix every other day.
I know a couple of guys who disguise themselves in wigs and dresses and cruise craft shops in search of potential new materials. My bearded lumberjack friend, Ed, continues to get away with this because he claims to be a transvestite. At least, that’s what he told the police.
But what about the fish; do they care what you’re using for materials? After all, neither natural or synthetics are edible so what difference does it make to them? Absolutely none, in my experience. Hey, remember that we’re trying to fool them, not feed them.
Once in a while it’s almost too easy to fool them. Sometimes the fish show themselves for the gluttons they really are and gobble up cigarette filters or hot-orange foam strike indicators. On the other hand, there are other times their preferences change and they require something natural - like a small twig or pebble. Fish aren’t the brightest species on earth. Don’t believe me? Next time you net one, notice the wide-eyed look of disbelief on his face.
Tony Lolli is a broken down fly fishing guide, freelance writer, sheriff’s deputy and ne’er-do-well from northeastern Vermont. His book, Go-To Flies: 101 Patterns the Pros Use When All Else Fails, is available through bookstores and Amazon.com.
