Palmetto Fly N Fish Installment #128
The Adams is arguably the best known pattern among the genre that fly fishermen call, "dry flies."
When newcomers ask what single dry fly pattern is a must have, the experienced folks invariably put the Adams somewhere at the top of the list.
The Adams, as we know it today
The Adams was first tied in Michigan by Leonard Halliday, around 1924 - making it nearly 100 years old!
Since its birth, The Adams has become one of the most widely used dry flies in America. And for good reason.
The pattern was not intended to imitate a specific insect. But as often happens in this business, it has that certain "buggy something" that closely imitates most of the somber, brownish-gray mayflies found on our many streams and lakes... and it is a first rate all-purpose attractor fly in its own right.
But there is a fly in the Adams ointment....because the Adams we know is an imposter.
The Revelation
While recently reading a 60 year old issue of PA Angler (April, 1964), I stumbled upon a mention of the Adams by none other than Chauncey Lively.
Mr. Lively is one of the greatest American fly anglers, in case you didn't know.
We're talking Hall of Fame category, here.
He was also a renowned fly tyer, and there, in a tutorial on tying an Adams variation, he said this:
"The dressing we are going to use in tying our Adams follows the original tie, with the exception of the tails.
The original pattern, however, called for tails of golden pheasant tippets, but hackle fibers are used most commonly today.
Hold on a second. Back up....
There in black and white, a bona-fide, veteran expert from decades back clearly states that the Adams is supposed to have GOLDEN PHEASANT TIPPETS for the tail!! Here's a guy who knew more than most of us could hope to forget, a man who was closer to the original pattern than we can ever be, without a time machine. And he says we've been screwing it up, tying tails of common hackle feather on the Adams. Unwittingly, we are tying a phony version one of the most popular dry flies ever known. And out of hundreds of images searched, across the breadth of the internet, I only found one that shows it tied the right way. For the record, here's what it is supposed to look like. ....
* "What are golden pheasant tippets," you ask? Well, they come from the rear of a golden pheasants neck, as seen here: golden pheasant
Nothing New
What's worse, this kind of mix up isn't a first.
I'm reminded of a story told to me by my friend Jack Montague, about market flies coming out of Japan in the 50's and 60's. They were good flies, usually of high quality. But they were very often tied incorrectly, when compared to their intended namesakes. And everyone copied them.... so they made bastard copies of what they THOUGHT were proper patterns.
There in black and white, a bona-fide, veteran expert from decades back clearly states that the Adams is supposed to have GOLDEN PHEASANT TIPPETS for the tail!! Here's a guy who knew more than most of us could hope to forget, a man who was closer to the original pattern than we can ever be, without a time machine. And he says we've been screwing it up, tying tails of common hackle feather on the Adams. Unwittingly, we are tying a phony version one of the most popular dry flies ever known. And out of hundreds of images searched, across the breadth of the internet, I only found one that shows it tied the right way. For the record, here's what it is supposed to look like. ....
Tail of golden pheasant tippets*
thanks to Fly Tyer Magazine
I'm reminded of a story told to me by my friend Jack Montague, about market flies coming out of Japan in the 50's and 60's. They were good flies, usually of high quality. But they were very often tied incorrectly, when compared to their intended namesakes. And everyone copied them.... so they made bastard copies of what they THOUGHT were proper patterns.
Down to this day, I expect no one knows that, and this may be the first time any of you has heard it.
Chauncey Lively passed in 2000, but if you were fly fishing from the 40's through the 80's, he was one of your gurus. His book, "Chauncey Lively's Fly Box," is still considered a must-have in any library.
Jack Montague runs the Wolf Glen Fly Fishing School, was the youngest member of the ORIGINAL Theodore Gordon Fly Fishers chapter, was a protege of Harry Darbee, a friend and sales rep for Gary Loomis, and more.
So here we have a statement from Mr. Lively that I consider unassailable, with a reliable anecdote from Jack added in... and together they tell us that one of the most trusted, faithful patterns we have is apparently a lie.
At this point, the pragmatic among us will say, "Well, the Adams of today may be wrong,... but it catches fish and that's what matters."
Well, yeah, it catches fish. But, so does a hair ball from my cat, tied on a hook.
I know, I've tried it.
But I can't shake it, friends.
I now wonder... what other fakes and falsehoods have we fallen victim to?
It boggles the mind, doesn't it?
I'm thinking therapy might be needed....
At this point, the pragmatic among us will say, "Well, the Adams of today may be wrong,... but it catches fish and that's what matters."
Well, yeah, it catches fish. But, so does a hair ball from my cat, tied on a hook.
I know, I've tried it.
"Doc, doc,... its all a lie!"
Anyway, with that bit of silliness, we move to another year of fishing ahead... and thank goodness.
So, Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2022!
Thanks so much for reading and,
TIGHT LINES!