Many years ago when I was living in upstate New York I learned about feather-wing streamers. These flies, while not being what one would call a classic Atlantic salmon fly, are very beautiful and deserving of our attention. The feather-wing streamers which I feel are deserving of our attention, are primarily the flies that originated in the eastern United States – particularly the Rangley Lakes style of flies. These flies are the hallmark of eastern United States and represent a history as rich as any.

I will venture to say, that I am not the first to put the classic feather-wing streamer in the Atlantic salmon fly category. Judith Dunham in her book The Atlantic Salmon Fly, included two of these elegant patterns from Michael Martinek Jr., the Red Ghost Special and Royal Marine with the patterns and tiers from the eastern United States. And perhaps, this is rightfully so.

These streamers were used in lake and ponds usually trolled behind a boat or canoe very close to the bank, right after ice-out. The streamers were tied to represent smelt that spawned in the shallows or tributary streams in the early spring. Lake trout, brookies, and landlocked salmon would move into the shallows to take advantage of the smelt migration. Streamer patterns that represent smelt were normally tied on long shank hooks (8X to 10X long), or on tandem hook rigs. Some patterns were also dressed on shorter shank hooks that could be cast using traditional fly fishing equipment. Many of these flies were also fished in the rivers for salmon.

There are not many dressers of these flies around today. I have been around the country at various fly tying expositions and visited with many tiers, and these patterns are just not tied very often anymore. There area few folks that dress these flies from time to time. Though not many, perhaps only a handful. I do not see many in the fly plates at the various auctions or galleries. I only know of few tiers, perhaps a dozen or so. I realize that there are others that dress these flies, however, I just have been exposed to their work. I state this not because I wish to praise the few. But, to call attention to the premise that these patterns, may be fading into obscurity.

The Rangley style of streamers originated shortly after the turn of the century. Many of the patterns were originated by such notable anglers as Herb Welch, Garner Percy, A.W. Ballou, and Chief Needahbeh. Welch who lived near Lake Mooselookmeguntic, came up with a very famous pattern that you can even find in some fly fishing catalogs today, the Black Ghost. Percy tied flies commercially for sporting camps throughout Maine. Ballou is credited as the first to experiment in the use of marabou in these flies. And of course Chief Needahbeh, he dressed very gaudy flies, many of which would rival any classic feather wing in beauty and grace. Perhaps, his flies should find there way into a few fly boxes for Pacific Northwest steelhead.

While Welch, Percy, Ballou and Needahbeh dressed many famous flies, it is Carrie Stevens that is perhaps the best known for pioneering the Rangley style of streamers. Stevens spent most of her time living at a camp between Lake Mooselookmegunitc and Richardson Lake tying flies for the customers of her husband Wallace that was a guide. Stevens tied flies from 1925 through 1953 and is remembered for her streamers and some bucktail patterns. Many other types of flies she probably originated are lost forever because no one saved them. She was a milliner who worked with feathers in hats and other garments. Her early career influenced her tying and resulted in a very unique tying style. The tying style was perhaps best described as assembly rather that tying. She would assemble both left and right sides of the wing of the fly separately. And after dressing the body, would tie in the left and right sides. The sides were typically composed of long neck hackles and a cheek of pheasant and jungle cock. All o which would be glued together. This unique technique resulted in a very durable and beautiful fly that had a long sleek shape that resembled a bait fish more than any other type of streamer. They looked wet, right out of the vise, and fished very well. The long sleek shape is one that many of us try and create in our salmon flies. A close look at a salmon fly dressed by Radencich, Fontan, or Luallen and the low sweep wing is very evident. Luallen even discusses the technique needed to achieve this wing style in an earlier edition of the Salmon Flyer.

The fly Stevens is most noted for is the Gray Ghost. The origination of this famous fly is described by Stevens, in a letter dated December 5, 1949 to Joseph Bates as follows: "At the time my Gray Ghost was originated, Wallace Stevens (who is a fishing guide) and I were living at our camp at Upper Dam, Maine (which is only a short distance from the famous Upper Dam Pool). On the first day of July in 1924 I had the inspiration of dressing a streamer fly with gray wings to imitate a smelt and left my housework unfinished to develop the new creation. It was a much cruder job than those I have tied since then, but it had two hackle feathers for a wing and an underbody of white bucktail, to which I added several other feathers which I thought enhanced its appearance and its resemblance to a baitfish."

"Then I felt impelled to try the new fly in the pool and soon was casting with it from one of the aprons of the dam into fast water. In less than an hour I hooked and landed a six-pound, thirteen-ounce brook trout which I entered in the Field and Stream Fishing Contest. The entry won for me second prize and a beautiful oil painting by Lynn Bogue Hunt, awarded for showing the most sportsmanship in landing a fish. Because the trout was such a nice one and was caught on a new fly I had made, it caused much excitement and resulted in my receiving many orders for flies. Soon I found I was in the fly tying business. Mr. Frank Bugbee, President of a bank in Willmantic, Connecticut, named the fly."

In the November 1970 edition of the Roundtable, published by the United Fly Tyers a one page In Memoriam of Came Stevens appears that lists the streamers that were designed by Carrie Stevens.

These patterns are:

1. Gray Ghost
2. Allie's Favorite
3. Queen of the Waters
4. Shang's Favorite
5. America
6. Allie's Delight
7. Allie's Special
8. Shang's Special
9. General MacArthur
10. Victory
11. Happy Garrison
12. Big Ben
13. Black Beauty
14. Black Cat
15. White Devil
16. Yellow Ghost
17. Green Homet
18. Green Witch
19. The Judge
20. Mezger's Special
21. Pink Lady
22. The Rangley Favorite
23. Red Devil
24. Red Streak
25. Silver Doctor
26. Yellow Witch
27. The Wizard
28. Morning Glory
29. Don's Delight
30. Jenny Lind
31. Blue Devil
32. Carrie's Favorite
33. Carne's Special
34. Colonel Bates
35. Fire Fly
36. P.L.B. 1,2
37. Water Witch
38. Frank R. Smith Special
39. Gee Whiz
40. Golden Witch
41. Governor
42. Gray Witch
43. Grayhound
44. Green Beauty
45. Green Ghost
46. Red Ghost

What I find most fascinating about Carrie Stevens is the fact that she originated these patterns at a time in our history in which a woman fly dresser may have met with a critical eye, to say the least.

While dressing these flies is not as complex a task as most built wing salmon flies, I will profess to say, it is not a simple one either. Particularly if you want them to look like a bait fish. There are several interesting aspects in dressing these flies that I will try and share with you that I have learned while watching such fly dressers as Mike Martinek and a few other tiers.

Thread: White for the body and black for the head 6/0
Tag: Narrow flat silver tinsel
Body: Orange floss
Rib: Narrow flat silver tinsel
Throat: White bucktail (doetail is actually a better material), four or five strands of peacock herl, and golden pheasant crest
Wing: Four gray hackle feathers, a golden pheasant crest, and white schlappen
Shoulder: Silver pheasant body feather
Cheeks: Jungle cock

One of the more important and most often overlooked aspect of this fly is the hook. While it is fairly easy to find a long shank streamer hook, one should be somewhat more discerning. The Partridge CS15, Carne Stevens hook is okay. But, not my first choice. The limerick bend is nice along with the straight 10X shank, however, the return loop eye makes the fly difficult to dress properly. The hook you should look for has a turned down ring eye (60 degree).

Also, Carrie never used a limerick bend hook. I had an opportunity to see a few of her original patterns awhile back, and the hooks were perhaps, 8X long with a model perfect bend and a turned down ring eye. Mike Martinek, has some of very good hooks, along with Ron Rienhold, that would be as close as any to what Stevens would have used.

As with any fly, pick the hook first, then select the wing feathers. The gray neck feathers should extend to just beyond the bend of the hook.

Once the hook is placed in the vise:

1. Start with white thread just behind the eye of the hook and wrap in close wraps to just above the point of the hook. Tie in the silver tinsel and wrap edge-to-edge to the end of the barb and back to the tie in point. This is a similar method to that described by Pryce-Tannett in How to Dress Salmon Flies, 1914.

2.Now this is a "tricky" part. You can tie off the tinsel with a few wraps of thread and cut off the tinsel and tie in a second piece for the ribbing. But, there is not "Butt" to hide the tiein and -offs of the tinsel. What you end up with is an unsightly bump that can not be covered up. What I do is use a piece of tinsel that is about 7 inches long. I create a tag similar to the Pryce-Tannatt method but only use one wrap of thread to tie off the tinsel. Be sure and tie off the tinsel directly under the hook shank such that it will be in the proper position to start the rib. Now advance the thread to about a halfinch behind the eye of the hook.

3.Tie in the floss and wrap to the tag and one turn beyond the tie in point of the tinsel. Now wrap back to the floss tie-in and secure with five turns of thread.

4. Wrap the tinsel rib forward to the floss tie-off. Space the ribbing such that the orange silk that shows through is about the width of two turns of tinsel. Attempting to count tinsel wraps is not necessary and is too tedious on an 8X long hook.

5. Select a small bunch of white bucktail. This should be stacked by hand. You can stack the hair in a hair stacker, however, you lose the desired appearance. Hair stacked by hand, has an uneven, perhaps slightly tapered appearance, rather than the abrupt edge obtained by a modern hair stacker. Tie in the hair on the under-side of the body. It should extend to just beyond the bend of the hook.

6. Now tie in a small golden pheasant crest feather just in front of the bucktail. The feather should be about one-third the length of the body. You may want to nick the underside of the feather to open it up slightly. The golden pheasant crest should curve upwards into the bucktail. Think of it as an upside-down tail for a salmon fly.

7. Now tie in the peacock herl. This should be tied in on top of the hook shank, above the bucktail, and extend just past the bend of the hook. I like using the herl that is found just below the eye (within one-inch). This herl is fuller that that found lower down on the stick.

8. Next tie in the second golden pheasant crest feather just in front of the herl. This feather should extent to the bend of the hook. I like to open it up like a topping by nicking the feather.

9. Now Carrie did not use white schlappen. But, I saw Mike Martinek use it and I believe it helps in producing a more life-like fly. Strip off, two small bunches of schlappen that are about a half-inch long and tie it one like a throat just in front of the golden pheasant on the bottom of the hook and the second on top just in front of the herl. Trim off the excess and tie down with four or five turns of thread. Repeat this process until you have advanced to within a few turns of thread from the eye of the hook (Two or perhaps three are sufficient). What you are creating is support for the wing by tying in long throat both on top and bottom. There should be no schlappen on the sides of the hook.

10. Now the wing. Use Chinese neck hackle. Saddle hackles or the genetic neck hackles are too slim. You want wide hackle and it should be webbed for most of its length. Select four hackles two from the right side of the neck and two from the left. Match up two hackles from the right side and measure them for length. Just past the bend of the hook. Strip off the extra barbs and glue the two feather stems together. Repeat for the left side. The glue should be thick. Next select a silver pheasant body feather that is about one-third the length of the wing. Ensure both the left and right sides are equal in length and width. Then glue the stem of the pheasant feather to the stems of the hackle. The silver pheasant and hackle feathers should be straight. Repeat for both wings. Now select a jungle cock feather that is about as long as the silver pheasant and apply the glue to the underside of the jungle cock and place it in the center of the silver pheasant. Let the two wings dry for a minute or two.

11. Once the wings have dried, tie in the right, then left sides of the wing on the sides of the hook. You may want the wings to angle very slightly upwards as to not completely cover the body. Do not tie the wings on top of the hook shank. If you do you have to deal with a wing that is cocked upwards. Also, the silver pheasant will not close, resulting in an very unsightly gap on the bottom of the hook.

12. If the pheasant did not come together and close the gap between the two wings you can tie-in a small bunch of schlappen on the top and bottom of the hook to fill the gap.

13. Finally, trim off the stems and build a thread head. A small head is okay, however, it will not look right. Build a thread head that is proportional for the fly. I have seen some very small thread heads on these flies and some salmon flies. These extra small thread heads make the fly look, well quite frankly in my opinion, unsightly.

14. You can tie in a piece of red silk on the head. Or leave it off. It's up to you. Apply some good lacquer and enjoy your finished fly.

I hope you have enjoyed this article. I know is it perhaps different for this publication, but appropriate. And by-the-way go ahead and fish these flies. They are marvelous flies and very effective.