Kelson's Black Dog is a most unusual classic Salmon Fly pattern. The long, flowing Heron, the body construction and the hackle tips used as an underwing all come together nicely in this fly. For this month's challenge, I slightly modified the form of the Black Dog and dramatically altered the color scheme.

Purple is a color so popular for Steelhead in the Pacific Northwest, but it is not an overly com- mon color when it comes to Salmon Flies. There are, however, exceptions to this, such as the Purple Emperor.

In designing this fly, I wanted to create a nice looking pattern which used no hard-to-find materials like Bustard, Indian Crow, etc. Here are some notes on substitutes needed to dress this fly...

Scarlet This Sub. - African Grey Parrot tail feathers work very well, as does Swan or Goose dyed a pinkish red (or a light, rich Scarlet, ed.) The Scarlet ibis is in the C.I.T.I.E.S. list, but African Grey's are somewhat more common in Aviculture.

Black Heron Sub. - Of course, nothing is as good as real Heron, but this is also unavailable for the most part (and keeping with the charter of the magazine, we don't advise using it!, ed.) Subs include Bob Borden's Spey Hackle (although I don't recommend it, J.P.H.), bleached and dyed pheasant rump feathers, Elder Duck Feathers or, with a little work, the crests from a Silver Pheasant. You can even bleach and dye Blue-Eared Pheasant if you like.

Chatterer Sub - Kingfisher is the best I know of, but now that these can no longer be imported, they are getting scarce. If you do not have Kingfisher, webby hen hackles dyed bright blue or the white ring feathers from a Ringneck Pheasant in the same colors are acceptable. Also, some parrot, lovebirds, lorikeets and the like have small blue feathers which can be used in place of Chatterer. Hang out at your local pet store... you may be pleasantly surprised!

THE PURPLE DOG

Tag: Oval Silver Tinsel & Golden Yellow Floss
Tail: Golden Pheasant Crest & Scarlet Ibis Sub
Butt: Black Ostrich Herl
Body: Purple Floss
Ribs: Red Floss between two ribs of Oval Gold Tinsel
Hackle: Black Heron Sub, from 3rd Turn
Throat: Black & White Speckled Guinea
Underwing: Jungle Fowl, back to back, enveloping two red dyed hackle tips, also back to back.
Main Wing: Yellow, Red & Blue Goose or Swan, Amherst Pheasant Tail, Golden Pheasant Tail
Topping: Golden Pheasant Crest
Cheeks: Blue Chatterer Sub.
Horns: Blue & Yellow Macaw
Head: Black