About the John Storey (with tail) Trout Fly

"The original wet fly dressing had an underbody of fawn wool, to better absorbwater, and mallard wing fibers sloped back over the peacock herl covered body. The fly has undergone a few changes down the years; for example at the turn of the century the dry fly had even reached this quiet little backwater on the Rye, and so the Storeys brought it into line by deleting the wool underbody, using a stiff cock hackle and setting the wings upright. It worked very well in its new guise." "A further change in the design came about in the mid 1930s' when the fly started to sport a wing that had a very pronounced forward slope over the eye... This information from Authur Storey" grandson of John Storey and present(1980) riverkeeper. A tail has been added, this will help to give extra floatation.

Expert Tip:

John Storey was a riverkeeper on the Ryedale Anglers' Club in N. Yorkshire in ther mid 1800's.

Creator of this trout fly: John Storey

Tier of this trout fly: Mandy Shelvey

Country of origin for this trout fly: England

This trout fly is designed to be fished on Rivers & Streams

Dressings

• Hook : 12 : 16
• Tail : Natural red game
• Body : Plain bronze Peacock herl
• Rib : Red floss
• Hackle : Natural dark red game
• Wing: - Tip from a speckled Mallard breast feather,tied in front of hackle & pointing forward over the eye.

As with many fly patterns, tiers over the many decades often make personal adaption as with the addition of a tail and ribbing. It must have worked in this case.