Sometimes a Variation Can Make a Difference.
One of the advantages of owning a flock of genetic birds used for premium
fishing flies is the fact that I get to choose what is bred and what
variations in feather color will be attempted during the upcoming season .
Often, world renown fly tiers hang out at the shop’s bar and together we
contemplate what the other may be wishing to have produced for new or
different patterns. Sometimes when the right birds are selected the color
that is created can be spectacular. However, once the breeding is complete
the wait begins and the expectations can take time to prove whether I
really “did good.” Then there are the little things in life that will make
us continue whatever it is we like to do.

For instance, last April I attended the Snake River Cutthroater’s Spring
Show in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It’s a well thought out show and is something
more of us who live in the West should attend. All the regional hot shots
of the industry were there. Each showed their talent for whatever their
expertise is but one attendee rose above the others and honored me by
spending a little time at my booth. But, before I toot my horn too loudly,
there is a reason I am making mention of this particular visit and what
transpired.

Henry Hoffman is commonly known as the originator of the breed of birds
which I raise. I’ve seen what he has done and I’m impressed. He has also
worn the crown as Fly Tier of the Year for the year 2000 and I’m certain
there are numerous more awards in his possession. This is not too shabby an
honor in anyone’s books. So, as he tied his flies near my booth, the four
live examples of Genetic Hackle birds I normally take with me to shows
beckoned him at times with their clucks and crows. Nearly as soon as he
arrived a novice tier showed up and began to ask numerous and various
novice type questions. Not being one to eliminate Henry from any ongoing
conversation I introduced this beginner to the pillar in fly fishing. The
next few minutes Henry and I entertained ourselves by showing this young
tier some of the genetic variations I had laying around the booth and how
they are used for various flies. We explained how this practice of growing
birds for a specific fly is now practiced, in the spirit of competition, by
accomplished fly tiers and their hackle growing friends from all over the
world. However I believe the novice was a little taken back when Henry made
mention of the years he has been using the variants.

And, to educate some of you this same principle is what makes a stained
glass lamp by Tiffany totally different then a craftsman who just cuts and
assembles colored glass. Tiffany colored the glass for where it was going
on the “picture.” He just didn’t use what was available from the scrap
heap. Well, maybe he did but not often. But, in hackle and feather
selection the principal variant which is I am referring to is the Cree. A
tri- colored mix of white, brown and black. And, if you fish with Adams or
Light Cahill flies then this little article should get your attention.

To tie an Adams Fly the common practice is to take one feather from a brown
neck and another from a Grizzly neck and blend the two into the hackle of
the fly. But if you take a well mixed brown and grizzly Cree feather you
can accomplish the same task without the use of a dual feathers. Taken one
step further the variant Cree also comes in a wide spectrum of color. The
bred birds will span the spectrum of mix from a barred cream to nearly all
black. Capitalizing on using this variety of multiple colors, all of your
fly patterns can become just a little deadlier on the rivers and streams
where you fish.

For instance and I use this example quite often in the shop when discussing
the Cree. If you tie a common light Cahill onto your line and drift it down
a riffle you may catch a fish. However, if you alter the hackle of this
particular pattern by using a light Cree variation that is barred with the
Cree tri-color and cast this new variation of the fly within inches of the
control Cahill the chances are 80-90% in favor of the Cree Cahill being
taken before the common Cahill. Don’t laugh I’ve done it. Overall, Charlie
Darwin would call it survival of the fittest or unfit test depending on how
you look at it.. This formulation of Darwin’s survival and predation I
adhere to and implement in many of my own personal flies. The Cree
variation just makes this principal a little easier to create a fly which
casts an illusion of a weak or, in the case of a full blown insect hatch, a
better target for a feeding fish to focus on. Think about that… A fly that
might cause a fish to see it in a flotilla of floating bugs.

If you take this same concept away from the trout stream and slide it into
the realm of salt water you would immediately see how a Cree feather would
“outlook” a mix of several feathers. Therefore, shrimp patterns can become
almost identical to the shrimp that flood the waters where you fish. My
parents live down in Florida and when I fish on visits to their home the
Cree feather duplicates the color and “look” of an Indian River shrimp and
the birds around Islamorada and Marathon have watch me take fish after fish
using these feathers in shrimp patterns. Some friends of mine who haunt the
Texas coast find that the Cree is the best feather to cast at that
particular feeding fish red fish. In fact, they like to say, “one cast one
fish.”

So maybe there is a better mousetrap after all. And, regardless of what fly
you tie or whatever the size needed, a Cree neck or saddle can add a little
spice into that common fly which you have been fishing. Give it a try. I
have yet to hear from anyone, from Maine to California, who has diverted
from the “norm,” that the results of this concept didn’t surpass their
expectations.

Doc Knoll has a fly shop and Genetic Hackle farm located on the banks of
the Yellowstone River in Pray, Montana. Visit him at
www.avicom.net/knoll