Bowlker's Dragonfly

In 1747, Charles and Richard Bowlker published “Bowlker’s Art of Angling”  In this book are two salmon fly patterns.  The first is the Dragon Fly, Libella, or Libellula. with one variation.  The second is the King's Fisher or Peacock Fly. It also has a variation.  These two patterns  are important as they are possibly the first salmon fly patterns given in the English fly literature.  In this posting, I present the first of the pair with its variation.  Both ate tied in hand, true to materials as much as I could, following as much as I understood, the directions given by the Bowlkers.  

The Dragonfly, Libella or Libellula  The pattern, from the original: The wings are
made of a reddish-brown feather from the wing
of a cock turkey ; the body of auburn-coloured
mohair warped with yellow silk ; and a ginger
cock's hackle wrapt under the wings ; the hook
No, 2 or 3.





The Dragonfly, Libella or Libellula variation: The wings are

made of a reddish-brown feather from the wing
of a cock turkey ; the body of auburn-coloured
mohair warped with yellow silk ; and a ginger
cock's hackle wrapt under the wings ; the hook
No, 2 or 3. Or it may be varied thus ; the
wings of a rich brown feather from a heron's
wing ; the body drab, or olive-coloured mohair;
a bittern's hackle under the wings, and a forked
tail. This fly is about two inches in length.

In the first fly, the wing feathers from the turkey are coppery reddish brown, metallic and very nice to work with but not very long in the fibre.  In the second fly I used rich brown turkey tail instead of heron, and the bittern is from a chicken skin I have that is a dead ringer for bittern, especially when used as a hackle.  In both of these flies I have deliberately picked through the wings to disrupt the fibers and prevent them looking too modern.  Both of these flies are just under 2 inches long from eye to bend.