Samuel Taylor's Salmon Flies.

Published in 1800, Samuel Taylor's "Angling in all its Branches" contains a wealth of interesting angling advice, including some rather interesting trout flies.  It is also notable for the three salmon flies that it contains.  These simple, yet elegant patterns seem plain and perhaps even a bit ugly compared to the fully dressed salmon flies that were soon to appear on the rivers and streams, but they were fully functional and deadly in their day.  The only question that I have of them is, how long were these patterns in service before they were published in Taylor's book?  Between the two listed in Bowlker and these three is a span of only fifty-three years.  Considering the speed with which the salmon fly was to change in the 1800's, that is a long time between the two, and Bowlker's patterns are far more gaudy by comparison than these three.  I would not be surprised if these three were very old patterns, older than Bowlker's even.  That however, is mere speculation.
I present the three salmon flies from Samuel Taylor's "Angling in all its Branches,"  which would be repeated also in the Rural Sports book, published by Bunny and Gold, Shoelane, London, the second edition of which came out in 1802, though I have no data on when it was originally printed.  The patterns are as follows:  

 Salmon fly No.1

Hook: 1

Silk: brown

Tail: two strands bittern’s wing

Body: Reddish brown hare and copper coloured mohair equally mixed

Ribbing: none

Hackle: bittern’s hackle palmered

Wing: two strips of bittern’s wing quill upright not divided

Head: same as body

 Salmon fly No.2

Hook: 1

Silk: probably red or black

Tail: none

Body: light brown bear’s dun, sable fur and gold coloured mohair equally mixed

Ribbing: gold twist

Hackle: black cock’s with a red cock’s a little larger above it.

Wing: mottled peacock strips intermixed with plain dusky red anything

Head: deep red mohair

Salmon fly No.3

Hook: 1

Silk: lead coloured

Tail: blue heron’s wing intermixed with bronze mallard

Body: lead coloured mohair

Ribbing: fine gold twist

Hackle: a large white hackle dyed deep blue

Wing: blue heron’s wing intermixed with bronze mallard

Head: same as body

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.  

The Forest Ranger

Salmon flies continue to evolve, with new patterns and styles being produced all the time.  One of the more beautiful, and still functional salmon flies I have been introduced to in a very long time is the Forest Ranger, invented by Dave Burns.  Here is the history of the fly in his own words.  

"I started tying a fly that I called the Forest Ranger in August 1994 as a going away gift for a Forest Service employee.  I did one again in November 2007 as a contribution to a Payette Employees Association fund raiser for scholarships.  That triggered a lot of popularity for the pattern and I've tied somewhere around a dozen since, mostly for moving rangers or retiring rangers or such.  I have varied the materials some but here's the pattern from my logs:" 

Hook:  6/0-8/0 Harrison Bartleet; 

Tag: copper tinsel, or copper wire and pale green silk; 

Tail: golden pheasant crest (gpc) with veil of cardinal, red bishop, or red golden pheasant neck feather; 

Butt: black ostrich herl, or bronze peacock herl; 

Body: 1/4 orange silk, then orange (sometimes omitted), fiery brown, green and maybe black mohair, or seal; 

Ribs: copper tinsel and copper (or gold) twist; 

Hackle: brown, or furnace from the silk body section; 

Throat: guinea dyed green; 

Wing: two back to back jungle cock with two pair of tippets over as in the Durham Ranger, gpc over; 

Sides: jungle cock; 

Cheeks: green parrot or pita; 

Horns: green parrot; 

Head: black lacquer or herl to match the butt.

Naturally I also wanted to give this fly a shot, so, here is my rendition, with slight changes due to shortage of certain materials.  I fully plan to fish this pattern over steelhead this fall.  

In this version I have used Impyan pheasant for the cheeks, and scarlet macaw for the tail.  Hook is a Partridge 3/0 CS 10/3, body is seal.  I love the Pryce-Tannatt look of a well picked out seal body, and usually will incorporate this feature into my seal bodied patterns.  Underwater the sparkle and liveliness of the fur adds to it's killer ability.  

The Dandy

According to George Mortimer Kelson, the credit for inventing the Dandy goes to James Wright, with a time frame, according to Mikael Frodin of  “middle of 19th century.”

The first fly that I could find called the Dandy is a gorgeous ‘mixed wing’ I found in the 1848 book by Frederick Tolfrey, “The Jones Guide to Norway.”  Looking nothing like any subsequent Dandy, it is in my opinion however the prettiest of the lot.  The pattern is listed as follows:

Hook: no 8 or 9
Tail: golden pheasant topping
Tip: silver twist
Body: pale green and silver twist, three turns of black ostrich, dark blue mohair and two turns of jay hackle.  scarlet mohair and silver twist, three turns of a dyed scarlet hackle, deepest claret pig’s wool on the shoulder and silver twist.
Throat: black hackle dyed blue
Wing: (mixed in strands) Peacock herl and wing, golden pheasant tail, light mottled turkey tail, and one blue feather from the right and left wing of the jay.
Head: brown mohair

Some thoughts while tying this fly.  Over-dying the black hackle with blue, even a deep blue did not do a whole lot.  Fiery brown mohair looks great on the head, especially since Tolfrey doesn't specify any particular brown.   The wing on this one was tied in as per instructions from the time period about how to separate out and mix the strands when building a mixed wing.  Having tied this now, I would combine this body, with the other Dandy wing, and add the jay from this one over that as a shoulder.  I wonder how that would look? 


What I want to know now is why did fly tiers make such a radical departure in form from this lovely fly to the “whole feather wing” to be described when tying the later Dandys? Since George Kelson was the next author in line, so to speak, why did he not simply marry the strands in the wing instead of the radical departure to a much simpler pattern?

Having posed that question, the first example that I will describe is directly from George Kelson’s “The Salmon Fly” 1895, and is as follows:

The Dandy as per G. M. Kelson, 1895
Tip: silver tinsel
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping, summer duck, chatterer
Butt: black ostrich
Body: silver tinsel nearly 2/3 finished off with light blue floss
Ribbing: silver tinsel
Throat: light blue and guinea fowl
Wing: two tippets enveloping two projecting jungle fowl,
Shoulder: summer duck covering lower part of tippets
Cheek: chatterer
Horns: blue macaw
Head: black Berlin wool

Kelson makes the following comments; "RIVERS : Tweed, etc.
(NOTE. This fly occasionally -kills under general conditions of weather and water, but is frequently found useful as a special standard for moving sulky fish)"

Writing in 1907, John James Hardy describes a Dandy that is exactly the same as George Kelson's with one exception.  Where-as Kelson lists a black Berlin wool head, Hardy omits this detail, to a better result I feel.  His pattern is listed as follows: 

The Dandy as per John James Hardy, 1907
Tip: silver tinsel
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping, summer duck, chatterer
Butt: black ostrich
Body: silver tinsel nearly 2/3 finished off with light blue floss
Ribbing: silver tinsel
Throat: light blue and guinea fowl
Wing: two tippets enveloping two projecting jungle fowl,
Shoulder: summer duck covering lower part of tippets
Cheek: chatterer
Horns: blue macaw
Head: black

Note, as I said, Hardy and Kelson are pretty similar except for the head.  Note also, in Kelson’s book, the fly is shown with at least one topping over the wing, though neither Kelson nor later, Hardy  mentions it in the description.  I have tied is as per the picture and the flies I have seen.  This is the reason behind my departure from my usual habit of listing the patterns in chronological order.  Even though there were authors published between the two publication dates for these patterns, the two share these two obvious connections; one being they are almost identical, the second in the presence or lack of a topping. 

Published in 1898, Sir Herbert Maxwell’s pattern is the first I could find to explicitly describe the wing with a topping over.  While it is basically the same as the patterns already mentioned, this is it’s one major difference.  The other differences are minor, such as the use of Indian Crow in the tail instead of Summer duck and chatterer, and of course the use of chenille as head and butt adornments.  Translating his pattern from the table to standard format, it reads as follows:

The Dandy as per Sir Herbert Maxwell, 1898
Tag: silver wire and citron floss.
Tail: a topping and Indian crow.
Butt: black chenille.
Body: lower half, silver tinsel; upper half, sky-blue floss.
Ribs: silver twist over.
Hackle: sky-blue cock's over the floss, gallina at shoulder.
Wing: a pair of long jungle fowl, over them a pair of tippet feathers, not so long, and the tops of a pair of barred wood duck feathers, still shorter, over the last; topping over all, blue macaw horns.
Cheeks: blue chatterer
Head: black chenille.

He adds the following comments: “My favourite fly in all this class. It was named after the late Lord Alexander Paget. It is an expensive fly to dress, but it is extremely pretty, and very effective in the sizes from 16 to 12.”
In this I agree with him.  It is a very pretty fly, and thanks to the need for chatterer, is still an expensive fly to dress correctly.

Dr. T. E. Pryce-Tannatt, in 1914, describes a pattern that is substantially the same as the three preceding patterns, the only difference being the use of jungle cock in the tail to replace the wood duck used in Kelson and Hardy.  His pattern is as follows:

Dandy (hook, 11/2 to 2 inches).
Tag: Silver thread and lemon floss.
Tail: A topping, Jungle Cock and Blue Chatterer (the last somewhat shorter than the preceding).
Butt: Black herl.
Body: First two-thirds, flat silver tinsel; remainder, pale blue floss.
Ribs: Fine oval silver tinsel.
Hackle: A pale blue hackle, beginning with the pale blue floss.
Throat: Speckled Gallina.
Wings: A pair of Jungle Cock feathers (back to back), and one pair of tippets dressed as in the Black Ranger above.
Sides: Broad strips of barred Summer Duck, covering part of tippets up to bar nearest
root.
Cheeks: Blue Chatterer, a topping over.
Horns: Blue and Yellow Macaw.

The last version I have been able to locate is from an illustration, with no actual pattern listed for it. In William E. Hodgeson's  “Salmon Fishing”…  (1920), there is a lovely painting of a Dandy that seems to correspond exactly to Hardy’s pattern. 

This brings to mind another pattern also shown in these illustrations, the Stevenson.  Both Hodgeson and Maxwell show a Stevenson that looks, at least in the wing, to be a Dandy.  In fact Maxwell even lists it as such in his description (See prior listing here under Stevenson).  He clearly states that the wing of his Stevenson is that of the Dandy, while the body is that of the Parson.  There is even a Ranger with a Dandy wing, the Drum Ranger, from the Drum Collection of Sandy Irvine--Lord Alexander Irvine, Laird of Drum Castle and Drum Estate, dated around 1930.  It seems the Dandy was a fly to be borrowed from, even if it is not as pretty, in my opinion at least, as the original. 

Lastly, there seems to be the assumption that because many of the patterns found in Kelson were also to be found in either Hardy or Hale, and occasionally both, that these three authors copied each other.  This may have been the case with other patterns, but it is not the case here, at least as far as Hale is concerned.  He does not mention this pattern at all as far as I can see.

Whole Featherwings- The Stevenson

The Stevenson is a beautiful pattern very reminiscent of a Parson or Ranger in it’s construction. Kelson gives the credit for the invention of this pattern to James Wright, with Frodin adding a date of ca. 1850 to this notation in his book.

There are four of the old masters who list a version of the Stevenson in their inventories of flies, they are Kelson, Hardy, Maxwell and Pryce-Tannatt.  There is also at least one, possibly more other versions illustrated in books with no pattern being given, just the name.  Of all of these, Hardy and Kelson are identical, which leaves four similar but different flies for us to describe.  We will begin with the pattern as per George M. Kelson, from his book "The Salmon Fly."

The Stevenson as per George M. Kelson and John James Hardy
Tip: silver twist
Tag: light blue silk
Tail: topping and tippet
Butt: black herl
Body: 2 turns orange silk, followed by orange seal
Ribbing: silver lace and silver tinsel
Hackle: orange from orange silk
Throat: light blue
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Cheeks: jungle cock
Horns: Blue macaw
Head: black wool

Kelson writes a note following the description for a variation as used on the rivers Wye and Lochy.  Wings are to be veiled with Teal, and in the tail, summer duck is to be used instead of tippet.  This addendum is not copied by Hardy, though the pattern is.  

Sir Herbert Maxwell’s lovely pattern is distinct from the other two patterns in the construction of the wing, as we shall see.  Judging from the way he listed the pattern, I think he views it as a cross between a Parson and a Dandy, listing the pattern as:

“Tag, Tail, Body and Hackle as in the Parson, except that the shoulder hackle should
be bright blue dyed cock's or (better) Indian Jay. Wing, &c. As in the Dandy (No. 8).”

Translating this into a standard format, the pattern reads as follows: 
The Stevenson as per Sir Herbert Maxwell
Tip: silver twist
Tag: violet floss
Tail: topping and tippet and chatterer
Body: 1/5th gold floss, remainder rich yellow mohair merging into orange
Ribbing: silver twist
Hackle: orange over the wool,
Throat: bright blue, or better, jay full at the shoulder
Wing: Long jungle cock, pair of tippets over, pair of barred wood duck over that short, topping over.
Cheeks: chatterer
Horns: blue macaw
Head: black chenille

He records a small historical note: “I have a double hooked Stevenson of my own dressing,which I lost in a fish on the North Tyne one day in 1873. Two days later, the Duke of Northumberland caught this fish, 17Ibs., about half a mile higher up the water. My fly was sticking in its breast; I put it on my line and landed two fish with it the same day. Sizes,16 to 5.”

Dr. T. E. Pryce-Tannatt says nothing about this pattern, simply listing it as a “whole-feather wing” with a bunch of other patterns.  His version is as follows: 

The Stevenson as per Dr. T. E. Pryce-Tannatt
Tip: silver twist
Tag: light blue silk
Tail: topping and Indian crow
Butt: black herl
Body: ¼ orange floss, remainder orange seal of a darker shade
Ribbing: flat silver and silver twist
Hackle: bright orange
Throat: pale blue
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Shoulder: jungle cock
Cheeks:  chatterer
Horns: blue and yellow macaw

An interesting illustration from William E. Hodgeson's  “Salmon Fishing”…  (1920) shows what I initially took for a Maxwell version of the Stevenson, but upon closer examination discovered some interesting differences.  For one, there is a clear and distinct Ranger wing (doubled tippet over long jungle cock) and a butt, absent in Maxwell's version.  Missing also from this pattern is the standard chenille head, the chatterer cheeks, and the tail clearly has barred wood duck or teal instead of  tippet with or with out chatterer.  In common with other Stevenson patterns, the tag is light blue, rather then the violet that Maxwell prefers. Lastly, the ribbing is a broad flat gold, rather then silver twist.  Otherwise, this fly appears to conform to Maxwell's version as far as I can see.  Since I can find no written description included in this book, I am going to have to guess.  I think the pattern is as follows, based on the illustration:

The Stevenson as per William E. Hodgeson
Tip: silver twist
Tag: light blue
Tail: topping and barred wood duck (or possibly teal, maybe even both)
Body: 1/5th gold floss, remainder rich orange mohair or seal  
Ribbing: broad flat gold or possibly silver
Hackle: orange over the wool,
Throat: bright blue
Wing: Long jungle cock,  two pairs of tippets over (Ranger style), pair of barred wood duck over that short, topping over.
Horns: blue macaw


Discussing this with Monte Smith, he brought up some very interesting points.  It is possible that the tinsel could also be broad silver with gold oval backing it.  This would tend to pick up more orange from the oval gold and the fur also, making it appear silver.  His monitor shows the floss as a light orange, perhaps the Glasso Orange shade in the Japanese silk.  He also sees teal in the tail and not the barred wood duck.  Looking more closely I tend to agree with this myself. 

The Rangers Completed

The Other Rangers
The Ranger family of flies is a family of many variations on the original design. 
Besides the Black, Durham and Blue Rangers already discussed, there have been quite a few other Ranger type flies, most short lived, with few or no variations.  There is little or no history written about these flies, and certainly no catch- records for them that I have found either. 
The following patterns, with one exception, are all Rangers, or called Rangers and are here presented in no particular order except to group those with common names together by date as previously done with the Durham, Black and Blue Rangers.

Red Ranger as per William E. Hodgeson,  “Salmon Fishing” 1920
 Tip: silver twist
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: black herl
Body: two turns scarlet floss followed by scarlet seal, well picked out
Ribbing: broad flat silver tinsel with medium oval silver tinsel
Hackle: red cock
Throat: light blue cock
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Cheeks: kingfisher

This lovely Ranger was found amongst a collection of plates in Hodgeson's 1920 edition of "Salmon Fishing."  Originally printed in 1907, it shows 72 flies, popular at the time, but does not list the patterns for them.  Most of the flies illustrated, such as this one, are clear enough to make out the details, and seem to be similar to those found in Kelson, Hardy or Hale.  There are some however, including many mixed wings, where they are not. This makes for a challenge in deciphering them, and a real sense of "to be continued" as I struggle to find the patterns else-where.

The next Ranger, one dressed more like a Dandy or a Stevenson is the Drum Ranger.  The pattern is taken from a collection of flies dating to the 1930's and eventually ended up in a publication called the Salmon Flyer, possibly the first public printing of this collection of very interesting flies.   
 

Drum Ranger as per Sandy Irvine--Lord Alexander Irvine, Laird of Drum Castle and Drum Estate--about 1930.
Tag: oval gold and crimson floss
Tail: topping, summer duck and blue chatterer
Butt: black ostrich
Body: white floss,
Rib: flat and oval gold
Throat: golden brown
Wings: two projecting jungle cock enveloped by two tippets, summer duck covering lower parts of tippets, topping over all
Cheeks: blue chatterer

 Pulled from the extensive lists of flies found in J. Edson Leonard's book "Flies" this interesting pattern is one of the few patterns I know of using gold embossed tinsel for the entire body. 

Gold Ranger as per J. Edson Leonard, 1950
Tip: silver twist
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: black herl
Body: embossed gold
Ribbing: oval gold
Hackle: claret and red palmer together
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Cheeks: blue


Found while examining  T. E. Pryce-Tannatt's " How to Dress Salmon Flies". A & C Black,  London, England, 1977,  This odd-ball Ranger does not have the typical Ranger wing, and is to my mind rather gaudy, even for a salmon-fly. I have not seen it in other sources and wonder on it's popularity.   

Red Ranger as per Freddie Riley, 1970
Tip: flat silver
Tail: topping plus chatterer
Butt: black herl
Body: red floss
Ribbing: flat gold and silver twist
Hackle: lemon
Throat: magenta
Wing: single pair of tippets, married yellow, red and blue goose, florican
Head: black



Here we have a fine Ranger pattern from a modern master, sadly now deceased.  I would love to know more history on this fly and one of these days will test it.  My only question about it is why Poul did not make the head red as well as the butt?  It would be just that much more balanced.  

Silver Ranger as per Poul Jorgensen 1978
Tip: silver thread
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: scarlet wool or sea-ex dubbing
Body: flat silver tinsel
Ribbing: oval silver tinsel
Hackle: scarlet
Throat: scarlet
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Shoulder: chatterer
Horns: blue and yellow macaw
Head: black

The Erne Ranger, from E. J. Malone's 1998 book Irish Trout and Salmon Flies, is to my mind the least Ranger-like fly of the whole family.  Given the Erne's history of odd looking flies however, this one fits right in.  All one has to do is visit the Parson family of flies and observe the backwards wings and throats on the earliest members and we can see the thread commemorated here perhaps. 

Erne Ranger as per E. J. Malone, 1984
Tip: silver wire
Tail: topping and tippet in strand
Body: scarlet and black silk in equal parts
Ribbing: oval silver
Hackle: scarlet over the black
Throat: orange
Wing: scarlet swan with white tipped turkey over
Cheeks: jungle cock




Here again,  from E. J. Malone's 1998 book Irish Trout and Salmon Flies, we have another fly that is distinctly unRanger-like.  A rather pretty fly none-the-less

 

Irish Ranger as per E. J. Malone, 1984
Tip: fine oval silver
Tag: light blue
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Body: 1/3 reddish-orange silk, 2/3 black seal
Ribbing: oval silver
Hackle: claret over the black seal
Throat: jay
Wing: 1 pair tippets, jungle cock over, wood duck or teal over that, topping over
Horns: blue and yellow
Head: black


I have included the Lady Amherst here, even though it is not called or referred to as a Ranger at all, because even though the wings are not golden pheasant tippets, they follow the Ranger pattern precisely.  This fly might as well be called a White Ranger.  In "Fishing Atlantic Salmon, the Flies and the Patterns." Bates, Joseph D. Jr.and Bates, Pamela Richards. Stackpole Books,  Mechanicsburg PA. 1996, page 322, it is written that the Lady Amherst is of American origins, along with a lovely fly called the Night Hawk, however, on page 348 is stated it's origin: " This famous Canadian pattern is dressed in the classic style,  It was originated abut 1925 by George D. Bonbright, president of the Seaboard Airline Railway, and was extensively used by him on Canadian rivers, especially the Grand Cascapedia."  This pattern was commercialized by Charles Phair, author of Atlantic Salmon Fishing, under the name Bonbright #2 to distinguish it from an earlier pattern named for Bonbright and called Bonbright #1.  Apparantly it was an extremely popular pattern with the guides on the Grand Cascapedia as well, especially in large sizes (up to 5/0).  The pattern Bates lists in the above mentioned book is not the same one as listed in his book from 1970, it is virtually identical to the one found in "Salmon Flies," Jorgensen, Poul,  Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg PA. 1978, and so I will list that pattern first. 

Lady Amherst as per Poul Jorgensen 1978
Tip: silver thread
Tag: golden yellow floss
Tail: topping and strands of teal
Butt: black ostrich
Body: flat silver tinsel
Ribbing: oval silver tinsel
Hackle: badger
Throat: teal flank to the barb
Wing: double Amherst tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Cheeks: chatterer
Shoulder: jungle cock
Horns: blue and yellow macaw
Head: black

This is the pattern most of us are used to.  It is only slightly different from Bates' later version in the starting place for the hackle, but otherwise is identical.  Bates has another, earlier pattern he claims is the original,  which can be seen in Bates, Joseph D. "Atlantic Salmon Flies and Fishing." Stackpole Books,  Mechanicsburg PA. 1970, page 293.  It is very similar, and goes as follows:

Lady Amherst as per Joseph D.Bates, 1970
Tip: fine oval silver tinsel or silver wire
Tag: golden-yellow silk floss
Tail: a golden pheasant crest feather (over this sometimes a few whisps of teal are added)
Butt: black ostrich herl
Body: flat silver tinsel
Ribbing: oval silver tinsel
Hackle: a badger hackle palmered from the second turn of tinsel
Throat: about two turns of barred black and white teal body feather, tied on as a collar and pulled down, the longest fibers extending to the barb of the hook (the teal fibers sometimes are applied as a beard, but this is less attractive)
Wing: strips of Amherst pheasant center tail (barred black and white neck feathers often are substituted, especially on large flies)
Shoulder: jungle cock
Cheeks: chatterer, smaller and shorter then the jungle cock, but veiling it (blue kingfisher can be substituted)
Topping: a golden pheasant crest feather


A note of history on this pattern, again from Bates, 1970, page 23, "The Canadian Record is a 55-pounder taken on June 27, 1939 on Quebec's Grand Cascapedia River by Esmond B. Martin, who used a Leonard rod, vom Hofe reel and a Lady Amherst fly."

The Evolution of the Featherwinged Salmon Flies - The Rangers continued

Almost as old as the Black Ranger, and presumably at least as old as the Durham Ranger is the Blue Ranger.  Our source for this assertion is William Henderson’s “My Life as and Angler” published in 1879 by W. Satchell, Peyton & Co. London. Page 310 shows a November 26, 1866 entry for a blue bodied Ranger, fished by William Henderson at Sprouston, for a salmon of 26lbs. 

Despite being an obviously successful pattern, I find only two authors actually have it listed with a pattern, and no one else even mentions it besides Mikael Frodin, our esteemed modern compiler of old patterns.
Listed below is the pattern by Francis Francis and its nearly identical twin by John James Hardy. 

Blue Ranger as per Francis Francis 1867
Tip: silver twist
Tag: golden silk
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: Black herl
Body: 2 or 3 turns golden floss, ditto bright fiery red pigs wool, remainder light blue pigs wool
Ribbing: silver and twist
Hackle: blue, a shade darker then body, from the middle of the wool
Throat: guinea
Wing: single pair of tippets, double jungle cock over, topping over all
Head: black

As this pattern only differs in minor details of tinsel and the jungle cock over the wing I did not feel it necessary to tie it again. 
Blue Ranger as per John James Hardy
Tip: silver tinsel
Tag: gold silk
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: Black herl
Body: 2 or 3 turns golden floss, ditto bright fiery red pigs wool, remainder light blue pigs wool
Ribbing: silver tinsel
Hackle: blue
Throat: guinea
Wing: single pair of tippets, jungle cock over, topping over all
Head: black

What I find interesting about this pattern is the reversal of the Ranger-wing style.  Standard Ranger wings are a double tippet, staggered, over a long jungle cock pair back to back.  In Francis Francis, we see a single pair of tippets with double jungle over.  This I took to be a typographical error originally, but then I find that Hardy has copied it, possibly eliminating one of the pairs of jungle cock in the process, or realizing the possible error of Francis Francis, semi-correcting it.  This sort of thing is sometimes difficult to judge when authors insist on varying their descriptions.  In one pattern they will say two tippets back to back, or a pair of tippets, or four tippets, or two tippets Ranger style.  Some authors will sometimes describe a pattern as if they were only looking at one side or as if it had only a one sided wing, then in the next pattern will describe it with both sides.  It is obvious to me that as often as not, they were simply copying from earlier sources in some cases, and from a fly in hand in others.  I would venture to guess that where the pattern looks as if it is being described with only one side, that this is from a fly held in hand.  This ambiguity in patterns however can make for much nail biting, or for allowing a lot of fun in trying to recreate the patterns as per original intent. 

The Evolution of the Featherwinged Salmon Flies - The Rangers continued

The Black Ranger, to the extent of my research so far, can be said to be the oldest of the Ranger patterns. Opinions are much less divided as to who it was that invented it, or when it was invented then they are with the Durham Ranger. Francis Francis does not mention it, neither does the normally vocal Kelson, and equally silent is Hardy, who never credits the inventor anyway.  Pryce-Tannatt says nothing, neither does Hale who doesn’t even list it.

On the other hand, Maxwell, while not listing an actual pattern for the Black Ranger states in his remarks the following informative paragraph:  “The ‘Ranger’ wing is a recognized peculiarity of a class of flies known as the Rangers.  The bodies are varied: in the Black Ranger, it is all black wool; in the Silver Ranger it is of silver tinsel, and so on.  The Ranger originated with Mr. Forrest of Kelso.”  Since we are pretty sure that the Black Ranger is the oldest, then it seems that Maxwell is saying that it was Mr. Forrest who was the inventor. 

The Black Ranger appears also in William Henderson’s “My Life as and Angler” published in 1879 by W. Satchell, Peyton & Co. London. On page 219 we see an entry dated Nov. 10, 1860, for a Ranger (black body) that brought in two salmon, of 18 and 23lbs respectively.  Whether or not this was a black fur body or black silk body is not described.  James Wright is mentioned many times in this book, often in conjunction with fly tying, him being a master fly tier after-all.  I can not seem to find any specific mention of his having invented the Black Ranger pattern however. 

Mikael Frodin, while listing/showing Kelson’s pattern, asserts that it is James Wright who invented the pattern in 1840.  I find this interesting because, regardless of who actually invented the pattern, as far as I have been able to ascertain, Francis Francis’s is the earliest written pattern, not Kelson’s.  Kelson's Black Ranger is not even the most popular, Pryce-Tannatt's is, judging by the number of Black Rangers tied with jungle cock as cheeks.  So with having said this, I present the Black Ranger as per Francis Francis
 Black Ranger as per Francis Francis 1867

Tip: silver twist
Tag: golden silk
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: black herl
Body: 2 or 3 turns golden floss, ditto bright fiery red pigs wool,
          remainder black pigs wool
Ribbing: silver tinsel and twist
Hackle: very dark blue from the red
Throat: black
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Cheeks: kingfisher
Horns: blue macaw

While the above pattern is, to my knowledge the oldest written pattern, it is not the oldest mention as I have shown so far.  Henderson mentions the black bodied Ranger as early as 1860, and somebody must know where the citation is for any earlier information.  I believe that Kelson’s Black Ranger is probably as close to Henderson’s as it is possible to get given how different Francis Francis’s pattern is.  That being said though, Hardy’s pattern might as well be the same.  In fact, Leonard’s pattern also could be the original.  It would be interesting to know where these patterns all came from. There is even a lovely illustration of a Black Ranger in William E. Hodgeson's,  “Salmon Fishing” 1920, that appears to correspond to the pattern by Hardy.  I could not find it there-in described in writing however. 
 Black Ranger as per George Mortimer Kelson 1897

Tip: silver twist
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: black herl
Body: black silk
Ribbing: oval silver
Hackle: natural black from second turn,
Throat: light blue throat
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Cheeks: chatterer
Horns: blue macaw
Head: black wool

The Black Ranger as per Hardy is virtually identical to the one given by Kelson.  It differs only in having a flat silver rib, and a bare black head.  With this in mind, I did not feel it necessary to tie one for this article.  I present the pattern however, directly from Hardy, for the reader to compare for themselves. 
Black Ranger as per John James Hardy
Tip: silver thread
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: black herl
Body: black floss
Ribbing: flat silver
Hackle: black
Throat: light blue
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Horns: blue and yellow macaw

Dr. T. E. Pryce-Tannatts lovely version is presented here.  It is, in my opinion the most dressy version of this pattern and the most popular.
 Black Ranger as per Dr. T. E. Pryce-Tannatt 1914

Tip: silver thread
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: black herl
Body: black floss
Ribbing: flat silver and twist
Hackle: black
Throat: deep blue
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Shoulder: jungle cock
Cheeks:  chatterer
Horns: blue and yellow macaw

J. Edson Leonard's version is the most recent I have found described, and yet for all intents and purposes could very well be the original pattern.  Since I have not found the original pattern described, just dates for approximately when it came into being, the actual look of the original is any ones guess.  This version certainly bears a lot of the hallmarks of an older pattern though.  The tail of topping and Indian crow, black seal body, black full body hackle and basic, unadorned Ranger wing come as close as any of the above, and in my opinion, as most of the oldest patterns I have seen had fur bodies, I think it comes closest to being the original. 
Black Ranger as per J. Edson Leonard 1950

Tip: silver twist
Tag: yellow floss
Tail: topping plus Indian crow
Butt: black herl
Body: black seal
Ribbing: silver
Hackle: black palmer
Wing: double tippets over 2 long jungle cock, topping over
Cheeks: chatterer
Horns: blue macaw
Head: black herl