Mar Lodge
Very popular classic salmon fly that can be found in many fly boxes even today. One of the nicest things about this fly is that it uses only natural materials so no feather has to be dyed for this one.
The black bar in the center can also be tied longer 1/3 of the body but I prefer it to be shorter. The recipe says two or three turns of Black floss which isn’t really accurate description. The ribbing is another part that you can play with. I like to use seven turns instead of my usual five and measure it so that there’s three turns on each section of silver and one turn goes straight through the black bar in the middle.
The pattern specifies the underwing to be “Mixed – Tippet in strands”. For aesthetic reasons I chose to tie whole tippets back to back and stripped the top side of the feathers. For a fishing fly I would tie it either in strands or with whole feathers depending on the size of the fly and the bulk I would be looking for.
As other famous flies of the period different variations can be found in number of books but I really prefer T.E. Pryce-Tannatt’s recipe for this one. I think it’s the most balanced variation and the different materials complement each other brilliantly.
Mar Lodge (hook, 1 1/4 to 3 inches)
Tag: Silver Tinsel.
Tail: A Topping and a pair of Jungle Cock feathers (back to back).
Butt: Black Herl.
Body: Flat silver tinsel, jointed at the middle with two or three turns of black floss.
Ribs: Narrow oval tinsel.
Throat: Speckled Gallina.
Wings: Mixed – tippet in strands; “married” strands of white Swan, Bustard, Florican, cinnamon, mottled grey and mottled brown Turkey tail and Golden Pheasant tail.
Sides: Broad strips of barred Summer Duck.
Cheeks: Jungle Cock; a topping over all.
Horns: Blue and Yellow Macaw.
