Silver Doctor
This is Kelson’s pattern for the classic salmon fly by James Wright. The photo was featured in the Chasing Silver magazine earlier this year as a full spread.
Silver Doctor is of course one of the numerous patterns in the Doctor-series and has been varied countless of times to create everything from simpler hairwing patterns to low water flies. One of the general salmon flies that should be in every salmon fishers flybox. I played a bit with the wing orientation to give it more modern look while keeping true to the pattern.
Here’s the pattern and notes as in Kelson’s The Salmon Fly.
Tag: Silver twist and yellow silk.
Tail: A topping (the inventor sometimes adds Chatterer).
Butt: Scarlet wool.
Body: Silver tinsel.
Ribs: Silver tinsel (oval).
Throat: A blue hackle and Gallina.
Wings: Strands of tippet, Summer Duck, Pintail, Gold Pheasant tail, Swan dyed light yellow and light blue, Bustard, Mallard and a topping.
Horns: Blue Macaw.
Head: Scarlet Wool.
A great fly throughout the United Kingdom, to say nothing of its popularity on Norwegian and Canadian rivers.
