In the early august of 2018 while my good friends Tore, Roy, and I were traveling up north to Finnmark to fish for salmon. I quickly jumped into the backseat when it wasn't my turn driving; I had stuff to do! I always take my flytying kit with me whenever I'm going on longer trips, and for this trip I had it stored within reach from the backseat.
Although I had plenty of flies with me, there was still one fly I wanted to swing in the beautiful Stabburselva; The Silver Grey. However I had not a single one of these in my flyboxes, and therefore I figured I could use the time when I wasn't driving to make one. The fly in the picture above is that one. The fly did get plenty of time in the water on several of the pools on the lower stretch of this fabulous river, but it didn't get any action... However, the river was extremely low, temperature high and in general just poor condition of epic proportions; very few of the anglers we met on the river had any action at all, many hadn't even seen or been in contact with a salmon for weeks.
The first pattern on this list is the one for this fly. It is an inexpensive version of the Pryce-Tannatt pattern, which you might enjoy if you are tying flies meant for fishing, and maybe particularly in smaller sizes or low-water flies. The true Pryce-Tannatt recipe will be listed undderneath.
Silver Grey (low-water mixed wing)
Tag: Silver tinsel and yellow floss Tail: A small topping and Barred woodduck Butt: Black ostrich herl Body: Flat silver tinsel Ribbing: Oval silver tinsel Hackle: Silver badger Throat: Teal Wing: Tippet in strands, slips of light speckled turkey, yellow and green goose shoulder, golden pheasant tail. Teal, barred woodduck and bronze mallard. Jungle cock and a topping over all. Horns: Blue/yellow macaw Head: Black
Even though this is based upon the Pryce-Tannatt pattern, the wing is modified after personal preferences and materials in hand at the moment. As this pattern consist of pretty common and inexpensive materials I would recommend this pattern if you are going to be tying flies for fishing, and in particular on smaller sizes. Just for kicks I used black mohair in the head of this fly, but I didn't list it in the pattern as that was just a personal detail.
Silver Grey by J. Wright - As listed in T.E. Pryce-Tannatt's book How To Dress Salmon Flies, 1914:
Hook: 1 1/4 to 3 inches
Tag: Silver thread and golden yellow floss Tail: A Topping and barred summer duck (in strands)
Butt: Black herl Body: Flat silver tinsel Ribs: Fine oval silver tinsel Hackle: A badger hackle Throat: Widgeon Wings: Mixed - Tippet in strand; "married" strands of white, yellow and green swan, bustard, florican and golden pheasant tail; "married" strips of pintail and barred summerduck; brown mallard strips over Cheeks: Jungle cock; a topping over all Horns: Blue and yellow macaw
There are even earlier versions of this pattern. Pryce-Tannatt's book was published as late as in 1914; two years after the Titanic sank, and the same year as the Panama Canal was opened, and also the year when the World War I broke out. The other well renown Silver Grey pattern comes from G.M. Kelson's The Salmon Fly from 1895. The pattern is as followed:
Silver Grey by J. Wright - As listed in G.M. Kelson's book The Salmon Fly, 1895:
Tag: Silver twist and yellow silk Tail: Topping, two strands blue macaw and unbarred summer duck Butt: Black herl Body: Silver flat tinsel Ribs: Siver oval tinsel Hackle: A silver coch-a-bonddu hackle along the body Throat: Widgeon Wings: Golden pheasant tail and tippet in strands, bustard, swan dyed yellow, amherst pheasant, powdered blue macaw, mallard, grey mallard and a topping Horns: Blue macaw Sides: Jungle (cock) Head: Black Berlin wool
One can see that there are several differences between the Kelson pattern and the Pryce-Tannatt pattern. First is worth noting the different tails; P-T lists only a topping and barred woodduck, but Kelson's pattern asks for a topping two strands of blue macaw and unbarred woodduck. It's not that much of a difference, but the macaw helps spice up the fly a lot. The wing is also heavily based on natural colors; the only dyed material asked for in the whole of the fly is swan dyed yellow.
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All photos are taken by me and shall not be used without permission.