It was the grandfather of the nymph himself, G.E.M. Skues that made the Tup's Indispensable so famous. He's not credited for inventing the fly, as it was his acquaintance R.S. Austin who both invented this pattern, and also sold it to the fly anglers of the southern England trout streams. Skues mentions this fly in his book Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream, first published in 1908. It was in this book he speaks forward of the new (or reinvented) technique of nymph fishing, which at that time was highly taboo, due to the trends set by Frederic M. Halford, who was a leading figure along the southern chalk rivers, a highly knowledgeable and influential man, and the author of such books as Floating Flies and How To Dress Them from 1886.
While Halford was busy keeping up appearance in the exclusive Fly Fisher's Club, Skues was on his knees, leaning over the crystal clear water of a well-known chalk stream, keenly studying the lifeforms that was teaming underneath the surface. It was this moment that would lead to a long lasting feud between the two peers.
This feud was an important part of the development of the modern sport of flyfishing that we know today. Skues's nymphs was unweighted, and more in the resemblance of traditional wetflies, but it was the techniques that he developed, of presenting the fly sub-surface, but upstream and dead drift, like a dryfly. One of the flies Skues did fish this way, was the Tup's Indispensable, which is considered to be a imitation of the emerging nymph of a mayfly, and was often fished as a dryfly until it no longer would float, and then be continued fishing with the same techniques after it sank. How many chalk stream trouts this fly has fooled, no one knows, but it is definitely a lot.
The fly was developed at the turn of the last century, and the inventor and flytyer by profession, Mr. R.S. Austin kept his pattern a secret, besides sharing it with Skues through letters. The reason was obviously in the interests of his business. His new fly became quickly in high demand after the word got out of how effective it was. It's even said that the rivers smelled rank of Tup's* due to the popularity of the fly. After Mr. Austin passed away, his daughter took over the business and continue to tie the Tup's Indispensable up until her retirement in 1934. At this point she gave Skues permission to publish the long sought after secret of the pattern.
*Tup is an English word for for ram, not commonly used anymore.
The Tup's Indispensable dubbing mix:
The most noticeable and unique ingredient in this recipe is the wool from a ram's testicles. Back then, the farmer would tie a rag, dipped in water and red dye underneath the rams belly so that it would be easy to see which sheep the ram had mated with, the red dye would stain the wool on his testicles, and therefore had a unique color. If you don't want to challenge faith, nor know any sheep farmers well enough to ask, you can make a fairly good substitute by getting some bleached, un-dyed seal's fur, and dye it a very light bath mixed with red dye, the result should look washed. The rest of the materials are lemon yellow spaniel fur, red mohair (or seal's fur) and a pinch of light fur from a hare's mask. Note that the red will stand out a lot with the rest of the material's rather dull colors, so therefore add that in small portions as the last ingredient to make sure you get the right nuance. Here's how I mixed mine:
2 parts of wool from a ram's testicles in a very pale (washed) red 1/2 part of lemon spaniel fur A pinch (?) of fur of a hare's ear mask (natural pinkish-tan in color) Upwards of 1 part (in regards to the ram's wool) with red mohair.
Here's a recipe using more available materials with a near identical color nuance:
2 parts of cream colored seal's fur 1/2 part of the light sandy-yellow fur of a red fox. (this will also substitute the hare's mask fur) Upwards of 1 part (in regards to the cream seal's fur) with red mohair, or seal's fur.
Step-by-step on how to tie the
Tup's Indispensable
by R. S. Austin
Hook: Standard or short-shank dry fly hook size 16 to 18
Thread: Pearsall's Gossamer in the color Primrose
Tail: Honey Dun or Light Blue hackle-fibers
Body: First half of primrose silk, front half of Tup's dubbing
Hackle: Honey dun or light blue
Step 1: Attach the thread
Start by waxing your Gossamer silk with cobbler's wax, and then tie it on to the hook a few millimeters behind the eye.
Step 2a: The Hackle
Prepare the hackle by trimming off the fluffy fibers at the bottom of the feather, and tie it in by the root-end.
Step 2b: The Hackle
Wrap down the hackle-stem with tight, adjacent wraps of silk until you reach the mid-point of the remaining part of the hook-shank, then trim off the waste end. This will now mark the area between the silk part of the body and the dubbing part.
Step 3: Continue back
Proceed the thread in adjacent turns back until you are but a few turns shy of being in line with the barb of the hook.
Step 4: The Tail
Tie in a sparse amount of hackle-fibers, on many traditional flies they would only use as little as three fibers for the tail, but six fibers will be plenty. Do not be afraid of having the tail a bit long, If I were to tie this on a hook with a shorter shank, I would even consider having the tail about 1 1/2 hook lengths.
Step 5: The Body
Proceed the silk forwards in tight turns, until you reach the mid-point of the body, then build up a slight taper.
Step 6: The Dubbing Mix
The dubbing mix is unique to the Tup's Indispensable, and should look something like this when blended correctly.
Step 7a: The Dubbing Part
Dub the waxed Gossamer silk with a few pinches of the dubbing-mix.
Step 7b: The Dubbing Part
Make the dubbing ball nice and dense.
Step 8: Wrap the Hackle
While still keeping the thread behind the hackle, start wrapping your hackle feather in adjacent turns towards the hook eye. I could have left even more space in front to get a few more turns of hackle if I wanted.
Step 9: Secure the Hackle
Once the hackle is wrapped, take your silk and wrap it over in a few turns, making sure not to trap down any fibers and lastly secure the tip of the feather with a few turns.
Step 10: Finish the Fly
Make a few whip-finishes with your fingers and trim off your thread.
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All photos are taken by me and shall not be used without permission.