The Red Tag is an
artificial fly originally designed as a
dry fly for
grayling and
trout in the north country of England. The fly pattern, when introduced into
Australia, particularly
Tasmania, became extremely successful and popular for
brown trout and remains today as one of the most essential flies for Australian fly anglers.
Origin
The Red Tag was originally designed by Martyn Flynn from Worcestershire, England in the 1850s as a dry fly for
grayling.[1] Its original name was the Worcestershire Gem and was also known as the Worcestershire Wonder.[2] red
Materials
The typical Red Tag is tied with a body of peacock herl, a tail of red or crimson wool, and a red cock's hackle (actual color of hack is reddish brown).[3] The hackle can be hen's hackle for wet fly versions. Hook sizes vary from #16 through #10.[4]
Variations
As described in Australia’s Best Trout Flies - Revisited (2016), Malcolm Crosse unless otherwise attributed[5]
^Knowles, Christopher (2006). Orange Otter. Ellesmere, Shropshire, UK: The Medlar Press. p. 157.
ISBN9781899600557.
^Nemes, Syvester. "The Fishing Gazette 1877-1966". Two Centuries of Soft-Hackled Flies-A survey of the Literature Complete with Original Patterns 1747-Present. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. p. 60.
ISBN0811700488.
^
abRoberts, John (1986). The New Illustrated Dictionary of Trout Flies. London, UK: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. pp. 154–55.
ISBN004799035X.
^Crosse, Malcom, ed. (2016). Australia’s Best Trout Flies-Revisited. Hobart, Tasmania: J.M and K. Crosse.
ISBN9780994415929.
^Herd, Andrew (2012). The History of Fly Fishing, Volume 2, Trout Fly Patterns-1496-1916. Ellesmere, Shropshire, UK: The Medlar Press Limited. p. 188.
ISBN9781907110139.