The Fisherman's Handbook of Trout Flies - An Ode to the Poconos
In 1960, Nearly 20 years after Jim Leisenring’s christening of the flymph , Don Dubois published “The Fisherman’s Handbook of Trout Flies,” an impressive text that created an identification system that categorized nearly 6000 fly patterns. Within this text are found 4 patters that are named for streams and regions of the Poconos, including the Swiftwater, the Analomink, the Cresco, and the Paradise. Each of these patterns has several variations as well which are also listed, combining for a total of 11 flies. While I can’t find a direct link for all of these patterns to the Pocono region, I think it is a logical assumption to believe that they did in fact originate here, or at the very least are connected with the region due to their namesake. The flies I could specifically connect to the region are the Swiftwater and the Analomink. The Swiftwater, which appears in Bergman’s Trout, was tied by Fred Brown and named for the Swiftwater Creek which feeds into the Brodhead in Henryville. Its appearance in Trout places the origin of the fly some time before 1938. The Analomink is credited to Leisenring and named for the Analomink section of the Brodhead by some sources. The wide degree of documented variations of these patterns attests to the process of fly development and evolution that the exceptional fishery of the Poconos has spurred.
Below is a table describing the 11 patterns as they appear in the Handbook. The key beneath the table clarifies the abbreviations used in the text.
Ident |
Hackle |
Wing |
Body |
Tail |
Ribbing |
Tip |
Name |
2705 |
Br |
Gray (bar) M |
O Fl mid-section PH ends |
N |
N |
N |
Swiftwater A |
2848 |
Br |
W |
Grn PH |
Gray (bar) M |
N |
N |
Swiftwater B |
2878 |
Br |
W |
Midsection O Fl ends Grn PH |
Gray (bar) M Teal or similar Feather |
N |
G |
Swiftwater C |
2879 |
Br |
W |
Midsection O Fl ends Grn PH |
Gray (bar) M Teal or similar Feather |
N |
N |
Swiftwater D |
5437 |
N |
W |
Midsection O Fl ends Grn PH |
Gray (bar) M |
N |
G |
Swiftwater E |
615 |
B&W Bdgr |
B Hkle Tips tied spent |
B Fl or Wl |
N |
O |
N |
Analomink A |
616 |
B&W Bdgr |
B |
O Db |
O&B G PhT |
B Th |
N |
Analomink B |
4288 |
Grn(ol) |
B |
Br(lt) Db |
B |
N |
Y Ch |
Cresco A |
4290 |
Grn(ol) |
B Hkle Tips |
Br(lt) Fl or Wl |
Y |
N |
N |
Cresco B |
4289 |
Grn(ol) |
B tied spent |
Br Fl |
Grn(ol) |
N |
Y Fl |
Cresco Spent A |
773 |
B&W Griz |
B |
B Fl |
B |
N |
W Ch |
Paradise A |
KEY: Br = Brown
B = Black
G = Gold
W = White
Grn = Green
Y = Yellow
O = Orange
Ol = Olive
Br(lt) = Light Brown
Gray(bar) M = Grey Barred Mallard
Fl = Floss
Wl = Wool
Ch = Chenille
Th = Thread
Db = Dubbing
PH = Peacock Herl
Ph = Pheasant
GPhT = Golden Pheasant Tippet
Teal = Teal
B&W Bdgr = Black and White Badger
B&W Griz = Black and White Grizzly
Hkle = Hackle
N = None
Sources:
“The Fisherman’s Handbook of Trout Flies”,1960 D. Dubois