fly & photo- Paul Little, UK.




This very beautiful fly is just one of the many patterns (6 in total), which Kelson got from a Mr. Bernard. Who exactly this Mr. Bernard is, we really don't know, but these patterns are a joy to behold. Some of the other classics that he contributed to Kelson's book (The Salmon Fly), are as follows; The Lady Blanche (White Lady), the Lorne, the Louise, the Goldfinch (Ephemera), and the Britannia (a beautiful simple pattern).
The Harlequin is also listed in J. J. Hardy's book, Salmon Fishing (1907), and also in Hale's fine book, How to Tie Salmon Flies (1919). Once more we see the patterns in these two books corresponding to Kelson's dressing with the only difference being that they (Hardy & Hale) specify standard gold tinsel (Kelson lists embossed gold), and they wind the two body tinsels in the same direction, while Kelson ribbed the fly by twisting the tinsels in opposite directions so that they criss-crossed each other like in some Spey & Dee flies. This effect is rather lovely, giving a very beautiful effect to the fly body. The Harlequin sports a very unusual head in that the head is finished with fine gold twist. It makes for a very striking finish and one that is difficult to produce if the silk work underneath is not perfectly smooth. The gold twist should be wound from the base of the head back towards the wing and tied off there as opposed to the general direction which would surely cause the twist to slip constantly down the head.


The Dressing:

Tag: Gold twist and olive-green silk floss.
Tail: A Topping.
Butt: Black Ostrich Herl.
Body: In three equal divisions of orange, light blue, and pink silk floss.
Ribs: Gold embossed tinsel (ordinary method) and silver tinsel reversed passing over the gold.
Throat: Orange and light blue hackles respectively.
Wings: Two tippets capped with light and dark Bustard, Golden Pheasant tail, and a topping.
Sides: Jungle cock.
Head: Gold twist.