Over the pandemic, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Atlantic salmon flies — whether I’m tying them, talking about them, or reading about them, salmon flies have consumed the majority of my tying time over these past two years.

One of the most interesting salmon fishermen and tyers is Ernest Crossfield, known for his unusual techniques (he didn’t use thread) and strong belief in sparse and translucent flies. This book — Ernest Crosfield: His Salmon Flies and Fishing by Colin Innes from Coch-y-Bonddu Books — is an interesting collection of his writing. It also, perhaps most importantly, contains plates of his original flies. Ben Billelo also wrote about this a few years back, which you can find here.

Those who know his flies will rightly point out that my fly lays a bit too flat, and is a bit too neat. It’s likely not what Crossfield was likely originally going for. But it was fun to tie, and is a beautiful pattern.

Black Silk Pattern

Tag: silver twist and yellow floss

Tail: Topping and a few strands of tippet

Body: Black floss ribbed with oval silver tinsel

Body-hackle: Bight claret

Under-wing: Tippet strands, the point of a golden pheasant breast-feather and one or two toppings

Throat: Blue jay

Over-wing: Six strands of golden pheasant tail and two from Lady Amherst’s pheasant tail feather to be tied on each side. Two narrow strips of dark mallard (1/4 to 1/8 inch wide)

Here is a photo from Innes book showing a finished fly:

And here is Colin Innes’s book.

Here is also an excellent video showing you how to tie the fly: