Durham Ranger

 

From: Favorite Flies (1892) Mary Orvis Marbury

Tied by Paul Rossman

A representation of how American-tied salmon flies looked in the 1890s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Tag:       Fine oval silver tinsel and yellow floss

Tail:       Golden pheasant crest, Lady Amherst

             pheasant crest, and Indian crow

Butt:       Black herl

Body:      Red seal

Rib:        Flat silver tinsel

Wing:     Two jungle cock long, covered by two

             golden pheasant tippets, back to back

Throat:   Light blue hackle

Cheek:    Blue chatterer

Topping: Golden pheasant crest

Horns:    Blue and gold macaw

Head:     Black wool

Durham Ranger

 

 

GS.Scruton

Tag: Silver tinsel and yelloe silk.
Tail: Gold phesant crest and a Indian Crow.
Body: Black Ostrich.
Body: Two turns of Orange silk, two turns of dark Orange Sealīs fur, and the rest about the half, black Sealīs fur.
Ribbing: Silver lace and flat silver tinsel.
Hackle: A white coch a bonddu cock hackle dyed hot orange.
Throat: Light blue cock hackle
Wing: Four(in larger you can use six) tippets overlapping and
enveloping projecting(back to back) Jungle.
Cheeks: Chatterer or A Kingfisher.
Horns: Blue and yellow Macaw.
Head: Black.

A bit of controversy here. First, this was the first known fly to use Jungle Cock and take Salmon not the Jock Scott. Although credited to Jemmy Wright by Kelson (again) it was actually of Mr. Scruton of Durham who invented it. Scruton and William Henderson were members of the Sprouston Angling Club started in 1845. Apparently Scruton saw the rare Jungle Cock and added it to a Golden Parson type fly with the orange tippet pairs.It was not a well known feather by any means. Henderson writes of this in "My Life as and Angler" (1876) but the jungle cock was an addition already in 1846. Taverner points to John Forrest another famous dresser from Kelso and Sprouston, as the dresser for Mr Scruton's Durham Ranger.See page 70 in "Fly Tying for Salmon" 1947. Taverner dressing differs from Maxwell's consideribly. I have also found a Blue Ranger in Francis Francis from 1867, once again using the jungle cocks and orange tippets.