October first, and the last month of our dry fly season begins to unfold. After a cooling trend, the first week is rumored to be quite warm; good for comfortable fishing but not so perfect for walking up a grouse.
Yesterday I headed to Dette’s fly shop to meet the author of a new book on fishing the Battenkill. I found Doug Lyons to be personable and knowledgeable and enjoyed our talk. Leaving with a copy of his book in hand was never in doubt.
Later in the afternoon I read through a few chapters, something I continued this morning, stopping during his tour down river when I came to Atherton’s Pool, not far above the Vermont/New York state line. Several of us within the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild are fond of the famous painter, author and fly tyer’s contributions to the art of fly tying. JA, Seth Cavaretta and I have independently taken the time to blend the various shades of dubbing and tie the artist’s numbered dry flies.
Last winter, I was thinking about John Atherton and his fly tying and found myself inspired to experiment in a similar vein. Blending several shades of red fox fur with the guard hairs from a fox squirrel pelt and a bit of golden tan Antron dubbing, I created a buggy, lifelike dubbing to add to my arsenal of Hendrickson imitations. The A.I. Hendrickson turned out to be my most productive pattern during the hatch this spring.
As Mr. Lyons’ words described the Isonychia hatches on the reach of water close to the Atherton home, I had another little burst of inspiration. Equal parts of claret dyed beaver, both reddish and gray barred guard hairs from a red squirrel, and a mottled hare’s ear gray Antron dubbing combined to yield an Atherton inspired Isonychia. Though the hatch seems close to it’s end for the year, I hope to find an opportunity to try this new variation of the fly that has given me some pleasant afternoons in late August and September.
Perhaps I can find a Beaver Kill brown, or a Delaware rainbow interested in a taste of Atherton’s influence!
Bright Waters Catskill 