Brassies

On a friend's request, I have been tying some brassies in recent days with a green tag. It is one of those patterns if somebody asked you for a dozen, you would reply, 'are you sure now, is that all? It is of course, a simple wee pattern with the reputtation of being a deadly fish catcher as well -  the fly tyer's dream really! This green tag brassie has been successful for my friend when fished  as part of a team of nymphs from the boat. I'll send these off tomorrow. I must admit - I have never fished much with a brassie or caught anything with it. Yes, US readers, you read corectly! But I'll keep a few aside to have in the box and see if can I break my 'brassie duck' someday. Anyway, I could not resist tying some variants. As evident in some cases, I treat the term 'variant' very liberally. Indeed, I have maybe went 'off steer' slightly, ah well!

Brassie (Original)

Hook: Kamasan B420

Body: copper wire

Thorax: Muskrat fur

According to Dave Hughes in 'Trout Flies - The Tier's reference' (1996), the brassie was orginally tied to imitate small caddis larvae that live in fast water. Yet, it is also now used for a range of imitations - midge larvae and pupae, and even mayfly and stonefly nymphs. It was devised by Ken Chandler and Tug Davenport on Colorado's South Platte River in the 1960s. It has been suggested that the original brassie had  short piece of black heat shrinked plastic tube for the thorax and black tying thread as the body. As a footnote point, you will commonly see brassies tied with a peacock herl thorax, or with a bead-head.   

Brassie (Variant)
Kamasan B170

Body: copper wire

Rib: Black silk

Thorax: Fine black fur

 

  Green Tag Brassie

Hook: Kamasan B175

Tag: flou green tying silk

body: cooper wire

Thorax: Hare's ear mixed with red fox squirrel

Hairy Fat Brassie

Hook: Kamasan B420

Body: Cooper wire

First thorax: Short length of red squireel underfur

Hackle/wing: Deer hair on a dubbing wire (wound with several turns towards the body and then pushed up).

Thorax: Red squireel underfur dubbed into a tight ball

Dark Brassie
Hook: Kamasan B100
Body: Black and Cooper Wire wound together
Thorax: Squirrel underfur mixed with small amount of cooper litebrite

Rick Murphy - also of the South Platte River came up with the idea of using two colours to give a segemented body in his two wire brassie (Greenhalgh and Smalley, 2009). This creates some lovely effects and colours. Similar to above, here are a few buzzer patterns using two colours of wire for the body:

Dark Green buzzer
Hook: Kamasan B110
Tail: White organza
Body: green and black wire wounded together
Thorax: Black lite brtite mixed with muskrat
Breathers: White organza

Light Green Buzzer
Hook: Kamasan B110

Body: Green and White wire winded together

Thorax: Orange glo-brite floss followed by muskrat fur mixed with pesudo peacock herl
Breathers: CDC white strands

 JC Brassie buzzer (black)

Hook: Kamasan B100

Tag: flou green

Body: black wire wound loosly over the body

Cheeks: Jungle cock feathers tied on each side

Thorax: black SLF mixed with squirrel

Brassed off-soft hackle

Hook: Kamason B110

Body: orange and black wire

Thorax: grey seals fur

Hackle: Black hen