Black Ghost
When you see a photo of an angler holding a large trout, realize that in many cases it was caught fly fishing with a streamer. It is the fall season and a great time to pursue larger trout using streamers. Want to catch a big trout, use a streamer! One more time…to catch a big fish…tie on a STREAMER! Two of the most popular eastern-style streamers used to imitate a minnow are the Gray Ghost and the Black Ghost. The Woolly bugger may rank equal or ahead of these in popularity and use but the “bugger” does not imitate a minnow. We will save the Gray Ghost and more specifics on fly fishing methods with streamers for another article.
The Black Ghost is one of the most famous flies ever tied, has remained popular among anglers who use streamers and since its inception has spread across the world in many variations. This simple streamer pattern lends itself nicely to wing material substitution, and is commonly tied with bucktail and marabou in many styles and variations. It has been a double-digit producer on our delayed harvest streams in the past year, especially in dingy waters!
Black Ghost
The Black Ghost is a classic American streamer which was originated in 1927 by Herbert “Herbie” Welch of Haines Landing, Maine who lived on the Mooselookmeguntic Lake in Rangeley Maine. This was just across the lake from the world-renowned fly tyer Carrie Stevens. Herbie designed and developed the Black Ghost in the early part of the 20th century beginning in 1919 to end up with the final version we know today. Only Carrie Stevens’ Gray Ghost is at the same level of notoriety as Herbie’s creation. Both are staples in fly boxes world-wide.
An avid fly tyer and outdoorsman himself, Herbie was also known for his taxidermy and artworks. Herb originated the Black Ghost, but Carrie tied his streamer and other popular streamer patterns originated by other tiers of her time, adding her unique method of cement dipped construction and banded heads to all these flies. Carrie and Herb were practically neighbors, he sold her flies in his shop at Haines Landing. The Black Ghost origination pre-dates Carrie’s Gray Ghost by about six or seven years. The Black Ghost remains as popular a fly pattern today as it was during the Depression era of the '30s. It is ideal for steelhead, salmon, sea trout, and big trout fly fishing in sizes 6, 8, 10, 12.
It is believed that Herbie was the first to tie streamers on hooks that developed into the modern 4xL, 6xL even 8xL long-shanked streamers. He required a longer hook to facilitate his vision of smelt patterns, and so used bluefish hooks as the basis of the new hook design. His reshaped hooks better served the patterns, and the thousands of smelt and streamer patterns that followed.
Carrie was a milliner by trade, and she began tying flies in 1920, after being gifted with some long shank hooks, bucktails, and feathers by Charles E. “Shang” Wheeler, a family friend and fishing guide client of her husband, Wallace. Shang gave Carrie the materials and encouraged her to tie flies. The rest is history.
Herb Welch originated the Black Ghost, but Carrie tied other popular patterns originated by other tiers of her time; she added her unique method of construction and banded heads to all these flies as well. Carrie Stevens pioneered cementing streamer wing components together in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s.
In our modern times, Elmer’s Rubber Cement is a great, durable and inexpensive (relative to Flexament) cement for cementing streamer wings and the fly does not come apart. It is readily and widely available at Walmart, CVS, Jo Ann’s Fabrics, your local hardware store, etc. and has no obnoxious odor. It does not bleed through the feathers on cemented-wing streamer flies, sets up fairly fast, but can be worked, remaining soft enough to position, reposition, and align the neck hackles, shoulders, and cheeks, if necessary. If need be, components can be disassembled and reassembled without problems (like when you accidentally get the order of wing hackles wrong, oops).
Carrie Stevens didn’t just put a dab on near the ends of the feathers, she cemented a significant portion of the feather length; and she also cemented the (inside of the) wings to the body at the front of the hook shank, cementing both sides together.
Here is a reference to other streamer fly patterns – www.streamer360.com and
https://donbastianwetflies.com/2013/01/13/carrie-stevens-and-rangeley-style-streamer
Flies of the Month 11.17
Black Ghost
- Tom Adams, Alen BakHere is a reference to other streamer fly patterns – www.streamer360.com and
https://donbastianwetflies.com/2013/01/13/carrie-stevens-and-rangeley-style-streamer
When you see a photo of an angler holding a large trout, realize that in many cases it was caught fly fishing with a streamer. It is the fall season and a great time to pursue larger trout using streamers. Want to catch a big trout, use a streamer! One more time…to catch a big fish…tie on a STREAMER! Two of the most popular eastern-style streamers used to imitate a minnow are the Gray Ghost and the Black Ghost. The Woolly bugger may rank equal or ahead of these in popularity and use but the “bugger” does not imitate a minnow. We will save the Gray Ghost and more specifics on fly fishing methods with streamers for another article.
The Black Ghost is one of the most famous flies ever tied, has remained popular among anglers who use streamers and since its inception has spread across the world in many variations. This simple streamer pattern lends itself nicely to wing material substitution, and is commonly tied with bucktail and marabou in many styles and variations. It has been a double-digit producer on our delayed harvest streams in the past year, especially in dingy waters!
Black Ghost
The Black Ghost is a classic American streamer which was originated in 1927 by Herbert “Herbie” Welch of Haines Landing, Maine who lived on the Mooselookmeguntic Lake in Rangeley Maine. This was just across the lake from the world-renowned fly tyer Carrie Stevens. Herbie designed and developed the Black Ghost in the early part of the 20th century beginning in 1919 to end up with the final version we know today. Only Carrie Stevens’ Gray Ghost is at the same level of notoriety as Herbie’s creation. Both are staples in fly boxes world-wide.
An avid fly tyer and outdoorsman himself, Herbie was also known for his taxidermy and artworks. Herb originated the Black Ghost, but Carrie tied his streamer and other popular streamer patterns originated by other tiers of her time, adding her unique method of cement dipped construction and banded heads to all these flies. Carrie and Herb were practically neighbors, he sold her flies in his shop at Haines Landing. The Black Ghost origination pre-dates Carrie’s Gray Ghost by about six or seven years. The Black Ghost remains as popular a fly pattern today as it was during the Depression era of the '30s. It is ideal for steelhead, salmon, sea trout, and big trout fly fishing in sizes 6, 8, 10, 12.
It is believed that Herbie was the first to tie streamers on hooks that developed into the modern 4xL, 6xL even 8xL long-shanked streamers. He required a longer hook to facilitate his vision of smelt patterns, and so used bluefish hooks as the basis of the new hook design. His reshaped hooks better served the patterns, and the thousands of smelt and streamer patterns that followed.
Carrie was a milliner by trade, and she began tying flies in 1920, after being gifted with some long shank hooks, bucktails, and feathers by Charles E. “Shang” Wheeler, a family friend and fishing guide client of her husband, Wallace. Shang gave Carrie the materials and encouraged her to tie flies. The rest is history.
Herb Welch originated the Black Ghost, but Carrie tied other popular patterns originated by other tiers of her time; she added her unique method of construction and banded heads to all these flies as well. Carrie Stevens pioneered cementing streamer wing components together in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s.
In our modern times, Elmer’s Rubber Cement is a great, durable and inexpensive (relative to Flexament) cement for cementing streamer wings and the fly does not come apart. It is readily and widely available at Walmart, CVS, Jo Ann’s Fabrics, your local hardware store, etc. and has no obnoxious odor. It does not bleed through the feathers on cemented-wing streamer flies, sets up fairly fast, but can be worked, remaining soft enough to position, reposition, and align the neck hackles, shoulders, and cheeks, if necessary. If need be, components can be disassembled and reassembled without problems (like when you accidentally get the order of wing hackles wrong, oops).
Carrie Stevens didn’t just put a dab on near the ends of the feathers, she cemented a significant portion of the feather length; and she also cemented the (inside of the) wings to the body at the front of the hook shank, cementing both sides together.
Here is a reference to other streamer fly patterns – www.streamer360.com and
https://donbastianwetflies.com/2013/01/13/carrie-stevens-and-rangeley-style-streamer
Flies of the Month 11.17
Black Ghost
- Tom Adams, Alen BakHere is a reference to other streamer fly patterns – www.streamer360.com and
https://donbastianwetflies.com/2013/01/13/carrie-stevens-and-rangeley-style-streamer
Black Ghost
Hook: Tiemco 5212 size 8,10,12
Thread: Black Uni 8/0 or equivalent
Tail : Yellow goose shoulder or turkey flat
Body : Black embroidery thread with silver mylar ribbing
Throat : Yellow goose
Wing: White marabou with peacock herl
Directions :
Hook: Tiemco 5212 size 8,10,12
Thread: Black Uni 8/0 or equivalent
Tail : Yellow goose shoulder or turkey flat
Body : Black embroidery thread with silver mylar ribbing
Throat : Yellow goose
Wing: White marabou with peacock herl
Directions :
- Debarb the hook and mount in the vise. Make tight wraps from one third back of the eye to the hook bend. Let the bobbin hang.
- Select five or six barbs of yellow goose and tie in the goose as a tail making sure the barbs are on top of the hook shank. Do not trim the waste, but, instead wrap the waste on top of the hook shank in tight touching turns. Do not go beyond the original tie in spot. Take the thread back to the hook bend in tight, touching turns to the tail. Let the bobbin hang.
- Cut a six-inch piece of mylar and tie in with gold side out, leaving some length toward the eye. Once secure with two or three wraps. Trap the extra mylar and advance the thread in tight, touching turns covering the mylar and stopping where the thread began back from the eye. Let the bobbin hang.
- Select a six to eight inch piece of embroidery thread and cut away from the bundle. There is usually four to six woven strands of thread. Separate the thread into two or three strands and set aside the other for another tie. Tie in the embroidery thread on top of the hook shank and advance to the hook bend with open turns of tying thread keeping the embroidery on top of the hook. Secure the embroidery thread and return the tying thread to where you started. Let the bobbin hang.
- Begin wrapping the embroidery thread in tight touching turns to the tying thread. Secure with several wraps of tying thread and trim waste. Let the bobbin hang.
- Wrap the silver side mylar in open, slightly angled turns to the where the tying thread in hanging. Secure the mylar with several turns and trim away the waste. Let the bobbin hang.
- Select four or six barbs of yellow goose and with the tips even, tie in immediately in front of the embroidery thread with the tips of the yellow barbs near but not touching the hook tip on the bottom of the hook shank. Secure with several wraps and trim the waste.
- Now that there are several materials in place, take stock of the thickness of all of these materials where they are tied in. It will likely need several more wraps of thread to build a sloping head.
- Tie in several strands of the marabou and trim away the waste.
- Form a tapered head from thread and whip finish. Trim away the thread waste.
- Use head cement or UV resin to make a smooth finish to the head.