Colonel Bates

Originally the Colonel Bates was tied as a streamer fly by Carrie Stevens for Col. Joseph Bates. You can see the many variations from around the world in the Joseph Bates book 'Fishing Atlantic Salmon, the Flies and the Patterns'. The Salmon Fly pattern:

Tag: fine oval silver tinsel and yellow silk floss

Tail: Golden Pheasant crest, over which are two small strips of red goose and kingfisher

Butt: scarlet wool

Body: flat silver tinsel

Ribbing: oval silver tinsel

Throat: Natural red game (brown) hackle, followed by Guinea Fowl hackle

Wing: four golden yellow saddle hackles, with a white saddle hackle on each side half as long as the yellow. Over this on each side is a fairly wide strip of a yellow Swan wing feather* with thin strips of red swan wing feather married to it, top and bottom. Over this is a wide strip of barred Mandarin Duck.

Topping: two golden Pheasant crest feathers

Shoulders: Jungle Cock

Cheeks: Kingfisher

Head: black, with red center band

*Turkey tail dyed used in my version