The Red Tag

For my first blog post of the month I have tied a fly which has taken me back to basics, The Red Tag, which was one of the first flies I ever tied when I first started out flytying. It is a very simple but effective pattern that has the distinction of being the most popular grayling fly in Great Britain. It originates from the mid eighteen hundreds in Worcestershire where it was first known as the Worcestershire Gem. Many years ago a work colleague who is sadly no longer with us took me on my first ever grayling trip to Kinkell Bridge on the River Earn. Being a novice at the time John provided me with everything I would need and the fly that was on my first ever cast for grayling was the Red Tag. That day the river was running high and was getting dirtier by the minute but although I didn’t catch a grayling that day I did manage a small sea trout thus proving that the Red Tag is not only a fly for Grayling it’s also a good all round pattern too. Have a go at tying one they really are simple to tie and is good fly to have in your box.