Pink Panther
Several years ago, on a sunny fall day, I enjoyed fishing a few pools on Nova Scotia’s fabulous Margaree River. Starting
in Big Intervale, I had a great day of leisurely fishing that ended, at dark, in a long section of flat water below Doyle’s
Bridge that we called “the Sheep Pasture”. There I released my fourth salmon
of the day, all caught on the same fly, a Pink Panther.
Joe Brooke’s Blondes
The late Joe Brooks was a saltwater fly-fishing pioneer, creating a series of bucktail “breather” type flies
he called “Blondes”. Their construction is simple. A bunch of bucktail is tied in over the bend of the hook. The
body is dressed with silver tinsel, forward of which is a single upright wing of another bunch of bucktail so applied that
the wing is splayed upward at an angle of about 45 degrees.
The Strawberry Blonde has a forward wing of red and a rearward wing (or tail) of orange. The Platinum Blonde
is all white; the Honey Blonde all yellow; the Argentine Blonde has a medium blue forward wing and a white rearward wing (or
tail); the Pink Blond is all pink; and the Black Blonde all black. The fly appears lifelike because the upward wing is pulled
down by the current or rod action and, continually recovering, actively pulsates while being fished. The rearward wing, or
tail, keeps the forward wing from snagging the hook bend. It’s a simple, great design.
Brooke’s Blondes were used primarily for saltwater
fly fishing but they are also very effective, in large sizes, for Atlantic salmon fishing in the fall. My favourite is one
I call “The Pink Panther”. The colour pink is very appealing to salmon, as proven by the great Pink Lady MacIntosh
dry fly. Also, the Pink Mystery is a great sea-trout wet fly. I use a faded pink colour produced by sun-bleaching
pink bucktails in a window with southern exposure.
The 1950 book Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing by the late Joseph D. Bates, Jr. is generally regarded
as the most complete and authoritative reference for streamer-type flies. Over 30 years ago I learned of the Blonde series
from this book, consistently depended upon it since, and I also used it as a reference for this article. Some books never
become outdated – this is one. Stackpole Books published a new edition a few years ago and used copies of older editions
are readily available from Internet booksellers and auctions.
Pink Panther
Thread:
Black
Hook:
Mustad 3399A bronze down-eyed wet fly hook, barbless, in sizes 2 – 2/0
Tail:
A generous bunch of faded pink bucktail,
2 –3 times the length of the hook shank with a few strands of silver mylar tinsel, Flashabou or Krystal Flash as an
accent
Body:
Silver Flatbraid or Diamond Braid
Wing:
A generous bunch of faded pink bucktail
Head:
Black thread with 2 coats of glossy finish, such as Angler’s Corner Wet Head Cement.
Please stay on the line …
