KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON, SINDAY. APRIL SI. 1963
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THE MATERIAL AND THE PRODUCTS Some of the many streamers, bucktails
and nymphs that are proven fish catchers are displayed on the left. Polly likes to tie his
flies with plenty of legs to simulate the swimming motion of nymphs. He doesn't like
the hard nymphs tied by many professionals because he claims they have no action in
the water. He can tie about a dozen of ths larger flies in an hour. Quite a feat, know
ing the perfection he demands of himself. Displayed, on the right, are some of the in- I is the green dye he uses on nylon thread or wrappinq the bodies of grasshopper imi.
gradients. Polly gets the neck hackle from fighting cocks, mostly from Hawaii. The tations. Another uncanny concoction is the dark purple dye that fits the black drake
material is used tor dry tlies ana streamer wings, no gets most ot nis tur ana tan Doay to a I.
material from a California firm and when hs isn t quite satisfied with the color, he dyes
the material to fit his own exacting needs. One of the colors he takes special pride in
KILLER PATTERNS
Polly Rosborough compiled this list of "killer
patterns" that he tied for local rivers and lakes and
are available in the local sporting goods stores men
tioned in this story.
WET FLY PATTERNS: "Copper Colonel," "Dark
and Light Salmon," "Dark and Light Caddis," "Royal
Coachman Bucktail," "Wet Grasshopper," and "Van
Luven" red or fluorescent.
STREAMERS: "Polar Chub," and "Silver Garland
Marabou."
DRY FLIES: "Caddis" light and dark, "Salmon"
light and dark, "Wulff" entire color series, "Black
Drake," "Yellow Drake," "Light Cahill," "Adams,"
"Mosquito," and "Quill Gordon."
NYMPHS: "Spring Creek Nymph," "Hare's Ear,"
"Fledermous," "Muskrat," "Non-Descript," "Burlap,"
"Casual Dress," and "Green Damsel."
Piscatorial Appetites Tickled By Polly Rosborough Flies
As Oregon Anglers Head For Favored Streams This Weekend
By GEORGE ALOTRICO
"Make no mistake, there may
be better Western (lies than those
turned out by Rosborough, but we
sincerely doubt it."
This is the way the famous
late outdoor writer Robert Page
Lincoln in his book "Guide to
Best Fishing," describes Chilo
quin fly tying celebrity t. it.
Polly" Rosborough.
Lincoln was not the only "pro
fessional" fisherman who acknowl
edged the superior quality of the
flies lied bv professional Ros
borough.
Well known outdoor writers like
Al McClaine. Joe Brooks, Joe
Bates and many, many others
requently refer to Polly and his
flies in their writings.
There are, for instance, almost
20 references to Polly's creations
Streamer Fly Fishing." by
Joe Bates, and his flics often ap
pear in McClaine's fly of the
month column in the outdoor mag
azine Field and Stream.
Rosborough's fame on the west
coast helps world famous sportm;
goods store Abercrombie and
Fitch sell over 500 dozen of hi:
renowned steelhead flies each
year.
Despite the great demand put
on him by discerning fly casters
Polly finds time for several other
equally demanding pursuits, and
when he isn't wrapping a "Copper
Colonel" or "Silver Garland
Marabou," vou might find him
deeply engrossed in "A History
of Western Philosophy," by Ber
trand Russell, or perusing samples
ot jade, or serpentine marble
collected on one of his rock
'hounding" jaunts.
Polly, who has been a resi
dent of Chiloquin for over 20
years, never is bored.
At the ripe age of "sixtyish.
he still casts the streams into a
froth (his home is right on the
banks of the Williamson), traps
marten on Diamond Lake Pass,
hunts for precious gems on the
coast and listens to Chopin and
Beethoven, as a dramatic change
from life in the wilds.
go
IJFTirill ftlH FYACTING HANDS The nrecise hands of Pollv Rosborough
through the steps of tying this shaggy nymph with the meticulous perfection demanded
ennert fishermen. Thousands of hooks in plastic vials on the desk are ordered from
England. The hooks are the best quality available since Polly doesn't want any custom
ers complaining that their hook broke in the jaws of a 10-pound brown.
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OMP OF THE FIND Po v shows some of the lade and isdite he found recently on
no nf Kit rock houndlna trios. Some of ths chunks contain iade of a fairly good quali
ty, but finding the source of the pieces or getting equipment into the hard to reach
areas is a problem that keeps many a rock nounder trom a lifetime ot ricnei. rony proo
ably enjoys the means as well as the ends in his search for a lost lode. .
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A native of Arkansas, Polly
an asthmatic condition drove
retired" to the river banks after
him from other occupational pur
suits. He started tying flies way
back in 1928. It wasn't until 1944,
however, and after a tour in the
service, that he relurned to Chilo
quin and started building up his
business.
His first professional contract
was with the Meier - Frank Com
pany in Portland and at the end
of his (our-vear stint with this
company he began tying for lo
cal stores. At about this lime he
started with the Winston Custom
Built Rod Company, San Fran
Cisco, as a local distributor.
As Polly's Hies became famous
on the coast a representative of
Abercrombie contacted h i m
through the Winston Company
The Abercrombie reprcsenta
live spotted one of the lies in a:
San Francisco store and immed
iately wanted to know who lied
it. He contacted a friend who was
with Winston and at lust, as
Pollv tells it. the Winston man
refused to divulge his name,
The man from Abercrombie said
the flies were bv far the best;
he'd ever seen and he'd learn who
tied them "come - - - - or
high water," with help or not.
Such persistence apparently
wilted his friend and the name
Rosborough" passed between
them. Polly has been tying flics
for Abercrombie ever since.
Of the 1.500 dozen he turns out
annually between 350 to 500 dozen
go to the Coast to Coast Hard
w are Store in Chiloquin. Store own-
en Glen Kircher says he'll some
times have a sellout on a cer
tain pattern two or three times
in a season.
"When a big salmon fly hatch
is on 1 have to De caretui to
have plenty of wet and dry salm-
flies in stock Hist to make
sure I doh't get caught short when
Folly is out of town, Kirchci
said. .
Often during the season one
of the local sporting goods stores
will run out of a pupular pattern
and Polly has to tic up an order
under deadline conditions for the
weekend fishermen.
Some of the local shops that
slock Rosborough's flies are Joe's
Sporting Goods and The Gun Stoie
Klamath Falls; Melita's Restau
rant and Coast to Coast, Chilo
quin. and stores in Crescent and
Lngene. "'
One of Ihe most interesting as
peels of his business is his re
tail sales by mail lo all corners
of the globe.
Polly frequently gets letters
from people all over the world
who read references to his flics
or. the pages of outdoor maga
zines and books.
He has Sent special orders to
Scandinavia, Europe, Africa and
New Zealand among other areas
Polly enjoys this type of world
travel, but quips, "Sometimes:
it's hard to get paid in American
dollars."
Through his fame of lying flics
and distributor of the Winston
bamboo rods, , Polly gets many
(CorUnued on Page 2
K V--
CHRISTMAS TINSEL KILLER This large fly would probably send a lot of sophis
ticated eatern trout scurrying for a hideout, but to the big rainbows in the West it
has Christmas season appeal. Polly got the idea for this fly when h wondered what
it would be like to tie the body of a big marabou streamer usinq Christmas tinsel.
Back in 1936 when he first originated the fly he gave one to a friend who said,
"what the - am I going to do with this monstrosity?" Polly, slightly miffed by
his friend's lack of confidence, took fly and friend to a favorite pool on the William
son and caught a seven-pound rainbow on the first cast. Some christening!
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SCRUTINIZING HIS WORK Polly takes a good look at a partial order of "Silver
Shrimp" before he paints white eyes on the heads, the finishing touch to expertly
tied flies. One trick that the old pro uses in tying all his flies is to simulate an insect,
not imitate it. It would be virtually impossible to match an insect perfectly so Polly
tries, instead, to simulate the action of the insect as it swims through the water.
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RESEARCHING A NEW FLY When Polly hears about a new fly he feels will be suc
cessful!, he flips through pagos of a voluminous amount of reference material ha hat
collected over the years looking for a description of the fly and the insect it repre
sents. In this way Polly can improve on the original fly adding creative touches he
foels will duplicate the insect and its action. Through the reference work, Polly alto
finds the life cycles of various insects and can tie a fly to simulate the various stages. ,
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