What is the Black sheep salmon fly?
The fly was tied by Haraldur Stefansson first as HS special and named Black Sheep because it stood out as such when placed in the fly box amongst the old British salmon flies in the box. The fly looks much like an eel larvae that Salmon salar is accustomed to consuming in its dwelling in the South Atlantic ocean and the gulf stream . The initial idea was to tie something that would not be a tube fly, but could be as successful in catching Salmon and accepted as regular fishing fly purist Salmon fisherman.
The eel larvae different kinds (Click here to see them in action)
Why does the Black sheep work better than other salmon flies?
The Black sheep looks like food that salmon salar grew on, to reach its enormous size in only a year or two. It is clear that the fish has eaten to grow and the protein that gives him the growth rate is the eel larvae in the gulf stream.
How can you tell if the Black sheep in stores is correct?
The Black sheep in stores are all imitations of the real one because none in the stores are tied by the originator Mr. Haraldur Stefansson. A few persons have tried to imply that the Black sheep is their fly, but that lie is to be expected when one designs and develops something that others want for themselves. The main difference between the original and imitations is the shape of the wing and color shine which is darker than normal in the real Black sheep.
The black Sheep was invented in 1977
Many shades of sheep.
Other patterns of the Band of sheep like silver, red, green and their presentation card are a development of my fishing partner who had that family of sheep tied in South Africa. I later marketed his band of sheep in hand made leather cases. The silver sheep is the only other sheep that has shown any success. All of these sheep patterns are imitations of my original Black sheep that I gave my fishing partner on a fishing trip in Norðurá in Iceland.
The author of The Black Sheep
Mr. Haraldur Stefánsson – The Fire Chief and the author of The famous Black Sheep salmon fly.
This question keeps popping up although it is established and known that I Mr. Haraldur Stefansson authored and tied the original Black Sheep in the presence of Joseph Hubert who suggested that I name the fly Black Sheep because it was so different from the old British pattern flies. The Black Sheep Salmon fly is my fly, but many have tried to take that away from me even my best friends.
Two grils on the bank, caught on the black sheep nr. 12 double hook
The author Halli Stef, (nickname), casting at Flokadalsa, July 2012.
Halli Stef in 1977 at Norðurá (second to right) with some of my clients during my guiding years.
