Cross Special
Hook: Allcock W173 TDE Model Perfect #12
Tail: Dun hackle
Body: Cream fur
Hackle: Dun
Wings: Wood duck flank
Reuben Cross is considered by many to have been the true originator of what we now call the Catskill style. This style moves the wing of the fly back a bit, to the middle of the thorax, and is characterized by slightly longer hackle and tail length than is typical of many modern-day flies, and was a real departure from the British dry flies of his day. His sparsely tied flies featured hackle that was stiffer than that found on the typical British fly, with stiffer tails.
This particular fly is a "cross" between the conventional Hendrickson and Light Cahill, and not named for Reuben Cross, according to him, though he invented it. This claim may have been nothing more than a bit of modesty on Mr. Cross's part, we'll never know.
Tail: Dun hackle
Body: Cream fur
Hackle: Dun
Wings: Wood duck flank
Reuben Cross is considered by many to have been the true originator of what we now call the Catskill style. This style moves the wing of the fly back a bit, to the middle of the thorax, and is characterized by slightly longer hackle and tail length than is typical of many modern-day flies, and was a real departure from the British dry flies of his day. His sparsely tied flies featured hackle that was stiffer than that found on the typical British fly, with stiffer tails.
This particular fly is a "cross" between the conventional Hendrickson and Light Cahill, and not named for Reuben Cross, according to him, though he invented it. This claim may have been nothing more than a bit of modesty on Mr. Cross's part, we'll never know.