What is the purpose of a tag?

[Ear4]

The earlier post of the beautiful grey dun got me thinking. What is the purpose of a wire tag on a fly?

Balance?

Provide some sparkle for attraction?

They look great to me but I am curious what purpose they serve.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[bassman]

I think of it as an extra trigger to get fish interested. This is my thought and is be taken lightly since I tie a lot more than I get to fish them and wrapping a small wire tag leading into a rib on some flies just looks good to me.

[narcodog]

In some patterns a tag was added to keep the body, floss or other materiel from sliding down around the bend of the hook.

[ted patlen]

In some patterns a tag was added to keep the body, floss or other materiel from sliding down around the bend of the hook.

Nomenclature aside Narcodog has stated the popular/proper usage for the tip.

Almost every salmon fly from the British Isles of the 19th century had a few turns of (usually) fine oval tinsel as the first component to a fly. This was referred to as the tip. Directly next to it was usually a few turns of colored silk which was called the tag which was probably the first component of the body itself, whether it was intended as a hot spot, or something else.

Trout wet flies from that era often used the same vernacular as the salmon flies. The terms are still used today although the exact meanings (if needed) are often confused.

[mer]

Maybe someone just had some extra time on their hand and figured "let me see how many different sections I can put on a hook".

Sarcasm aside, everything I've read indicates narcodog and ted have the "truth". At this point in time, I also think "tradition" is a big part of the answer. "We've always tied flies that way, so why stop now?"

[PT48]

There is an Australian dry fly called the Red Tag which is very popular. It is based on an English wet fly of the same name, a grayling fly I believe. The dry fly version is ostensibly a beetle pattern and it highlights a vibrant red truncated tail, usually made from floss. Clearly the tag or tail is intended to be a trigger, an attracting device, but I also think that it serves to balance the fly. The body is made from peacock herl and when you tie on a new one it really shimmers on the water and also serves as an attractant. A famous Australian guide and tier by the name of Noel Jetson devised a way of tying Red Tags that made them almost indestructible. There are lots of variants but I prefer the original tie and have caught heaps of fish on them. When I was last in Montana I gave a sample of Red Tags to hellmtflies, as he had not heard of the pattern and was interested in them. I hope he has used them occasionally and caught fish on them - he would certainly be able to test their durability.

[Hellmtflies]

There is an Australian dry fly called the Red Tag which is very popular. It is based on an English wet fly of the same name, a grayling fly I believe. The dry fly version is ostensibly a beetle pattern and it highlights a vibrant red truncated tail, usually made from floss. Clearly the tag or tail is intended to be a trigger, an attracting device, but I also think that it serves to balance the fly. The body is made from peacock herl and when you tie on a new one it really shimmers on the water and also serves as an attractant. A famous Australian guide and tier by the name of Noel Jetson devised a way of tying Red Tags that made them almost indestructible. There are lots of variants but I prefer the original tie and have caught heaps of fish on them. When I was last in Montana I gave a sample of Red Tags to hellmtflies, as he had not heard of the pattern and was interested in them. I hope he has used them occasionally and caught fish on them - he would certainly be able to test their durability.

Well, no. I haven't used your flies PT48 as I felt them to be more of a gift to trigger memories down the road. They sit on my tying table to be looked over now and again. That said I have tied a couple myself and used yours as a model. And, well, yes, they work just fine. My thinking is the tag on any of the flies tied over the years, be them wet or dry, was to be an attempt to mimic the egg sack of the female depositing them on the waters surface.

[PT48]

Noel Jetson was very fussy about the materials for all of his flies, most especially the Red Tag - so much so that he bred his own roosters for hackle material and kept them at his base in Cressy, Tasmania, along with his fly shop, living quarters and accommodation for his guided cliental. There were no problems getting the clients up at 4.00 am to head up into the highlands, the roosters did that job for him.
Noel was a cocky individual (typical Australian) and he took pleasure in catching trout all around the world on the redoubtable Red Tag just to prove a point. He was also the first Winston dealer in Australia and hosted Glenn Brackett during the establishment process (Glenn has fond memories of the challenging fishing in Tasmania, the snakes and the roosters). In his late sixties, the rough treatment to which he had subjected his body over many years caught up with Noel and his fishing activities became severely restricted. He could barely move without pain and his last rod (after many years of using and making bamboo rods) was a Winston 7' 6" three weight.
Mark, I will have to send you the secret recipe for the indestructible Red Tag.