Pearsall's Gossamer Silk

[derensfox]

Primrose for Catskill Dries...
Purple for Kite's Imperial, a magical dry fly......
Olive is good to have, yellow, oranges.

[bassman]

Primrose waxed heavily with brown wax for Greenwell's Glory.

[joaniebo]

Jaime

From the Leisenring & Hidy book:

"The ideal thread which meets all the require¬ments, to my way of thinking is Pearsall's Gossamer "Fly-Dressing" Silk. It is sold on convenient little fifty-yard spools and is available in several desirable colors. I would recommend purchasing the following colors and quantities: Primrose (color #3) - 2 spools; Claret (color # 13) - 1 spool; Gray (color #9a) - 1 spool; Hot Orange (color #19) - 2 spools; Brown (color #17) - 1 spool; Plum (color #8) - 1 spool; and Green (color #18) - 1 spool. The numbers are from Pearsall's chart or sample card."

Bob

[Lupalupa]

YLI 100 is twice the diameter of Pearsall's, but I don't see why it won't work as a perfect replacement if the colors are the same.

I'd like to see the results of your test!

I did a couple of test runs, and from my vantage point there is no noticeable difference in diameter.

The YLI goes on the hook a brighter shade of orange, the margin is small, but can be noticed in comparison to the Pearsall's. The thread also has a bit more of a fuzz on it than Pearsall's. With 5 swipes of Bailey's cobblers wax on both the YLI and the Pearsall's I cannot identify any differences, and would lose track of the flies if I mixed them up.

On a more esoteric note, I find the small Pearsall's bobbins more enjoyable to use than the bigger YLI bobbins. YLI feels industrial, where Pearsall's screams cottage industry. Which sorta reflects reality, so I shouldn't be surprised.

I am terrible at taking fly photos, we are expecting snow over night, so tomorrow may be the day that I try to be a bit less terrible at it, as pictures are a better medium than words for where this conversation is going.

[Lupalupa]

I was unable to get meaningful pictures of the color differences, but as coincidence has it, a blog I follow did the same thing as I hoped to do this weekend.

I hope it is not breaking a rule, but I have included a link. His words are almost exactly how I would describe the flies.

I have no affiliation with this blog other than I enjoy it....

http://smallstreamreflections.blogspot. ... salls.html

[RobSmith]

It would have been a nice courtesy for him to acknowledge where he got his information from.

[snorider]

Bozeman Family fly shop has 2 spools of purple Persall's and a whole host of other colors as well for you Bozeman area folks. They had three spools of purple last night but I added another spool to the hoard...

[flyfishermann1955]

I now have a lifetime supply of Pearsall's purple! These are the last 2 spools from the Bozeman Family Fly Shop. Matt was nice enough to mail them to Oklahoma. Thanks for the tip Snorider.



Tight Lines- Ken

[dshx]

I'm late in mentioning this but since I wrote about my difficulty in locating Pearsall's purple thread some weeks ago, a handful of forum members generously offered me spools from their own supply. Many thanks to all and Merry Christmas to everyone!

-Dwight

[NedZeppelin]

And then there is this, perhaps worthy of some investigation, given the efforts to replicate the originals.

https://semperfli.us/shades-of-silk-sem ... -released/

[NedZeppelin]

Another silk I came across which claims to be an authentic reproduction at a reasonable price. http://www.flyonlyonline.co.uk/gossamer ... silks.html - looks like there is an attempt to link Robert Smith's name (and implied imprimatur) on the silks shown but not sure. Still good price and the colors look good.

Hey experts, which bobbin (that I can actually buy) is the one I need for Pearsall's and these narrow little spools. Right now, I am learning to tie NCs with YLI, the Pearsall's I have managed to get is too precious to waste at this stage in my tying abilities.

[rlgm72]

Hey experts, which bobbin (that I can actually buy) is the one I need for Pearsall's and these narrow little spools. Right now, I am learning to tie NCs with YLI, the Pearsall's I have managed to get is too precious to waste at this stage in my tying abilities.

This is the one I use.

https://www.anglersall.com/wasatch-smal ... cro-bobbin

[bassman]

As for bobbin, I've taken my regular bobbins and crossed the nubs and pulled hard so when they're released they're almost touching. Now this will present another problem in that the arms bent at that angle will rub against the side of Pearsall's spool. I then take and grab the wire arms a 1/2" or so above the nub and bend it out slightly and check for clearance. Not this might sound tricky or primitive but I've done it to three bobbins I keep Pearsall's in and they look professionally made for them.

Another trick from a member was putting two spools in a bobbin. Works but you have to watch thread doesn't jump off spool. I did this with a couple of spools running together to get a nice red/white alternating thread body on a spider.

[joaniebo]

Another silk I came across which claims to be an authentic reproduction at a reasonable price. http://www.flyonlyonline.co.uk/gossamer ... silks.html - looks like there is an attempt to link Robert Smith's name (and implied imprimatur) on the silks shown but not sure. Still good price and the colors look good.

Hey experts, which bobbin (that I can actually buy) is the one I need for Pearsall's and these narrow little spools. Right now, I am learning to tie NCs with YLI, the Pearsall's I have managed to get is too precious to waste at this stage in my tying abilities.

In 2017, I sent flyonlyonline and email and received this response on 8 October 2017:

"Hello Bob

Sorry for the delay in replying to you. My winding machine blew up and I have been trying to get it repaired, but without succss. The silk that I have is being sold off on the website in boxes of 12 and 50. There are no matches of the Pearsalls colours left.

Kind regards
Carol"

[NedZeppelin]

Thanks Joaniebo - looks like another closed exit on the Pearsall's Highway.

[DrLogik]

NedZ,

I use a Wasatch bobbin specially made for the small Pearsall's spools. Before that I did what bassman does now.

[Gunpowder Angler]

I just received my delivery of black someone on flea bay.

[NedZeppelin]

I am looking for a spool of ash. PMs welcome, can trade a primrose, since I think the YLI equivalent is dead on match.

[NedZeppelin]

And then there is 54 Dean Street. http://www.54deanstreet.com/en/pure-sil ... hread.html

[flyfishermann1955]

Here is an update for the Pearsall's Gossamer watchers. Last night, our TU chapter had our annual fundraising dinner/auction. I'm behind on fly tying, but that is another story, so I wasn't able to contribute flies for the silent auction. In the past year, I've made several nice additions to my supply of Pearsall's Gossamer, including what I call the Holy Trinity of colors--purple, orange, and black.



I donated these 3 spools (#8 purple, #6a light orange, and #9 black), so the fly tyers would have an item to be excited about. The winning bid was $60.00. Next year's auction should have a nice supply of partridge & orange, snipe & purple, and black magic spiders for the non-tyers to bid on!

Tight Lines- Ken