Leisenring's Black Gnat - and a note to Pennsylvania fly tiers

James Leisenring (1878-1951) was considered a legend amongst wet fly tiers of the Pocono region of Pennsylvania. One of his many wingless wet flies, his Black Gnat is remniscent of one of the old North Country spiders.
For anyone interested in the Fly Tying for Trout class offered at Northampton Community College, check out the school's site for details:
lifelearn.nort...
Hook: #12-16 wet fly
Thread: Claret (or substitute red)
Body: wrapped turkey tail fibers, crow fibers, or floss
Hackle: Starling
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Savage Flies is a project with the mission of encouraging and teaching fly tying to as many people as possible. The channel is named after one of my western Maryland homewaters, the Savage River. Thanks for stopping by.

[@cheflexx778]

Matt thanks again for taking the time to make kerri's bugger jig. kerri was extremely touched by your kindness and all the love and support this community has shown her. Your are truly an angel. Thank you sir.

[@SavageFlies]

It really was my pleasure Alex. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity.

[@edwardmlotkiewicz2343]

Great story about the fly pattern which is simple and probably very effective. Also,as points of interest about Mr. Leisenring: he was the first to develop the dubbing brush, the adoption of G.E.M. Skues spider-style flies for Brodhead Creek and the Leisenring Lift technique of lifting a wet fly on the end of a drift. The materials he used were locally available at the time, hence crow and starling. Always enjoy these videos and though I only get to trout fish a few times a year up North, I am going to tie a few and try them on the Gunpowder next time I fish it.

[@SavageFlies]

That's outstanding Ed! And I heard the Leisenring Lift was only one of a few techniques he pioneered, but it's the only one we hear of as he died when he was in the process of writing another book with Pete Hidy that talked about several other fishing methods. And somehow these notes got lost to the ages.

[@jamesvatter5729]

That is a really good pattern, Matt. One of those simple, but "gotta haves."

[@SavageFlies]

It is Jim! I've still got to learn to fish these old wingless wet flies better. I know "how" according to books and videos, but I've always got too much slack in my line on the drift and I know I'm missing takes half the time. The only time I ever seem to hook up with a fly like this is at the end of the drift when my line is taut and the fish practically hooks itself!

[@forrestcleaver8005]

Good video. And compliments for recognizing many famous flies developed by Pa tyers... As well as Ed Shenk (many patterns), Russell Blessing (woolly bugger), Vince Marinaro, Joe Humphreys, Charlie Fox, Ed Koch(midges) and so many others.

[@SavageFlies]

I appreciate it Forrest! And yes, I had no idea all those famous tiers were from PA. Of course I knew Humphrey's was big at Penn State. But why isn't Russell Blessing a household name?? I think I read a story about him creating the Woolly Bugger years ago but not much else. I just checked to see if the pattern was in "The History of Fly Fishing in 50 Flies" but no, it was not. Tom Rosenbauer did pay a nice tribute to Blessing in his "Essential American Flies" though. What an interesting story about such a humble man. Anyway, thanks for the note!

[@jimholland1592]

Good morning Matt☕️☕️ Always enjoy the background on what you are doing. And that was a nice wet fly like streamer I need to fish them more. You could find classes like that around here but not so much now. Well enjoy your day and tell Lisa hi for us👍

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Jim and will do! It's been an uneventful (mostly relaxing) weekend around here. Some yardwork and Lisa and I are about to go out for a hike before it gets too warm. :-)

[@johnnylightning1491]

Nice fly Matt, like many of your flies simple but effective. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Dave! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@laytonmarvin3790]

Great pattern Matt, I tie and fish these wets on sizes 14 and 16. I have had very good numbers with pattern. I do use a red holographic tinsel for the rib. As always, thanks for sharing

[@SavageFlies]

That's a great idea Layton. A holo tinsel ribbed up through it. And I'm thinking, we could take the scraggly peacock herl, you know the ones we rarely use, and make a decent thin body with them. I'm going to have to try this!

[@martyrothman3933]

Thanks Matt I like this one I live in Florida but I'm from New Jersey and in the spring summer and fall I used to go to the Poconos all the time a great place you brought back good memories

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Marty! I've never been to the Poconos but it's not too far from me so I definitely need to plan a trip up there soon. :-)

[@diecastrejuvenation7779]

Thanks for another informative video. You're the best when it comes to interesting flies and there back stories!

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Troy! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@Graham-1888]

Nice fly Matt, very much like a spider pattern I use over here and it catches trout on all waters. Matt a new tool you MUST buy, the Smhaen dubbing twister (blue midge size) it is awesome! Does so much more than its name suggests. A few good reviews on youtube worth watching.

[@SavageFlies]

Oh yes, I forgot about that thing! Thanks for the reminder Graham... I just went down the rabbit hole of placing my next order from J. Stockard so I picked up this dubbing twister, a dozen packs of hooks, and you'll be happy to hear... enough foam and glue to last me the rest of the season. Yes, us crazy Yankees and our foams. :-)

[@Graham-1888]

@@SavageFlies 😂😂😂

[@davidhughes2622]

Hi from Kansas City 🎣🤠 Dave Hughes 🎣🤠👍. Hope this finds you well and of course thanks for sharing such a great job. I'm going to tye some on a 16or18 hook, I think it's a rather than

[@davidhughes2622]

A startlingl feather I'll have a hen soft hackle but only put on 6 or 8 barbules, not much up front. When I tye In the under body I leave the tag thread a little longer and use it for a rib. Thanks for your time and thoughts . Dave Hughes 🎣🤠.

[@ybarrajc]

Nice simple, I’ll definitely be adding this one to my list. Have a blessed day my friend.

[@SavageFlies]

Well thank you! And I appreciate the note my friend. :-)

[@bigdaddy99929]

Gnats, spiders, and mosquitoes oh my! Great flies to tie and fish!! Must haves for sure. Thx Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Clyde! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@edwardchavez5627]

Good Morning Sir Matt, I had an opportunity to sleep in this morning so I took it. My beautiful wife made me breakfast since I am back to only working Monday thru Friday. Yeah, after breakfast I had one of the best cups of coffee it seemed like and your video. What a great start to a morning. I've tied this pattern several time and I absolutely love it. Keep bringing it Sir Matt your awesome 👌.

[@SavageFlies]

Good for you Edward! We all need to sleep in every once in a while. Hope you're having a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@mikeney5113]

Great looking pattern.love the wet flies.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Mike! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@RockyPhillips]

Awesome pattern and tie, thanks Matt. Love lisenrings book

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Rocky! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@jimgollach6202]

Nice tie Matt! I like the red and dark comb, it has fish catching all over it. Tight lines. 👍.

[@SavageFlies]

Always appreciate it Jim! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@jeffreystone7327]

Like the looks of this one. Thank you Matt. That thread loop and wrap makes a nice look. A new technique is awesome. I will try it both ways. Thread loop and thread as a rib. Great video buddy.

[@willdaskal340]

Wonderful video, Matt; and, a big THANK YOU for helping to promote my upcoming evening college fly tying classes at Northampton Community College in NE Pennsylvania.

[@SavageFlies]

You're most welcome Will! Thank you for what you are doing for our sport. Yesterday's event looked like a great time. :-)

[@davehall2160]

Gorgeous looking fly Matt I love fishing spider's Loved how the hackle looking with the longer fibers in the back and the shorter one in front Thanks for the video Matt

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Dave! I do like fishing these patterns but I certainly need some more practice. I think I miss more takes than I hook up with. :-)

[@toddslichter7831]

Great pattern, Matt. Versatile in many color combinations. Thanks for sharing my friend.

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Todd! I appreciate you watching my friend. :-)

[@epsieblaine7968]

Looks like a north country fly to me too.I like tying this style of fly and fishing them too.Great lookin fly Matt,have a great weekend.

[@SavageFlies]

Always appreciate it Ken! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@leemowers9395]

you could pluck that stray barb with tweezers also. Picture Kingfisher blue thread with a large blue grizzly cape hackle collar. Thanks Matt for the video.

[@SavageFlies]

Oh yeah Lee, I often forget to just try plucking with tweezers. Mine always seem to break it instead of pulling it out. But I love your idea of kingfisher blue thread; that's kind of an underused color in most nymphs/wets. I think one of Atherton's nymphs used it but I can't think of much else. I'm going to give it a try. :-)

[@toddueda8346]

Thanks for all the videos. Appreciate your teaching and background info. Simple and effective.

[@crowdaddy8355]

This one looks great. Thanks Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Chad! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@samh4232]

Dang it, so ordering some Turkey now. I like the simulating peacock with a color core. Thanks for the great tie again Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Haha! You know I was just thinking Sam, we could have achieved a similar effect using peacock herl instead of turkey if we just picked the really thin scraggly ones. :-)

[@chasselynch5733]

Great video Matt and great simple wetfly tie!! Greatly effect in the riffles most June mornings here in north central Pa

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Chasse! Cool to hear. 👍

[@tompeterson559]

Nice pattern. I'm sure the crows and ravens in our area would be happy to donate an occasional feather for the barbs, too. Also, thanks for mentioning the Northampton class. Way too far away for me to participate, but it is a new continuing education field I can discuss with my employer, Olympic College, and Farbank Enterprises (Sage, Redington, and Rio).

[@SavageFlies]

That's excellent Tom! I suppose the more other colleges offer these type classes, the more other schools will be willing to. You always hear of Joe Humphrey's and his fly fishing class at Penn State, you'd think some other schools would have started something similar. Particularly the schools out west where the rivers are plentiful and the fish big. :-)

[@ruebdogg1]

Great video Matt!! Keep on rockin’!

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@michaelzsizseri8015]

Awesome video Matt Thank you 🎣🙏

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Michael! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@FlyTyer1948]

Looks good. Black gnats would be more tolerable if their bites weren’t so nasty, but there is great satisfaction in fishing their imitations. The red shows through quite well.

[@SavageFlies]

Now if we could just use ticks for bait, that would be satisfying. :-) I've got to be more careful; I find myself pulling ticks out of me several times a year. And last year I got the big red and white bull's eye that gave me the Lyme disease scare! So thanks for this comment Bob. It's a nice reminder to be more careful...

[@marshallbaldwin8960]

Another great fly. Thank you. Wish I was in the area for his class but long commute from Texas. lol

[@jamesphillips2216]

Sweet fly!! It took several attempts to finish the video but it was totally worth it!! Thanks Matt for the video and the background behind the fly!!

[@SavageFlies]

Well thank you James! I appreciate you sticking with it my friend. :-)

[@cheflexx778]

Awesome Pattern Matt!! Wish I were closer to that campus. I'd love to take that class.

[@SavageFlies]

Oh yeah, Will looks like an amazing tier and instructor! Thanks for watching Alex, I hope you're having a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@Wyamike734]

Nice fly Matt , thank you for the video!

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Mike! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@jeffjackson5331]

Neat looking fly. I am in western Pa north of Pittsburgh.

[@SavageFlies]

Excellent Jeff! Thanks for the note my friend. :-) My farm is out near Cumberland, MD so not too far from the mountains around Pittsburgh.

[@jeffjackson5331]

@@SavageFlies you are very welcome. Yeah your not to far from there either.

[@scottmilner3801]

Nice fly Matt as always I enjoy watchin my friend!!

[@SavageFlies]

Always appreciate it Scott! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@MarcTelesha]

Woolly Bugger pattern was believed to have been created by Pennsylvania fly tyer Russell Blessing. Walt's Worm also a PA creation. I think PA has a ton of very creative fly patterns. I say its due to all the pressure these fish encounter it draws one to get creative with your flies. We also have Greg Senyo and Jeff Blood from up in Erie. White Death and Blood Dot Egg.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks for the note Marc! Definitely some well-known brilliant tiers up there. I'm going to have to research Jeff Blood- that's a new name to me. Appreciate the comment my friend. :-)

[@stevebrockway4738]

As always, entertaining and informative.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Steve! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@dwgoutdoors831]

Awesome pattern! Thank you! What is that tool you used to wrap the body?

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Mike! That was the Stonfo Pinza Elite hackle pliers. www.jsflyfishing.com/stonfo-pinza-elite-hackle-plier

[@joeduca8582]

Heck of a morning Matt! ☕☕☕☕☕ mugs so far, almost to teeth grinding stage 😳Excellent video. All the names you mentioned at the intro were among the "fraternity" of anglers and tiers I read about that spurred me into fly tying / fishing. Pretty sure it was a tier in Fly Fisherman mag quoting Schwiebert, "we hammered 'em!", in an article on tying / fishing the Springs Wiggler. I remember tying it maybe with bucktail for the tail / shellback instead of squirrel tail. Use what you got, right? :o) This Black Gnat is awesome, love the way you tied the body and hackle too :o) I discovered the "lift", I think, by happy accident when I caught my personal best brown on a Grouse & Orange. 😱 BANG! I also was using a water haul, at least I think I was, to cast the bug in my favorite spot on my favorite creek. It hit on the "dangle" as I let the water load the rod for my forward cast. Thanks Matt, you rule! I enjoyed this one a lot! Go to Hans Weilenmann's flytierspage for more soft hackles, flymphs, wets and such. 🤓👍

[@SavageFlies]

There you go again Joe, making me look up a new pattern I've never heard of. The Spring's Wiggler, or Spring Wiggler I'm also seeing it called. This thing is great looking! Panfish on the Fly has a version I like. How have I never heard of this?? Maybe it was mostly a steelhead pattern, but this thing looks like a generic attractor nymph to me, or a crawfish if tied big, maybe a scud if on a smaller curved shank. And check out all the color combinations: tinyurl.com/springs-wiggler I'll have to check out Hans Weilenmann's page here in a bit. :-)

[@joeduca8582]

@@SavageFlies Hex nymph, but you're right, could pass for many food items. Think from Michigan 🐺 Enjoy and thanks for the link 😎👍

[@kenb4685]

Another great job Matt. Thanks.

[@SavageFlies]

Always appreciate it Ken! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@wayneandrews1278]

Very great looking

[@waynechase4595]

I was taught that thread reinforcement technique for peacock hurl bodies… works well.

[@oldsmugglerflyfishing]

I really like to fish all the wet flies from Leisenring's book.

[@SavageFlies]

Always appreciate it! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@chevyguy6510]

Thanks Matt! As always great job showing us a simple/effective pattern

[@SavageFlies]

Always appreciate it Todd! Thanks for the note my friend. :-)

[@bassnote1]

Love your channel!

[@MyItalians]

Morning Matt. The method of the twist of thread and material is good. My issue is that my material gets cut off from the thread as I wrap. I've tried less twists, little more material, even moisture on the martial. Any hints? Have a blessed day.

[@SavageFlies]

I'm not sure Nich. That happens to me with peacock herl some but rarely with ostrich herl as that seems to be tougher. And this was the first time I'd done this technique with turkey barbs, but they seemed pretty tough too. I guess you could try a thicker thread but that might change the whole look of the fly.

[@Jd-yc3gw]

Good morning Matt. ☕️ and Black Gnats. Sounds inviting doesn’t it? 😁. I recently was trying to tie this particular fly so found this video very helpful. Apparently these work well up here I’m told. I struggled with the hackle as they kept breaking. I tried both of the hackle pliers I have (1 plunger and 1 metal clamp) and it didn’t matter. I thought maybe there was a problem with my starling but after watching your video I’m thinking it was the operator being too ham fisted. I am curious what hackle pliers you used though. Enjoyed todays video. Take care Matt. Need to have another ☕️.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks John! Looking back on this one (ie, watching after I was done editing), I realized I used a poopy starling feather for this one. So the end result was a bunch of stunted tips on the collar hackle. If I had realized that, I could have at least pointed out that even if you tie a fly well, if you use subpar materials, the result might not be as pretty as you'd like. Regarding these hackle pliers, I used the Stonfo Pinza Elite for the turkey body, but just really cheap ones for the starling: www.jsflyfishing.com/js-tools-hackle-plier-non-skid I seem to have misplaced my nice Upmqua Dreamstream ones!

[@Jd-yc3gw]

@@SavageFlies So where on the starling did you draw the feather? I’m thinking I might just pick up a black hen cape for tying these flies. I’m sure the trout wouldn’t be able to tell

[@SavageFlies]

@@Jd-yc3gw It was from the rump, just between the wings. I'd think we could get away with using hen, but maybe strip the fibers off one side so it doesn't end up too full.

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

Superb1 :-)

[@TheStreamUrchin1]

I can see using different color threads too,

[@SavageFlies]

Absolutely! Lee mentioned trying a kingfisher blue and I think I'm going to try that later today. :-)

[@TheStreamUrchin1]

@@SavageFlies I had some kingfisher blue synthetic hair about the diameter of deer body hair that I gave a swatch of to a friend. He ad it upped his steelhead hits by 50%. He'd use 5-10 hairs on his streamers. I moved to the Cleveland area in 82 from upstate NY but now live in the Cinci area since late last year. I lived a mile from the Suski and an hour and a half from Beaverkill.

[@barbaraemerich1921]

Nice pattern Matt! Too bad I’m in the west

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Barbara! I suppose if there are any areas of the country that would be more likely to have fly tying classes at their community colleges, Idaho and Montana might be some of them! I'd say our biggest freshwater fly fishing hotspots are the Catskills, Adirondacks, and the Poconos. But then again, Western North Carolina and the Smoky Mountains are pretty big too.

[@ConorMakes]

Nothing to do with fly tying... The founder of Pennsylvania was William Penn and was imprisoned at the Tower of London for 8 months, freed only if he left the country which he did. And after that he founded Pennsylvania

[@SavageFlies]

Cool story Conor. I think most of us have heard of William Penn, but I didn't know the story about his imprisonment. Thanks for sharing!