The Childers: A Salmon Fly Slaughterer

The Childers is a classic salmon fly pattern.

“It is a slaughterer on the Thurso, the Naver, the Helmsdale, and the Brora.”
— Francis Francis, on the Childers

That was Francis Francis’s plain judgment of the Childers, one of the older classic salmon fly patterns. Associated with Colonel Childers, who is credited with originating the fly around the middle of the nineteenth century, the pattern became well known throughout the British Isles and was regarded as a useful fishing fly on many salmon rivers.

One interesting detail is that Colonel Childers often fished the fly without a topping over the wing. He admitted, however, that he would have added one whenever he could get the right feather. This shows that even early versions of classic salmon flies were not always fixed. Anglers adjusted patterns based on what materials were available and what they thought would work.

The Childers appears in several important salmon-fly books. J. J. Hardy, J. H. Hale, Francis Francis, and George M. Kelson all included or discussed the pattern. The Hardy and Hale versions are described as being close to the one Kelson recommended. Francis Francis also treated the Childers as a strong standard pattern and said it fished well on many different salmon rivers.

Francis first encountered the Childers through Farlows, the well-known London tackle firm. However, the version he described differed quite a bit from the original. This is common with many old salmon flies. A pattern might begin with one angler, but once it passed through tackle shops, books, and other tiers, it often changed. The name stayed the same, but the dressing could vary.

Sir Herbert Maxwell had a more mixed opinion of the Childers. It was not one of his favorite flies, but he still acknowledged its success. He noted that it had caught thousands of salmon. That is important because it shows the fly’s reputation was based on actual use, not just appearance or tradition.

Dr. Pryce-Tannatt later gave another version of the Childers, but this page notes that his dressing had little in common with the others. That makes the history of the pattern more complicated, but also more interesting. The Childers was not one single recipe that everyone copied exactly. It was a recognized pattern with several different forms.

This is one reason the Childers remains useful to study today. It shows how classic salmon fly patterns developed over time. Anglers, authors, and tackle firms all played a role in shaping what counted as the standard version of a fly. Some versions stayed close to the original, while others changed more freely.

The Childers is also a good example of how Victorian salmon flies combined practical fishing history with elaborate tying. The fly was admired as a pattern, but it was also used on the river. Its reputation came from both its appearance and its record of catching fish.

Today, the Childers stands as an important old salmon fly with a long paper trail. Its many versions show how flexible these patterns could be, even when they were treated as classics.

— Mark Combs

Dressing Notes

Francis Francis — The Childers (Farlow’s)
Francis Francis described the Childers as “another excellent general fly,” noting that it was especially effective on the Thurso, the Naver, the Helmsdale, and the Brora.

Tag: Gold twist and golden-coloured floss
Tail: A topping, some teal, and tippet
Body: Yellow, orange, and dark red pig’s wool, somewhat of a lake shade, with broad gold tinsel
Hackle: Dark red claret, with light blue on the shoulder
Wing: A good lump of whitish-tipped dark turkey, strips of bustard, and golden pheasant tail over it, mixed with slices of blue, pale red, orange, and yellow swan
Head: Black

George M. Kelson — The Childers

Tag: Silver twist and light blue silk
Tail: A topping, strands of red and powdered blue macaw, and pintail
Butt: Black herl
Body: Two turns of light yellow silk followed by light yellow seal’s fur, and three turns of scarlet seal’s fur at the throat
Ribs: Silver lace and silver tinsel, oval
Hackle: White furnace hackle, dyed light yellow
Throat: A scarlet hackle and widgeon
Wings: Strands of tippet and tail of golden pheasant; brown mottled turkey, Amherst pheasant, pintail, bustard, summer duck, parrot green, powdered blue and red macaw, gallina, mallard, and a topping
Horns: Blue macaw
Cheeks: Chatterer
Head: Black herl

T. E. Pryce-Tannatt — The Childers

Hook: 1 1/4 to 3 inches
Tag: Silver thread and pale blue floss
Tail: A topping and Indian Crow
Butt: Black herl
Body: Golden yellow floss, orange and fiery brown seal’s fur in equal sections
Ribs: Flat silver tinsel and twist
Hackle: A badger hackle dyed lemon
Throat: Golden pheasant breast feather, followed by widgeon
Wings: Mixed — a pair of golden pheasant breast feathers, back to back; married strands of scarlet, blue, orange, and yellow swan, bustard, florican, golden pheasant tail, cinnamon and mottled grey turkey tail
Sides: Barred summer duck strips
Cheeks: Blue chatterer, with a topping over all
Horns: Blue and yellow macaw

Sources

Francis, Francis. A Book on Angling: Being a Complete Treatise on the Art of Angling in Every Branch. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1867.

Kelson, George M. The Salmon Fly: How to Dress It and How to Use It. London: Published by the author, 1895.

Pryce-Tannatt, T. E. How to Dress Salmon Flies: A Handbook for Amateurs. London: Adam and Charles Black, 1914.

Frödin, Mikael. Classic Salmon Flies: History & Patterns. Sweden: Bokförlaget Settern, 1991.