Heritage Flies - Part 6 The Wolf Spider and its origins Grizzy Hackle Imitations of particular spider species are relatively unique to South Africa for the techniques and materials used by a number of local fly tyers. Perhaps there is no better example than that of the local Lycosid Wolf Spider that is found throughout the country and fairly often spotted in and around structure close to the streams as it searches for prey close to the waters edge - the result is that some, not by choice, end up in the stream struggling to make it back to the safety of terra firma.
the expenditure of energy it also required a ‘big chunk’ i.e. a food item that would provide a lot of calories and a ‘sitting duck’ i.e. a food item that looked vulnerable and was not likely to escape. The original Mackereth Wolf Spider and subsequent three imitations possess these triggers. The earliest documented imitation was in the 1960s. A fly which symbolised a radical change in fly fishing technique as it was then practised in South Africa. The Caribou Spider was tied by a British expat, Mark Mackereth. It was probably the first local fly made of spun and clipped deer hair and the first tied specifically to imitate the Wolf Spider. In the light of the significance of this first Wolf Spider pattern and Mark Mackereth’s contribution
In his milestone book, The Dry Fly – New Angles (Globe Pequot Press, 2001), Gary LaFontaine wrote that a trout holding in deep water and strong currents would be most tempted to rise to a ‘wide’ fly. To justify www.saflyfishingmag.co.za
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