Renegade

Origin

Taylor "Beartracks" Williams originated this fly in 1928 while he was working in Wyoming.  His first version of the fly used all-white hackle.  After moving to Sun Valley, Idaho, in 1936, he started tying it as we now know it.  His revised pattern soon caught on and in no time the Glen L. Evans Company in Boise, Idaho, and Wright and McGill in Denver, Colorade, were tying the fly and promoting it throughout the Rocky Mountain area.


Video

Click for a tying video

Materials

Hook:
TMC 100, or equivalent, sizes 10-18
Thread:
White - 8/0
Tip or Tag:
Flat gold tinsel
Rear Hackle:
Brown tied on as a collar
Body:
Peacock herl
Front Hackle:
White tied on as a collar
Ribbing:
Fine gold wire


Tying Instructioins

  • Mount the hook and lay a base of thread to the bend.
  • Tie on the gold tinsel tag at the bend of the hook.
  • Prepare and mount a brown hackle at the bend of the hook - this will be the rear hackle.
  • Make three to five wraps of the brown hackle as a collar at the bend of the hook.  Tie off the hackle and cut
  • Tie on a six inch piece of gold wire.  The wire should be tied to the base of the rear hackle.
  • Move the thread to a point about 1/3 the length of the shaft back from the eye.
  • Tie on a clump of peacock herl (the number strands depends upon the size of the fly). 
  • Wrap over the peacock herl until the thread reaches the base of the rear hackle.
  • Wrap the thread back to the point on the shank that is about 1/3 the length of the shank from the eye.
  • Gather the gold wire and peacock herl and twist them together making a peacock herl and wire rope.
  • Wrap this rope forward over the shank to the thread (1/3 the length of the shank back from the eye).  Tie off the peacock herl and wire and clip.
  • Prepare a white hackle and tie it onto the shank.  The hackle stem should be tied against the peacock herl.
  • Wrap the thread to a point on the shank where the fly head will start.
  • Wrap the white hackle as a collar to the hanging thread.  Tie off the hackle and clip.
  • Whip finish and cement the head.


Variations

There are several variation of the Renegade that are similar but not the true Renegade fly.  The Royal Renegade is tied with red floss in the middle of the body.  The Reversed Renegade is tied with the white hackle at the rear and the brown hackle in front.  The Double Renegade is tied with a middle white hackle collar.  The variations are many and varied.



Fishing Techniques

The Renegade can be fished similar to the Crackleback.  It can be fished completely dry using some type of floatant.  It can be fished as an emerger just under the surface of the water.  Or, it can be fished dry and then pulled under and stripped at the end of the float.  Pick your own poison.