Bird's Nest, Natural Tying Instructions |
Materials:
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Notes: Usually tied in tan colors to imitate caddis pupae,
other colors used are cream, brown, and olive. Cal actually used a blend of Australian Opossum and dyed Coyote for the dubbed body. He
also insisted on Woodduck flank for the tail and hackle to achieve the proper stiffness. Often, other flytiers will substitute Teal or Mallard Flank and utilize Haretron or a similar dubbing for the body. The use of dubbing blends was important to Cal as no natural insect will have a single color. Cal liked to use a blend of 50% Gray Australian Possum, 40% Hare's Mask (as a substitute for Coyote), and 10% Simi Seal (as a substitute for Seal's fur) in a spectral coloration. According to Ralph Cutter in his fine
book, "Fish Food" (2005), Cal claimed that he gave the fly it's distinctive name due to an entanglement
with a bird's nest while on the Truckee and that the name should be spelled with a lowercase 'b'. Their mutual friend, Polly
Rosborough, hinted that it may have gained a different spelling after he chided Cal upon naming a fly after himself. You might notice that the pattern also uses Polly Rosborough's technique of "tying in the round", which was particularly popular during the 1950's. Another interesting feature is the rougher thorax with more protruding fibers. |
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The Bird's Nest is a nymph pattern designed by the late Calvert "Cal" Bird in 1980. Cal was a master fly
tier, who owned a small fly shop in San Francisco in the 40's and 50's. According to Chuck Stranahan: "Cal and Helen were frequent visitors when I had a shop near Burney, California, during the late '70's and early '80's. We fished Hat Creek and the Fall River, where our experiments with fly design took shape under the acid test of those two exceedingly demanding and difficult waters. Late in the 1980 season I got a phone call from Cal: "Chuck, I've come up with a new fly. It's simpler than a Hare's Ear, more versatile than a Muddler Minnow, and it's a wonder nobody has come up with it before." He went on to describe his success with the new pattern on Arcularius Ranch on the Owens River the weekend before, where he caught an eight pound brown on this new fly he called the Bird's Nest." 
Frank Matarelli, a neighbor of Cal, designed a hook, known as Cal Bird's Dubbing Tool, This tool is used within the "improved" Bird's Nest to create a dubbing loop in which the Opossum dubbing is applied for a more buggy look on the thorax. 
