Dr. David Burns Flies

Green Highlander (Pryce-Tannatt)

This version of  the venerable Green Highlander was tied by Dr. David Burns. You can also see more of Dr. Burns' flies at The Flies of Dr. David Burns.

Dr. Burns' email about this fly: "Here are two versions of the Green Highlander that are headed to the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo auction. One is based on Kelson's description (which see)  and the other on Pryce-Tannatt's (above).

With this Pryce-Tannatt fly, I based my structure more on flies from book plates of his flies rather than strictly on his text. That is because Pryce-Tannatt often separated the mottled feathers with coloured ones and altered the position of coloured and mottled feathers compared to his description. I believe that it's a good idea to research this way rather than using modern books that summarize many tiers' patterns, because modern authors do make mistakes. A recent book by a prominent author of more than 1000 patterns got the tag on Pryce-Tannatt's Jock Scott incorrect in the text. That just compounds the fact that Pryce-Tannatt gives two different dressings for the Jock Scott and some book plates make it appear as if he discarded some fly elements at a whim.