September FOSAF Fly of the Month – The ‘General Franco’ series by Chris Williams

  The General Franco series The aim of this article is not so much a specific recipe but more a generic one, using the soft hackle design with the emphasis on improvising with locally-gathered materials. Many of us have been too much in awe of Northern Hemisphere feathers and fur whilst not thinking outside of our tying boxes and using what is available right on our stoep steps. I love all my pheasant, snipe, starling, partridge and the like whose feathers I have gathered over the last half century stemming from my youth in England. However what local birds and feathers can we gather and use, especially experimenting beginner fly tiers, without breaking the bank in these hard times?