Irresistible

"Irresistible", that's what a client of Joe Messinger Sr. said about this fly after his successful fishing trip in Canada while the world was still heavily in war during the early 1940's.

With this fly Joe Messinger Sr. tried to imitate a female drake and has a two tone spun deer hair body, deer hair tail and wings and a claret (wine red) hackle. Especially the claret colored hackle is quite intriguing. 

Joe (Messinger Jr) wrote me "He tied them in other color combinations but the dun with claret hackle was the most popular." Unfortunately Joe never asked his dad why he used the claret colored hackle. The story goes Messinger Sr had this pattern since the late 1930's but didn't have a name for it yet. After it got its name, this fly has been a well known fly all over the world.

This story of the Irresistible was written by his son Joe Messinger Jr. and published in the now defunct magazine American Angler (May/June 1991). Following the story about the Irresistible, Joe also wrote the article about the Bucktail Frog (probably better known as the Messinger Frog) in the July/Aug 1991 issue.

A few years later after reading the article about the bucktail frog I decided to write Joe a letter and we became friends ever since. Now almost 30 year later, Joe sent me an Irresistible. Thank you Joe!

Tim Camissa did an interview with Joe Messinger Jr. about the Irresistible and Joe shows how to tie the fly, the way his dad did.