Happy New Year all. My resolution is to attempt each of Carrie Stevens' ninety-three known fly patterns (it'll take me more than a year to tie them proficiently). I'm currently using a couple of texts, Graydon Hilyard's Carrie Stevens: Maker of Rangeley Favorite Trout and Salmon Flies, and Sharon Wright's Heritage Featherwing Streamers, but I'm looking for other resources as well.

Does anyone have some suggestions for where I can learn more about Stevens' method and tying in the Rangely style?

Here are a few initial efforts at tying Stevens' patterns, a Firefly, Gray Ghost, Orange Miller, and a Green Beauty:

They look good ! Just a tip, because it looks like you tie very consistently. Before you tie too many, slick them in water and examine; then, work them in water as they would be worked in fishing. Even better, cast and "fish" them if you can't get out for real trial run. Doing this will reveal any problems in balance or components wrapping each other or the hook. You may find a little adjustment in tie-in position (top or bottom of hook shank), sparseness, or length of materials improves the action of the fly by pulse, sleekness, position when pulled vs. dead drifted, sink rate, and so on. Lots of those Rangeley patterns are smelt imitations and were often used in trolling, reducing the importance of some of these factors. Great patterns that sometimes need adjustment to work best as casting streamers, especially if fished in varying current.

I can't say by looking except that those look neatly and consistently tied, so any needed changes will not be to pattern but to the balance of materials. I'm sure you will be able to observe and implement changes better than I could. A pretty clumsy, sloppy tier these days, I usually resort to a failsafe of very, very sparse to ensure castability and ensure a half decent swim of the fly. You will do better than that, but mindful that many smelt patterns--those and others evolved from them--have been tied by some of the best in a very sparse style, for example, counting the number of throat fibers and using no more than six or eight.

I forget how Bob Leeman's book covers streamers, but he might be another good source.

Thanks for showing. Wish I could do that well anymore.

Wow those are beautiful! I'm sure Carrie herself would approve. Glad to see someone trying to keep the old traditions alive, especially with streamers which sometimes can be neglected. Gotta say, her flies were more beautiful than the minnows they were meant to imitate--she was an Impressionist, in the best sense of the term, the Mary Cassatt of fly-tying.

"Does anyone have some suggestions for where I can learn more about Stevens' method and tying in the Rangely style?''

I would suggest Col. Joseph D Bates, Jr., I believe was a contemporary and a friend of hers and I know he wrote books about streamers tying and fishing. She named a fly for him iirc.

Bates. Great suggestion, and pretty much mandatory, not just on tying but on the other focus evident in his title, Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing. Very glad someone remembered it when I didn't even think of it, yet it is at arm's length on my shelf. Didn't recall the Carrie Stevens connection but makes perfect sense as the fly tying/outdoor literature and magazine market was much more Eastern dominated at the time, just as until the waning years of the 'glass heyday. Sure, Joe Brooks loved term "bucktail," seldom used today, as in the title of another from Bates, Streamers and Bucktails.
The flies in these books are more or less from premaribou, presynthetic, pre-Clauser, pre-bead time when presentation was done by position, leader type, cast-entry point, mending, rod manipulation and so on--methods that prevailed in the fiberglass era (and bamboo). Thus, fly design was a more integral part of the presentation plan. Just as an example, I remember eagerly trying the "easier" and more readily available Mylar tinsel and then realizing what I needed to do to compensate for its reduced ruggedness and stabilizing weight the length of the body over metallic tinsel or ribbing.
I'm reluctant to reread those books now just to find out what I completely missed, let alone what I have forgotten. Probably have an old Colonel Bates fly someplace, well shredded by landlock salmon teeth.

Thank you for the suggestion, Trev. I just ordered a copy of Bates' "Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing"--seems like it will be a terrific resource.

Thank you for suggesting the Klausmeyer book--looks there are some copies available on Amazon!

Mr. Jesse. Thanks for the suggestion, sounds like a valuable book, especially since I fish stillwaters more and more.

I think all the "bucktails" in the part of the NE where I learned to fish and tie flies actually used "kip" which some sources said was calf tail and some said was goat. The local source of tying materials was a bait shop and i don't think he actually had any deer tails, his main suppliers were Raymond Rumpf and Universal Vise.

https://globalflyfisher.com/streamer-ti ... gely-style
This is the tying technique. Mike Martinek used to recommend using an old bottle of nail polish which had gotten too dried out and thick to use as thread finish to glue the wing assemblies together.

Beautiful work. Love these. I am a fan of Carrie Stevens. Yours are very nicely done.

Here in upstate NY myself and a couple of fishing cronies swing smallish Grey Ghosts and Black Ghosts, #6-10, for trout in Catskill streams. They work. We also fish NYC watershed reservoirs from a boat. A #2 Grey Ghost imitates the primary baitfish locally known as "sawbellies" -- and is a go-to fly.

To the original post, nice streamers. Great replies thus far to your search for information on Stevens patterns. Would also recommend the web page The Streamer List as a resource.

As for using Stevens patterns outside of Maine, have found that when tied in the appropriate size for the water you are fishing they do travel well. Have had success with the Grey Ghost and Black Ghost for example in many waters.

Images of streamers crafted by Selene Dumaine, Chris Del Plato, Mike Martinek and other masters are great sources of inspiration.

Excellent.
That's a lot of junglecock, material I've never handled.