SUPERMAN

 ~By: Lance Dean | February 17, 2024

Up in the sky!...

Up in the sky! It’s a bird...  It’s a plane... It’s Superman! The Superman fly pattern from Vince Wilcox that is. In the Winter 2009 issue of Fly Tyer Magazine, Vince Wilcox wrote an interesting article about a blue fly he designed that he heroically named Superman. In the article he talks about how fisherman would come into his fly shop seeking blue flies for fishing around Fort Collins, CO where his shop was located 2009. At the time he told them that he’d rather go home than fish a blue fly. 

Fly Tyer Winter 2009 Issue

As time went on, his opinion changed as more and more Fly Fisherman requested blue flies. He eventually caved to the requests for blue flies and came up with this slim, blue wired pattern that utilizes fuchsia tinsel as a wing, representing a cape on his Superman pattern. I used a red holographic tinsel for mine simply because the fuchsia was just a bit too pink for me. Vince uses blue micro tubing as legs, they are extended out front like Superman’s when he is flying. I can remember seeing the pictures in the article and wondering, what was the deal with the black dubbing he used as part of the thorax. It wasn’t until I read the article that I found out that it represented Superman’s black hair. How creative!

If you know me, you know that Superman is one of my favorite Superheroes and that according to me, blue is the best color for just about everything. Blue in my opinion is an extremely under-utilized color in the fly patterns we tie. I believe that blue and purple are great colors for fishing especially in early spring, or just before the sun comes up or goes down. I know there is a theory out there that says that colors disappear the deeper down the water column you go. The brighter colors like your reds, oranges and yellows disappear first. The last colors that supposedly disappear are the blues and purples. Now, I’m not saying that I buy or that I don’t buy this theory, I’m just putting it out there for the support of using blue in our flies. 

Completed in the vise.

Vince’s Superman is an awesome example of a blue fly pattern that I believe belongs in your box. I not only love the blue color, but I also love how the legs really accent the overall bin appeal of the fly as well. Afterall, tying flies is also about catching fly fisherman as well. It’s a cool pattern that isn’t all that difficult to tie. The hardest part was situating the legs just right so that the knotted joints don't look out of place. After a bit of practice, it will become second nature.

The Superheroes article included three other “Superhero” patterns as well. The Batman, Robin and Green Arrow are essentially Prince Nymphs in the coloring of Purple, Yellow and Peacock Green. I’ll share the Batman video I posted to YouTube a couple years ago. It can be found HERE or see below.  The Batman starts at 06:42.

VIDEO:

Batman Nymph - @ 06:42