Fly of the Month - Black Demon

This month’s pattern is Matt O'Neal (Savage Flies)'s variation of C. Jim Pray’s original Black Demon streamer which was described in Joseph Bates’ 1950 “Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing.” The Black Demon was essentially a dark version of Pray’s more popular Silver Demon which was a well-known fly in the early half of the 1900s.

The Evolution of the Black Demon

As often happens with popular patterns, they get modified and changed over the years. And for various reasons -- sometimes to match a particular situation or sometimes for the simple reason of a tier’s personal preference. The Black Demon as a steelhead fly may be one of these examples. Sometime in the 1930s, the pattern evolved from a gold tinsel body with barred wood duck feathers for a tail, to what you see here-- a black floss body with a silver rib and golden pheasant crest feather for a tail.

While both patterns are still tied and fished today, and while slightly different, they are both still called the Black Demon. John Shewey in his 2015 “Classic Steelhead Flies” does make the differentiation by adding (black body) in parentheses to the more modern version.

Now if you’re one of the few tiers fortunate enough to have a decent jungle cock cape these days, using a couple of nails will really give this pattern a classic look. I wouldn’t worry at all if you don’t though (you can substitute for the artificial version) and, Bates version from 1950 doesn’t have them and it’s still a beautiful pattern.