The Professor is a classic wet fly developed in early 19th century Scotland by renowned Scottish professor of moral philosophy John Williams. Professor Williams taught at the University of Edinburgh. As with many legendary patterns, its legacy wouldn’t be complete without a little angling lore. As the story goes, the Professor was out on the water and running short on productive flies. In a pinch, he fastened the yellow petals from a buttercup flower to a hook along with a few blades of grass for a wing. The combination was so successful that he went on to recreate the lure with more traditional fly tying materials.
This fly eventually spawned 3 notable variations, the Blue Professor (tied by John Williams himself) and the Grizzly King and Queen of the Waters, both invented by his brother James, a zoologist. All of these flies continue to be fished by wet fly enthusiasts today, myself included.
The Professor has truly stood the test of time, appearing in the most prestigious fly tying literature of the last 150 years. It was included in Charles Orvis’ “Fishing with the Fly” (1883) and Mary Orvis Marbury’s “Favourite Flies and Their Histories” (1892). It graced the color plates of Ray Bergman’s “Trout” (1938) and the “Noll Guide to Trout Flies” in the 1970s. Most recently, I was delighted to pick up a copy of Mike Valla’s “The Classic Wet Fly Box,” which features the Professor on page 74. In addition to his many writings on the history of fly tying, Mike spent over 20 years at Glens Falls Hospital before retiring recently.
Traditionally the Professor is tied as a winged wet fly with a red tail, yellow floss body and mallard flank wing. While it’s equally effective as a streamer and has even been adapted into a classic Catskill-style dry fly, I prefer it in its original form. Whether on a small brook trout stream or a large river, it just produces.
I remember one particularly slow afternoon on a Lake Champlain tributary while I was looking to intercept a landlocked salmon on their spawning run. Several fish were showing in the tailout but they were ignoring my usual “confidence” flies. I tied on a size 10 Professor and sent it across the river. About halfway through the swing the line snapped tight. After a solid fight I landed a hook jawed male of about eight pounds. As it had since the early 1800s, the Professor had fooled a beautiful fish. I returned him to the river to finish his business and headed home myself victorious.
The Professor
Hook: Mustad 3906 Wet Fly Hook Size 8-16
Thread: Yellow Uni 8/0
Tail: Red Saddle Hackle Fibers
Body: Yellow Floss
Rib: Silver Round Tinsel
Wing: Silver Mallard Flank
Collar: Brown Hen Hackle
Geoff Schaake is a registered New York State fly-fishing guide, custom fly tyer, and author with more than 25 years of experience on the waters of New York and beyond. His career has taken him across North…
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