Red Tag

Tail:  Red
wool.

Body: 
Peacock herl.

Hackle: 
Rhode Island Red (actually reddish brown).

There are many
variations of Red Tag, or at least flies named Red Tag.  The only thing in
common for most is the red tag tail.  An Orange Tag, also known as Treacle
Parkin, is the same except for the orange tag.  It is a favorite of
Hampshire chalk-streams anglers.  There is a popular White Tag in France
and there is a Green Tag and Crimson
Tag popular with Yorkshire grayling anglers.

Roger Woolley,
the coauthor of "Grayling Salmo Thymallus"
(1954) and other publishings, tied a variation he named Badger Red Tag
that included a bronzed peacock herl body, silver tinsel tip, and badger
hackle.  

The
fly pictured on the right has a ribbed over and palmered red wool body.  I have fished
this fly with good success for Alaskan grayling.  It is quite similar to
an Australian fly named Red Bug except for the tied back hackle and palmered
body.  The "Red Bug" is an Australian version of the Red Tag but stretches the limit to
even be called a
Red Tag variant, as does this unnamed fly I call a Red Tag.  

Contributions:

Courtney
William's 1949 edition of "A Dictionary of Trout Flies" attributes the
Red Tag to a Mr Flynn of Worcestershire, who called it the Worcester Gem and
fished it on the Teme.  He gave it to F.M. Walbran who introduced it to the
Yorkshire grayling rivers in 1878 and gave it the name Red Tag.   In John Roberts' 1995 edition of "Illustrated
Dictionary of Trout Flies" he says the same thing.





It's the go-to dry fly in Tasmania.  It's probably the best known grayling
pattern and I depend


on it in winter, especially with a gold bead head.  Bob

Hans Weilenmann:  In the German speaking countries of  western Europe, most
notably Germany and Austria, the Hexe ("Witch") is an established pattern. 
Basically, it a Red Tag with a grizzly, not brown, collar hackle.  


 

Bob Wyatt:
 The Hexe is basically the old Grey Hackle.  Bob.

Ed
Gallop:  Not sure about the "old" Grey Hackle.  The Grey
Hackle I know of is tied like a Red Tag but uses red hackle instead of red wool
and has grizzle hackle instead of reddish brown.  This is a fine example of
the evolution of flies through variations.  

The Witch
fly patterns date back to the early 1900s when they were
originated by H. A. Rolt .  In addition to the original Witch, there were the Silver Witch and Gold Witch.  

Roger
Woolley tied one named the Grayling Witch that is pictured in Taff Price's
"Fly Patterns, An International Guide".  It is tied as is a Red
Tag but with red floss for the tag and the body is heavily palmered with pale blue
dun hackle.   It resembles the well known Wooly Worm.  I do not
know if there is a name connection but more likely it is a coincidence.  I
believe the Wooly Worm gets it's name from the look alike caterpillar nicknamed
Wooly Worm.  Ed.

Hermann Schlibi:  In "The Way of a Trout with a Fly" (1921),
Skues
wrote, "It is, I think, beyond dispute that trout are extremely sensitive to red
and are greatly attracted by it. Witness the value of a red tag to a fly." 
I don't know if Skues was thinking of the specific Red Tag pattern you mention,
but it is an interesting observation nonetheless.  

Note
by Ed Gallop:  I
may have provided more information than needed, if that is possible. 
However, I welcome any input you can provide on this subject.   Ed.