Black Phantom
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Freshwater Fishing
Forum Name: Fly Tying
Forum Description: Swap tips and techniques for Fresh and Saltwater fly patterns
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=32056
Printed Date: 10 Jun 2026 at 2:31pm
Topic: Black Phantom
Posted By: Snuffit.
Subject: Black Phantom
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2008 at 9:44am
Jax's post on the Fruit Salad got me thinking the other day about NZ traditional patterns...
I saved the belly feathers from this guy, they are a beautiful dark blue/black (photo doesn't do them justice, the dark patch below the chest feathers). Sat down the other night to tie up some b*ggers and suddenly remembered those beautiful feathers.
The Phantom is an old Taupo night pattern, and I've a soft spot for it having caught a heap of fish with one old fly that my dad gave me 25 odd years ago. It is tied in 'killer' fashion, and usually with the darkest of dark pukeko feathers (I think) with a black squirrel tail. Not all pheasant have the dark belly, so when i saw these feathers i thought i'd best make good use of them. I like Phantoms in size 6 & 8 and work them very slowly on the bottom when fishing Taupo stream mouths on the darkest of dark nights. I well remember a 13lb brown that I nailed at the Waitahanui one night years ago on a Phantom. I felt a little bump on the line, like a nibble from a sprat on a snapper bait, whipped up the rod and there he was.
I'll post up some picks of the flies tonight.
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Replies:
Posted By: P-A
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2008 at 10:36am
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I am looking forward to that pattern Nick. Any pattern that
catches 13 pounders is ok with me.
B.R
P-A
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Posted By: Snuffit.
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2008 at 6:27pm
Here's the pic.
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Posted By: Snuffit.
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2008 at 6:34pm
From memory this one's called a "witch" ... when i googled it the Orange Witch is a salmon pattern that bears no resemblence. I seem to remember it from Keith Drapers first compendium of NZ flies but I could be wrong. This happens.... often!
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Posted By: P-A
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2008 at 10:09pm
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Looks like great minnow or smolt flies Nik.
Best Regards
P-A
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Posted By: Uncle
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2008 at 10:19pm
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Nick, I hope you don't mind me poking my nose in here, but your Black Phantom effort would be one of the best "balanced" flies I've seen in a while, IMHO. I tied thousands of those in my time & can say I appreciate a good one
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Posted By: Snuffit.
Date Posted: 27 Aug 2008 at 9:44am
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Thanks Uncle, I've tied plenty of wonky ones as well, although I've only tied hundreds, not thousands. I no longer use body colour as i find it makes zip difference to the fish. At least that's what i think the fish think.....
Quick edit: I tie the side feathers in as pairs, i.e. 2 port side at rear, 2 starboard side at rear, 2 port side middle, 2 starboard side middle, 2 port front, 2 starbord front. Being a non commercial tier I can afford to do that, some commercial ties I see are plain awful and utilise the bare minimum feathers required to hook a passing angler.
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Posted By: Pole Dancer
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 9:23pm
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They are good ties Nick....
The Orange Witch is the right name but it's not well known... tied from the flank feathers of the Chukor from memory..... Your pattern looks right on the money. ------------- http://www.clarkreid.co.nz" rel="nofollow - www.clarkreid.co.nz FFF Certified Casting Instructor / Umpqua Designer Tier 
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Posted By: Onecast
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2008 at 10:20am
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Hi Nick; Very Nice Fly.I remember the Black Phantom well. and fished it on many occasions. I tied it with Near Black Pukeko feathersfrom Old Birds. Still get excited if a shooter buddy brings me an OLD Bird. I find the Feathers have a lot more body than the usual young birds. Just a silly fad, but it makes me think ny fly will be " just right "
It was a grand fish fetcher and often produced a nice fish or two from the Old Red Hut Pool for me when fished on the swing and a very slow reteieve back along the bank. During The Day while passing time in those no action periods of Tall story telling. ------------- A man is only as big as the things that annoy him RIP 'Onecast' Jax Murray |
Posted By: doctor fish
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2008 at 8:07pm
| Nice flies Nick! Road kill or did you manage to shoot that one? |
Posted By: Snuffit.
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2008 at 7:25am
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Road kill - you sinner!!! Yes I actually hit one or two now and again.
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Posted By: roddholder
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2008 at 12:47pm
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i call the top fly "the black pete".. not named by me but one patrick okeef'e. we played around with this about 1995 i think. also works well with a blue feather from a peacock. the black phantom was originated by oscar lord of lords sports store, famous for his lords killer. he and his brother frank ran a sports store in hinemoa street, rotorua, when we moved here in 1959. bloody good blokes, and very good fishermen. frank was a top surfcaster and held world distance records. oscar was the trout fisherman and had a mrs geary tie his flys for the shop. she was the best i have ever seen. he sold me my first ever rod, a spit cane 3 piece fly rod. he incouraged me to tie flys and we became great mates. i had mrs geary tie some coloured boddied parsons glorys for me, green, red, orange and black. she refused to do them for a start. in her mind they were not traditional. that soon changed when i started bringing her some big smoked fish. when i became an electrical apprentice, his wife worked in the shop selling light fittings. the black phantom was one of the shops biggest sellers and was the first choice at the rotorua stream mouths along with the craigs night-time. especially waititi for some reason. i still catch many of my fish on these traditional paterns, and as trout have become more resistant to the glow in the dark flys, they will again become popular. ------------- she was only a fishermans daughter, but she reeled at the sight of my rod!. |
Posted By: doctor fish
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2008 at 1:21pm
| Getting out for an opening day fish Nick? |
Posted By: Snuffit.
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2008 at 1:36pm
| Nope, stuck in office, fingers crossed will be chasing albies on fly this weekend. You? |
Posted By: Pole Dancer
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2008 at 3:09pm
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The Black Pete is a John Morton pattern (Christchurch) and was very popular around the High Country lakes (especially coleridge) and you are correct that it would be a Black Pete if tied with peacock breast feathers. As it is, tied in the Killer fasion above it is still a black phantom and in the 70's most Rotorua stores offered them in both nighttime and killer configurations.
The parson's with different coloured bodies your friend could have tied quite happilly and stayed with tradition as Allan Parsons himself varied the body coloour on his most famous fly from the get go. ------------- http://www.clarkreid.co.nz" rel="nofollow - www.clarkreid.co.nz FFF Certified Casting Instructor / Umpqua Designer Tier
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Posted By: roddholder
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2008 at 9:43pm
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i'll score that 1 nil to mr okeef'e. lol
------------- she was only a fishermans daughter, but she reeled at the sight of my rod!. |
Posted By: Pole Dancer
Date Posted: 30 Sep 2008 at 10:11pm
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People score things all sorts of ways Peter, especially in regards the history of flies. It's not really up for question no matter what spin someone puts on it later... There were not many shops in Rotorua in the 70's that i didn't tie for as a school boy (if any) and I tied thousands of the Black Phantom in both configerations. Pat hadn't even opened his shop then... Mind you by that I mean no disrespect to Pat, a great guy and very knowledgable angler/ tier. And someone with whom I have shared a mutal respect for many years. The Black Pete, it's recipe and origin is very well known among tiers of that era. Itis origins and first fishng expidtion was a story well told in several publications of the time and at least one book (An NZFFA Anthology for one). Morty opwned "Fly by Night" commercial flytying at the time and sold the fly in it's thousands in both the North and the South but it was primarily considered a South Island fly I assume mainly because that's where John's marketing was strongest.
------------- http://www.clarkreid.co.nz" rel="nofollow - www.clarkreid.co.nz FFF Certified Casting Instructor / Umpqua Designer Tier
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