The Picasse

I'm well into an order from a gentleman for almost 200 flies for his trip to the Gaspe' rivers this summer.  Several, more generally known in that region than the Miramichi where I fish, I've not tied before.  The Picasse is one of those flies.  Originated by guide Marc LeBlanc (one of his many effective creations), the fly started life looking more like a streamer than the spey-type fly it is now.  My french (and Italian and English!) speaking fishing buddy John Miniaci from Montreal added this about the fly:

"Story goes that it was named by a fellow guide that found the fly sank like an "anchor" (Picasse translates to "anchor"). Marc wanted something that would be a durable, fast fly to tie that his sports would find hard to destroy from bad casts or fish. Originally, it was tied with clear mono & bucktail with lady amherst cheeks."
Marc very generously took the time to send me a photo of the fly as he now ties it.  This is my rendition:

That fly is tied on a number 7 Daiichi 2059, with the blue finish.  The body is black vinyl D-ribbing, the wing is yellow hair under sparse black flash under black hair.  The hackle is blue eared pheasant with a silver pheasant collar.  Jungle cock eyes and a black head finish the fly off.

A herd ready to head to the Gaspe, tied on number 3, 5 and 7 Daiichi 2059's and Partridge Salar number 9's:

I tied a few for myself, too.  It looks too good not to work in the Miramichi system!