Lingren’s Indispensable

Lingren’s Indispensable aka Black General Practitioner
By: Art Lingren
Date Developed: January 30, 1984

First fish caught: 30-inch winter-run steelhead February 13, 1984, Campbell River

Reason for development: Influenced by the great Atlantic salmon fly fisher John Ashley Cooper’s thoughts on fly design, I thought winter-run steelhead would be more responsive to a large black fly, over the normal bright coloured Orange General Practitioner favoured by steelhead fly fisherman at the time.

Significance of development: This was one of the Pacific Northwest’s first large black flies for winter steelhead fly and forerunner of numerous large black patterns that have since sprung into existence. Using a big black fly (Black GP) for winter-run steelhead was a novel concept in 1984. To this date I am questioned by many and some really long-time winter steelhead fly fishers about using a large black fly for winter steelhead. However, although it proved to be a very successful winter steelhead pattern it was as effective or more effective for summer-run steelhead.

Range of sizes: Originally dressed on #2 low water salmon hooks I have dressed the fly in sizes ranging from 10 to 5/0. In 1984 I took steelhead on Black GPs dressed on number 4, 2, 2/0 and 5/0 hooks, as well as Black GPs up to 5 ½”long dressed intruder style. I tend toward the smaller sizes for trout, but have taken some of my larger trout on a number 2 Black GP.

Variations: I have altered the dressing of the original over the years and now dress a number of Black GP variations with different Krystal flash in tail. A favourite variation is the Marabou Black GP. I can’t say any of the variations with Krystal flash are any more effective than the plain black, but a little colour makes them more attractive to the fisherman’s eye.

Fly fishing techniques: This is primarily a fly to be used with the sunk-line technique however, I have had good results with the floating-line technique when used in the proper light and water conditions. I dressed a purple version in March of 1985; good fly but you can’t beat black.

Black General Practitioner Statistics

Personal Use: 72 waters in Alaska, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Washington and Oregon. Used in six out of eight British Columbia management regions. The other two regions – Peace River and Kootenay – I have not fished.

Winter-run Steelhead Rivers: 27

Summer-run Steelhead Rivers: 18

Lakes: 10– I didn’t dress this fly for use in lakes but found the Marabou Black GP quite effective and have taken lake rainbows to 5 plus pounds, lake cutthroat to 20 inches and coho from lakes to 15 pounds.

Coho Rivers and Lakes: 18 rivers and 3 lakes

Trout: 30 or so waters

Dollies (Bull trout): 17 rivers

Fish caught and sizes:

• Summer-run steelhead to 20 lb., winter-run to 20 lb. Best day 16 steelhead hooked. My best day ever was 20 fish hooked but I used about 3 different patterns that day.
• Coho to 20 lb., best day (afternoon) 15 hooked to 18 lb., 10 landed.
• Chinook salmon to over 40 lb.
• Chums to 15 plus pounds.
• Pinks to 5 lb.
• Brown trout to 24 inches.
• Rainbows in lakes and rivers to seven pounds.
• Cutthroat in rivers and lakes to 24 inches.
• Dolly Varden to 28 inches.
• Incidental catches of whitefish and squaw fish (Northern pike minnow).

Update not in the book:

One day in the recent past I caught nine varieties of fish in the same river on my small-sized indispensible—winter-run steelhead, rainbow trout to nearly 20 inches, steelhead smolt, resident river cutthroat trout, sea-run cutthroat trout, resident bull trout or dollies, sea-run bull trout of dollies to 27 inches, whitefish and northern pike minnow.

From my Contemporary Fly Patterns of British Columbia (2006) book – How the Black GP became known as Lingren’s Indispensible and dressings:

Lingren’s Indispensable
Originated and contributed by Art Lingren
Intended use as wet fly for winter-run steelhead

Hook: Size 10 to 1/0, Partridge low-water salmon, Tiemco 7999, or Gamakatsu T-10-6H.
Thread: Black 6/0
Tail: Black squirrel, with or without a few strands of black, pearl or red Krystal Flash
Body: Black mohair
Rib: Silver oval tinsel
Hackle: Black, palmered
Wing: Two black-dyed golden pheasant breast feathers tied in to lay flat over body

Lingren’s Marabou Indispensable
Originated by and contributed by Art Lingren
Intended use as wet fly for winter-run steelhead

Hook: Size 10 to 1/0, Partridge low-water salmon, Tiemco 7999, or Gamakatsu T-10-6H.
Thread: Black 6/0
Tail: Black squirrel, with or without a few strands of black, pearl or red Krystal Flash
Body: Black mohair
Rib: Silver oval tinsel
Hackle: Marabou collar, about three or four turns
Wing: Two, black-dyed golden pheasant breast feathers tied in to lay flat over body

Lingren’s Low-water Indispensable
Originated and contributed by Art Lingren
Intended use on floating line, wet fly for summer-run steelhead in low, clear water, and poor light conditions.

Hook: Size 4 or 6, low-water salmon hook
Thread: Black 6/0
Tail: Black squirrel, with or without a few strands of black, pearl or red Krystal Flash
Body: Black mohair
Rib: Silver oval tinsel
Hackle: Black, palmered, one side stripped
Wing: Two black-dyed golden pheasant breast feathers tied in to lay flat over body

Comments: In the dawn of 1984 I had the notion that winter steelhead would respond better to a large black fly over the traditional bright ones in use so I dress a few Black General Practitioners and put them in my fly box. I took my first winter steelhead with my new black fly on February 13, 1984. Using large black flies for winter steelhead was a novel idea back in 1984 and even today you will hear fly fishers claim that you must use bright flies for winter steelhead. How misled they are. At that time, my favourite winter steelhead pattern was Colonel Esmond Drury’s orange General Practitioner. Golden pheasant feathers play a critical role in Drury’s fly, so much so he considered giving his fly a name with Golden Pheasant (GP) in it, but decided against it and opted for General Practitioner (GP). A wise decision, as the choice of name can often determine how the fishing community accepts or rejects a fly. Drury’s fly caught the attention of Bob Taylor back in the 1960s and he ordered some from Hardy of England for use on our western waters. The complete story of the General Practitioner introduction to the Northwest can be read in my 1996 book Fly Patterns of British Columbia.

Drury’s GP is an excellent fish catcher and I used it as a model for my Black General Practitioner. However, rather than a polar bear tail I used black squirrel, I changed the rib from gold to silver as silver suits black flies better, and for the wing I discovered some black feathers on a wood duck cape that would lay flat and provide the desired silhouette. I kept the red golden pheasant breast feather over the tail and the golden pheasant tippet eyes. The fly worked like a hot dam and in that first year I caught steelhead from eight winter and summer-run rivers on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, Thompson, and Dean. Winter steelhead really responded well to the Black GP and summer-runs liked it as well or better. Other game fish like it too and there is not a British Columbia gamefish that swims in the waters I have fished that I have not caught on the Black GP. As of this writing I have used this fly successfully in all regions of the province that I have fished as well as rivers in Alaska, Washington and Oregon, 72 waters in total. My standard is dressed on a number two hook, but I have dressed it on hooks up to 5/0 for steelhead and down to size 10 for trout.

Since its inception, I have altered the original fly’s dressing considerably. As the Black GP evolved over the years some of the first things to go were the golden pheasant red breast feather in the tail and the tippet eyes. I sometimes add a few strands of black, red, pearl, silver, or chartreuse Krystal Flash in the tail to add colour and, at times, I do like to dress the Black GP on red Gamakatsu hooks. The Krystal Flash and red hooks add sparkle and colour to the fly. However, just plain black without the colour works just as well. I realized early on that the golden pheasant red breast in the tail and tippet eyes were superficial components and that the critical components that attracted a response from the fish were the Black GP’s long supple squirrel tail, the flowing body hackle and its attractive dark silhouette. As the fly evolved, Bob Taylor would look at the most current version and comment on the lack of golden pheasant in the fly. He is one of the few people who knew how important a role golden pheasant played in Drury’s GP and that fly’s name. With the golden pheasant breast feather and golden pheasant tippet feather eyes gone from my fly and with my use or wood duck or hen hackle feathers for the wing, Bob questioned my GP name and hinted that I should either re-institute golden pheasant into the fly or consider a different name. In more recent years after one supplier started dying golden pheasant capes black I used the golden pheasant black dyed breast feathers for the wing but do not layer them in as did Colonel Drury. I dress my black version now with two black dyed golden pheasant breast feathers tied in at the hook eye. Even then when Bob commented on my wayward GP I would respond with… “but there is golden pheasant in the wing” …and it is still a GP.

During a recent spring of 2004 coastal cutthroat fishing trip with Taylor, the subject of a Black GP name change rose to the surface again. We were hoping to hit the main salmon fry emergence and planned on fishing silver-bodied fly patterns. We did have some days when the cutts and Dolly Varden were slashing the surface after fry but, when the surface was quiet, surface fished fry patterns provoked few responses. I can’t say how many trips I have been on where I was told that you need to have a certain fly to be successful but by trip’s end the anglers in the party I was with have discarded their recommended pattern for the Black GP. The spring cutthroat trip turned out the same. Some of the guys left their supply of Black GPs at home or had too large a fly to fish on our trout rods. Their facial expressions revealed their despair as they witnessed the cutts and Dolly Varden attacking my Black GP. I being a generous spirit took pity on the poor souls and dished out an allocation of Black GPs–regular and marabou versions–dressed on six 6 and 8 hooks to Bob Taylor and Charlie Brumwell. And catch fish they did. It was after this 2004 spring cutthroat trip that the name change came up again and because the Black GP has become indispensable to me, I asked Bob if he thought the name The Indispensable was appropriate. He replied that this fly is such a part of you that you should call it Lingren’s Indispensable.

Regular, marabou and low-water versions of my Indispensable as well a bar-bell eyed version dressed on hooks ranging from 2/0 to 10 line the foam ridges in my fly box and like the advertisement for the American Express card, I never leave home on a fishing trip without a supply of Lingren’s Indispensable. That fly that has become an indispensable part of many a fishing trip.

Art Lingren

The LOONS Flyfishing Club