Late Season Jig

Late in the season Grayling can't be troubled to rise anymore - and if you want to catch them you have to present your fly at the depth of their choosing, not yours. This fly is designed to get down and stay down, and it will even sink a smaller nymph on a dropper. Since it is tied on a jig hook it will bounce on the bottom hook up, so it will snag a bit less than a conventional beadhead (but a fly this heavy will snag sooner or later).

The tie:
#10 Skalka Jig Hook
4.6 mm Tungsten bead
layer of lead on hook shank
6/0 UNI thread Tan
Australian Opossum fur for tail, natural grey
Hare & Seal dubbing, natural grey
lightweight pink wire
flashy scud back
light touch of hot pink SLF

Herl Bodied Grayling Fly

A new SBS has been added - Herl Bodied Grayling Fly. It is an easy fly to tie, but never the less quite deadly to the Ladies. Unfortunately the fly is so easy that no matter how I tried I was not able to stretch the tying sequence to 10 steps and had to settle to 7 :)

Memories of the BFFI

The British Fly Fair in late October was the biggest gathering of fly fishing enthusiasts I have witnessed to date, so it comes as no surprise it made a lasting impression on me.

I learned many things, among them that fruit flavored alcohol is popular with European fly fishermen, but Sloe Vodka from the north west part is not the same thing as Sliwovitz from the center of the continent (no use trying to strip paint with Mr. Tango's creation)

I learned that in Scandinavia it takes a bear of a man to tie the most delicate and graceful dry flies.

I experienced the warm welcome of my Slavic cousins from Serbia on Zoran's flies stand and I was invited to the famed Chinese dinner by the gang from the UK Fly Dressing forum (too bad I didn't take any pictures there)

I gazed in awe at the work of masters of the salmon fly, which is a style quite foreign to my land locked country.

 

I learned that the fly tying art in Scotland has style to match its formidable traditions...

...and that its appeal is not lost on the youngest generation.

But most of all I had a great time! My thanks to all who made my visit such a memorable experience :)

CDC Caddis

The tie:
#10 dry fly hook
8/0 UNI thread Tan
fluo green floss (glo brite used here, but any would do)
scruffy hare dubbing
gold rib
3 CDC feathers for wing
2 CDC feathers spun in loop for hackle

Good fly for midsummer evenings. It floats like cork, so perfect for faster riffles. Excellent sport can be had with it by jerking it underwater on a slowly sinking leader. It will skitter and pop back up, drawing furious strikes