Olive Blues

The trout, not to mention grayling, season seems a long way off. Tomorrow is forecast to be the coldest day of the winter, with the temperature in the Sudeten mountains dropping to minus 30 degrees. Yuck. Is there a better way to warm up to the coming season than by tying a few #16 olives?

The tie:
#16 Hanák H130 BL Hook
16/0 Veevus thread, grey
pardo Coq de León tails
goose shoulder, dyed olive body
wing of spun CDC
whip finish to form a neat head

A novel dimension of the Klinkhamer hook

A few years back I somehow acquired a package of #10 Partridge Klinkhamer hooks. These hooks are meant for the famous Klinkhåmer special fly by Hans van Klinken.

I fish the "klink" style flies gladly and often, but I yet have to travel to the famous Scandinavian waters for which the original Klinkhåmer was designed. The grayling in the Arctic regions are supposed to take a size #6 dry fly freely... Those on the rivers I normaly fish will frown on any dry flies bigger than #16 (perhaps taking an occasional #14 in the high summer, but firmly focusing on size #18 or so flies in the grayling season proper).

However, having decided that the hooks are too big for a decent dry fly and abandoning them for some time, I was struck with an idea: why not use them for a nymph? Grayling can be picky about big dries, but they do appreciate a juicy nymph or two. With this revelation I tried them on the most simple fly pattern I know: The Bloodworm.

A simple fly it may be - the dressing consists of only two materials (a thread and a floss) + some lacquer - but it is one of the most deadly subsurface grayling flies that I know.

The tie:
#10 Partridge 15BN Klinkhamer hook
red tying thread of unknown origin (looks about 10/0 but I have no idea of its brand)
red flexi floss
a single layer of Sall Hansen Hard as Nails

Hook Size Blues

A recent discussion on a respected fly dressing forum made me think hard about the unconscious choices I make when selecting hooks for my imitations.

I like my flies to be roughly equal to the size of the insect being imitated, or slightly above (I subscribe to the supernormal stimuli school of imitation). In river fishing it usually means tying mayfly imitations on sizes # 14 - #18, and caddisfly ones somewhat larger.

On the other hand I am really fond of Kamasan B160 hooks in size #10. They are sharp, reliable and can be had in a handy & economical package of 100 hooks. Size #10 should be a tad big for regular river fishing though.

The trick is that the B160's are 3x short hooks, which means that they are about the size of regular #14 hooks. About right for most river fishing.

 

The picture shows a #14 Hanák H130 BL hook (my favorite dry fly hook), a fly tied on a Kamasan B160 in size #10 and a regular size #10 dry fly hook - a Hanák H100 BL, as I could not find a properly sized H130 BL fast enough.

The moral of the story is that while manufacturer labels of hook sizes and shapes and whatever are important you should not trust them too much - your own judgement matters much more!

Violetta

A violet hotspot on a bead headed fly is one of the worse kept secrets of the Czech trout waters. It might have been a secret a five or so years back, but it is common knowledge by now.

Its novelty has sort of passed, and it has become just one of the many fly patterns. Still, a brightly violet collar has its place in a fly dresser's arsenal, and while it is not a silver bullet to cure all your fishing ills it has the potential to turn a poor day out into a satisfying one. And what fly fisherman could ask for more?

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B160 short shank hook, debarbed
3.5 mm tungsten bead, gold
tan elastic tying thread
pheasant tail tail & body
counterribed by thin gold wire
Hends microflash #18 collar

Red Fox & CDC

A simple variation on well known F Fly theme. I like the structure of fox hair body: spiky, grubby and unruly. Suggestive...

The tie:
#16 Hanák H130 BL hook
Grey 16/0 Veevus tying thread
red rooster hackle fibres for tail
body of red fox dubbing, wound tightly
throax of the same material, wound loosely
tips of 3 CDC feathers

Violently Violet

Tommorow is the trout season opening day. Like many Czech anglers I am trembling with anticipation and will be hardly able to sleep.

Will my new Violently Violet pheasant tail nymph make a difference? I can only hope so... Will it improve on the all important Angler's Confidence? No doubt!

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B160 short shank hook, debarbed
3.5 mm tungsten bead, copper
tan elastic tying thread
pheasant tail tail & body
counterribed by thin gold wire
Hends microflash  #18 collar

Olive Goose

April 16^th - the official start of the Czech trout season - is getting close. I am finishing my new season's fly box. I expect the first weeks of the season to play on the nymphing note, as usual. But the spell of cold weather seems to have been broken, and this evening I even saw the first bats flying in Prague parks.

It is possible that some dry fly action could be had on the opening day. Remote as the possibility is, it pays to be prepared. And so I have tied a couple of largish BWO imitations in expectation of a Baetis rhodani hatch. The spring generation is larger than the Autumn one (for which I select #18 hooks) and so I decided on a size #16 hook.

The tie:
#16 Dohiku 301 dry fly hook
Grey 16/0 Veevus tying thread
tail of cream rooster hackle
body of goose herl, dyed Veniard dark olive
tips of 3 CDC feathers for wing
shaggy hare fur for thorax & hint of legs
a few turns of purple 70 dernier Danville's thread to make a prominent head

CDC & Hare Emerger

I first saw this fly pattern on a UK forum - and I was hooked. It is not a complicated pattern, but it has a strange appeal. Like a sleepwalker I was drawn to it, losing any free will... Possessed by the urge to tie I had to finish half a dozen, before being able to rest.

The tie:
#16 Dohiku 301 dry fly hook
grey 16/0 Veevus thread
tips of 3 CDC feathers
#16 pearly UNI tinsel rib (not a part of the original dressing)
body dubbed with a mix of hare and squirrel, teased out with a velcro brush

Chubby beetle

Grayling is my fish of choice, but it is a demanding mistress. There is only a limited number of rivers in the Czech Republic that support a healthy population. None of them is close to Prague.

The time I can allocate to fishing is limited, and sometimes the choice is between coarse fishing or no fishing at all. In such times I head out to catch chub.

This little beetle fly is one of my best performing chub patterns. It has brought me a lot of dry fly action on warm summer evenings.

The tie
#16 Hanák 130BL hook
Black UNI tying thread
Tag of 4 strands of orange Glo Brite
Body of Peacock herl
Wing of white goose CDC

Red Tagged PTN

Pheasant tail is a key material for nymph dressing, used at least since the times of Frank Sawyer, the father of modern nymph fishing. It goes well with a ribbing of thin wire, and can endure a little experimenting with other materials.

In this case I have added a copper toned beadhead - gold seemed too aggressive - and a tag of reddish tinsel to keep general color combination in red tones. It seemed to fit with the color of the pheasant herl body.

The tie:
#14 Dohiku 302 wet fly hook
3mm tungsten bead, copper
tan elastic tying thread
tails of reddish rooster hackle fibres
Hends Patina tinsel PAT-08
pheasant tail body
thin gold wire ribbing
collar of homemade dubbing mix of hare & Fox squirrel

Decisions, decisions...

An airy redhead, or a down to the earth brunette? One of the more difficult choices...

A fiery redhead is fun to fish when times are good, and this pattern has brought me a number of fine browns and a lot of fun. But there are times when surface action simply cannot be had, no matter what the imitation.

In such situations a simple, drab gold ribbed hare with a darkish persuation often saves the day.

On the wings of an Owl

I am a great fan of the Owl feather flies. The feathers of an owl are designed in a way to muff the sound of the approaching predator. They achieve this by very fine, velvety structure. This structure lends itself very well to fly dressing applications.

The fine structure shows the most in the tiniest flies. Here are a couple #20 owl feather flies, tied using Hanák 130BL hooks. They are displayed on an actual Eagle Owl feather. The feather has laid a while on my fly dressing table and I am afraid it got a tad dusty; the structure is still clearly visible though.

This pattern is best saved for grayling - the Lady of the Stream, being a creature of gentle disposition, shows great appreciation of fine and delicate flies. At the same time it has no pointy teeth to ruin your precious imitation. Brown trout, ugly beasts they are, will ruin the herl body in no time. They are better served by more robust patterns.

Red Coachman

I have recently found that the Czech internet has a formal "award" for the most sexist advert. One of this year's runners up was an ad for a Prague radio station which roughly translates "a rusty roof means a wet basement". It is supposed to degrade women in a particularly gratuitous way.

I have little understanding of gender politics, but I strongly approve of a red head on a wet fly. It lightens up the imitation, and provides a strong focal point for the fish.

The Usual

When times get rough
and strikes just can't be found
rabbit foot will bring 'em up
just keep it dry...

Like a bridge over troubled water, the Usual will soothe the mind of a unlucky angler, and produce results when other attempts for a dry fly action fail. The original dressing calls for a hot orange thread, but I found I like the purple one more and the fish don't seem to care.

With respectful apologies to Messrs. Simon & Garfunkel

The tie:
#18 Dohiku 301 hook
Danville's 6/0 flymaster thread, purple
Snowshoe hare tail, wing & dubbing

Redheaded F-fly

A prominent red head on an othervise drab fly has a strange appeal to fish, and thus to the fisherman. I can't tell the exact reason, but I don't need to know it to make use of it in my tying.

This fly I created with autumn stoneflies in mind. On many rivers that I fish a hatch of needle flies appears in early October, overlapping the better known Baetis hatch. The Baetis are reliable fish catchers, and a #18 Olive quill is during the month of October a low risk choice, but sometimes a more substantial imitation of the larger needle flies yields better results.

The tie:
#16 Hanák H130 BL hook
tan elastic tying thread
Gütermann mirage tinsel ribbing
red fox dubbing
2 tips of CDC feather
a prominent head from Danville's 70 dernier red thread

The Witch

Toil and grow rich,

That is a life on bent knees

Tis better to tie a Grayling Witch

And do as one please...

The Grayling Witch, a variant on the old Red Tag theme. A reliable performer on dry fly situations during the grayling season.

With my humble apologies to William Butler Yeats.

One Uhorčík to rule them all...

It is difficult to design a fly that would work as a silver bullet - reliably catch fish, each and every time. In fact, the difficulty is one of the main appeals of fly tying. Perfection can (and should!) be sought, but can never be quite reached...

A fly that brought me close on the road to the ultimate killer fly is the Uhorčík. The mix of chartreuse hotspot, highly mobile hair collar and deep diving tungsten bead seems to hit the spot.

The only difference in dressing I have made over the last couple seasons is that I stopped using gold beads, as they seem to be overused and thus loosing their edge.

Revisiting GRHE

Feeling too lazy to create something new, I have been playing with my camera and revisiting old flies. I am a great fan of the gold ribbed hare's ear concept - be it a nymph, a wet or even a dry fly. I have a number of such flies around, and they do make interesting subject for fly photography...

Pink Tag

It is difficult to make a general statement about grayling fly preference. There are dry fly days, deep nymphing days and even an occasional wet fly day. Which is a good thing, for the fickle Fortune in its unpredictability is certain to reward a fisherman who is willing to experiment and not to take anything for granted.

Having said that some fly features have more appeal than others. On most days the grayling prefer small flies over large ones, and a hint of pink is usually appreciated. Combining these two characteristics in a single fly increases its appeal even further.

This little fly has served me well. As a funny side note: I have been told the fly - when viewed sideways with a squint in the eye - resembles a thistle flower. I wonder what my Scottish friends think of that...

The tie:
#18 Hanák H130 BL hook
2mm gold bead (brass in this case)
a tag of 4 strands of Glo Brite floss
gold Gütermann tinsel ribbing
red fox dubbing, lightly teased out with a velcro strip

Dark GRHE

This is an older fly, one that I chose to shoot to test my new macro toy: an old EL Nikkor 50/2.8 enlarger lens. A fascinating piece of Japanese optical engineering, it promises to raise my macro photography to another level. And with the demise of the wet process it came very cheaply - a nice bonus!

I chose the fly for the shot chiefly because it was buggy, and I wanted to see how my new lens would display the hare hairs sticking out. I was pleaseantly surprised, not only with the technical aspects of my picture but with the fly as well.

The tie:
#12 Hanák H260BL wet fly hook
tan elastic tying thread
2.8mm tungsten bead, dull black
red rooster hackle fibers for tail
UNI 1/69" gold mylar tinsel
shaggy fur from hare's back, teased out with a velcro brush