Rhyacophila larva

On a recent fishing trip I brought a couple of insect life samples to play with. I still need a (rather large) bit of practice to acheive the level of my aquatic macrophotography hero Jan Hamrský but I am starting to like my macro shots. A good first step :)

This is a Rhyacophila caddis fly larva, a subject dear to the heart of a fly fisherman (and to the stomach of a grayling fish). It is rumored these were the original inspiration for Czech and Polish style nymphs.

They have a tendency to form a curved position when disturbed, but rarely assume the C shaped position of a typical gammarus hook. Never the less, on streams where Rhyacophila are abundant a sickly green Czech style nymph will not disappoint.

Emerging Caddis

This is not a grayling fly, but  a wet trout fly. Especially targetted for a river I know that has a good population of sizable brownies. They seem hidden for the whole day, especially in the high summer, but become alive at dusk when the big caddis flies hatch.

With the low light the color of your imitation is becoming less important, and what matters is the general shape and movement of your fly.

Especially effective is the "rising caddis style" - a lightly weighted imitation fished sunk across the stream, with a gentle lift at the end of the drift. That is the moment when a violent strike is supposed to happen :)

The tie:
#10 Kamasan B110 grubber hook, debarbed
a layer of flat lead
yellow 6/0 Danville's tying thread
body from Jamieson's of Shetland wool, color Wren
4 strands of pearl Flashabou
3 CDC feathers for wing
a light touch of Fox Squirrel dubbing mixed with Hare

Pink bug

The color pink is one of the worst kept secrets of grayling fishing. Used and abused by most every grayling fisherman since time immemorial.

But you would ignore it to your peril - it works. And who knows, you might fool a brown trout or two as well...

The tie:
#8 Kamasan B160 grubber hook (debarbed)
a layer of flat lead wire
Danville's 70 dernier tying thread, purple
Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift wool, color sorbet

Gammarus - the original and the imitation

The Gammarus is an amphipod close to the heart of most fly fishermen, scorned only by a small - though vocal and influential - group of dry fly purists.

And for a good reason, for it is the pork & beans equivalent of the trout and grayling diet. The Danica or Baetis mayflies are seasonal insects, one week appearing in huge numbers, the next week gone for the year. The humble gammarus stays on the menu all year long.

This little guy is Gammarus roeseli, one of the many species of the genus that inhabits fresh waters of Central Europe. It is interesting to note its main features: curved shape, nondescript grayish color with hues of green and accents of a more bright color + large number of legs.

Given the popularity of gammarus it is not surprising that there are many fly patterns around, plus a number of very life like imitations by fly dressers from the extreme imitation school.

I have found that the most simple imitation often works the best, and with this idea in mind I tied the simple woolen imitation shown above. It is nothing more than a size #8 scud hook, lightly weighted and wrapped in Shetland Spindrift Wool.

The nondescript color and shaggy look with lots of movement make it attractive to Grayling - and the ease with which it is replaced is very welcome to a lazy fly dresser.

Spring is come!

The spring is offically here, which comes as a strange period for a dedicated fly fisherman: it no longer feels right to target grayling, who probably would still take a fly but should be definitely getting ready for something very important (wink wink). On the other hand the trout season does not open for some two weeks or so.

I resolved the dilemma by going outside and unleashing my inner photo-maniac.

The resulting photos are a cliché of sort, but the buzz of honey bees among blooming plum trees was a music to my ears after the winter (mild as it was).

Bloodworm

Not one of those fancy flies a fly dresser would use to show off his supposed tying skills, but a genuine Grayling magnet. One of the best performing winter flies, best fished on the dropper with a heavier beadhead on the point to drag the team down to the "killing zone".

The tie:
an old #10 pupa hook I had lying around, some Japanese make I suppose
red Danville's 70 den tying thread
red Flexi Floss
a layer of thin Sally Hansen's

Opening the 2014 Fishing Season

This year's mild winter - it almost seemed as if we had no winter at all - allowed me to start the season early. The Czech trout waters are officialy closed til mid April, so I headed to the river Úpa, which does not have trout fishing status but never the less supports a healthy population of grayling and some brown trout.

Despite the warming air temperature the water was still very cold and gin clear. There were fish present, but their activity was low and they definitely were not feeding. Imitative flies were soundly refused; this included my olive Czech style nymphs that brought me great success on the very same spots in November.

The only pattern that seemed to connect with the fish was a brightly red bloodworm. I sincerely doubt the fish were selective to bloodworms to the extent they would refuse a Ryacophila larvae (many of which were crawling below stones and in the river weeds). It was rather the bright red color that served as attractor and induced the sluggish fish to take.

Whatever the reason - this grayling was my first fish of 2014 season. And by the look of him it was not a bad start :)