~Dave

Uffe's Killer

Superb fly tyer, real ale connoisseur and good guy, Sweden's Ulf Hagstrom has just had an article published by Hatches Magazine. It includes a tutorial for tying the Uffe's Killer.

This fly looks simply great and has a awesome profile. Changing its size allows you to match all of the up-wing duns you'll find on our waters.

Enjoy the article here: Uffe's Killer - Hatches Magazine



Nice work Ulf.
~Dave

In the pink

Pink is a great attracter for Grayling and I have regularly found pink flies to out-fish more sombre patterns - Sometimes in coloured water, but also in crystal clear but very cold water.

Here's a version of the tungsten back shrimps, bringing a splash of colour to pattern:


These shrimp imitations fish 'upside down':





Hook: Partridge YK4G #16
Thread: Moser Powersilk 10/0, olive
Underbody: Hare's mask, light
Legs: Grey squirrel
Ballast: Tungsten shrimp back, pink

~Dave

Fast, deep water calls for heavy flies, especially when targetting grayling. As the temperatures start to decrease, the need to get down to the fish increases. I enjoy fishing heavy bugs. OK, it's not summer-evening dryfly fishing, but trundling (sometimes dredging!) bugs through the flows and watching the leader hesitate as the flies are picked up can be alot of fun. Further, it can be very, very effective.

Over the last couple of seasons I have been using tungsten backed shrimps for some of my fishing. Whilst they are not suitable for every situation, they allow you to get deep with a very suggestive imitation. Even a small fly packs the weight - and the larger versions - well they are nothing short of a depth charge. Kick sample the rivers and streams you fish and you'll find the average freshwater shrimp (Gammarus Pulex) is actually pretty small. Therefore, these heavy weight shrimp backs have a place in any river fisher's fly box; especially those early season and grayling fishers.







Hook: Partridge YK4G
Thread; Moser Powersilk 10/0, olive
Legs: Grey squirrel
Ballast: Tungsten shrimp backs.

These are also well worth a swim with pink or olive tungsten backs.

~Dave

Whilst a sparsely dressed paradun is my preference for those fish taking duns, I am increasingly carrying traditionally hackled patterns and finding success with them when all else fails. Further, some sort of wing seems to be essential and playing around with the colour, size and material allows you to explore the effectiveness of this style of dressing.

Possibly my favourite, a CDC wing can tied without a hackle, but for faster, more boisterous water, the addition of a hackle is useful:


A Poly-yarn loop wing has also served me well this year:


The wing here is tied using 'DNA' in olive. This is the same material used for the spinner wings in the previous post. Tied in and looped through the hackle, this is a useful version for those flies that are riding the surface waiting for wings to dry:


A short session at the vice allows a few variation to be produced. When tyying several patterns in a session, it's a good idea to keep them ordered in a compartment box before adding them to the main fly boxes:


~Dave

Sunken Spinner

Fished in the surface or allowed to sink, sparkling wings can be very attractive when imitating spinners:




If the fly sinks, or you choose to fish it wet, make sure the first few feet of the the leader beynd the fly line a lightly greased. Any twitch or hesitation should be met with a lift.

~Dave