What the hell is Skagit?

We made this movie to explane what Skagit casting is mainly for scandinavians that heard abouth this way to cast and fish but it will sure work for the rest of the world also... Enjoy!

New York City Urban Fishing

Bauer with his Vision Big Daddy 8,6 in NYC

After the show in Somerset NJ Niklaus Bauer and I had decided to do some fishing before we had to fly back to Sweden again. So why not do some flyfishing down town Manhattan? We booked a guide on the internet and was going to meet him on monday afternoon at North Cove Yatch Harbour. I can say that is was a strange feeling tackling up our Vision rods with the Manhattan skyscrapers in the background when your normaly is use to fish out in the wilderness. At apointed time Capt Joe Shastay arrived with his boat and we jumped on board and headed out on the Hudson River.

Manhattan

Me and a big green lady

Niklaus Bauer with his first Stripped Bass.

We tied on some Sheep Fleece head patterns and started to fish the first hot spot and after just some minutes I had the first strike on the fly but it wouldn't stay on. Shortly after that Mr Bauer caught his first Striper ever on one of his own approven Pike patterns that seams to attract diffrent fish species all over the world. We then left to try some other of the Capt hot spot and soon we where both playing fish in the size around 4-7lbs (1,5-3kg) The bigger ones gave us both some nice fights on our eight weight rods and just playing fish with the Manhattan sky line in the background was one of the coolest things I ever had done. After three hours fishing the sun went down and it startted to get dark on the Hudson Bay but the fishing was getting better and the fishes bigger. After nearly eight hours of fishing we called for the day and went back to the marina and I can tell it was with big smiles on our faces. Totaly we caught 16 stripers and had contact with 50-60 fishes so I was very satisfied with the fishing and also with our Guide Capt Joe Shastay that realy had made our fishing trip in New York a total sucsses even that we did not catch the big ones, this time anyway.

   

Me with a  Striper

Bauer and striper.

Vision in NYC

Manhattan sky line

So if your going to New York and want to do something diffrent than the other tourist do and see New York from the water? Contact Capt Joe Shastay on http://www.nyharborfishing.com/

Från Fluga till Antispinn Möller Bil Uppsala 10/12-2011

On saturday 10/12 it's time again for "Från Fluga till Antispinn" at Möller Bil in Uppsala Sweden. The show opens 11.00 to 16.00 and there will be loads of activites for both young and old people.

Vision and Fly Dressing will be there to show the New Siks rods and other news for 2012.

In the Flytying Corner will names like Niklaus Bauer, Ulf Hagström, the young girl Emma and many more show you how to tie the best flies. I'm going to have my own tying corner by the Vision monter and if you are going there come and talk some flies and Vision gear with me.

Ace Skagit Head and Siks... a perfect combo!

I got my hands on the New Vision Siks 13,4#7 and 490grin Ace Skagit head in october and it was love at first sight or should I say cast! The medium action rod with the line was so easy to cast with and could throw out from small micro tubes on a intermediate tip to a big fat Intruder on a T-17 tip and it is just a #7 rod we are talking abouth. So my first tought was that this combo will be my first choice for nearly all fishing situation this season to come. Of course I will use both shorter rods and sometimes longer rods when needed but I still will have the 13,4 with me all the time. The name Siks comes from that the rods are just a 6 piece rod so it will be easy to take with you when traveling and with both the 13,4 and 15,2 in my trunk I don't need to pay any extra money when I go to Scotland and River Spey in march and saving some money I can buy a nice bottle of Spey side whisky insted.

The International Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset NJ 19-20/11

At 05.15 in the morning five tierd swedes meet at Bromma airport and before we could check in a laugage we sat down and had some breakfast. It was Ulf Hagström, Niklaus Bauer, Niklas Dahlin, Nick Runarsson and my self that was going to fly to Bryssel and change flight there to USA. After a long flight over the Atlantic ocean we landed at Newark airport just outside New York and went by cab to the Double Tree Hotel in Somerset that was the place for the Fly Tying Show. After settling in in are rooms we went to the bar for some refreshments but all of us were very tierd after the trip so we called it a early night. Another swede Jan Edman arrived during the night and the next morning we went to New York to do some shopping for are wifes, kids, pets and some things for our selfs to. Our main goal on Manhattan was a visit at the Urban Anglers store and The Orvis store and there I bought some magazines and t-shirts. When we came back to the hotel we all went to look at the ballroom were the show was held and found are places in the Swedish corner. We also meet up with Johan Klingberg, Patrick Johansson, Martin Ågnell och Håkan Karsnäser that had travled from Gothenburg on friday morning.

Red Nick and Just Nick!

Ulf "Lång" Hagström and Big Nick!

After a big breakfast we started to put up are tying wises and all materials and at 09.00 the doors opend up for the crowd. There always a lot of visitors at the swedish corner and they showed a big intrest for our flies and tying technic. The first day went by in a hurry and I took some minutes to visit some of my american friends that were tying on the show. At 5 a clock the doors were shut and everybody of the swedes was very pleased with the first day and after some refreshments in the bar we all went to the banquet to eat, drink and listen to Johan Klingberg.

A piece of Sweden

The Swedish table.

The second day was also good but not so many visitors as on saturday so I also took some time to walk around to meet and watch some other tyers at the show. Many of them I know from Facbook and it was a pleasure to meet them in real life. I also did some fly swaps and got some real nice patterns from Ben Furimsky and Allen Landheer. There very so many good tiers there so I had no chance to talk and watch them all but I got my self loads of insperation for new patterns that I will tie this winter.

In the Ballroom.

My bench

Mr Allen Landheer

At last I would like to thank like to thank Johan Klinberg and Niklas Dahlin for making this trip possible and also to all the other swedish tyers. Also a big thanks to Chuck Furimsky and his family and all other tyers from the states and rest of the world making this trip a sucsses.

Opening day in River Ljungan 16/11 2011

After the month long spawning break River Ljungan opend up for fishing after the winter run Sea trouts. The weather was fine with +2C in the air and +6C in the water so the conditions to catch some fish was good. I meet my Friends Mattias and dick down by the river and after some coffe and talking we started fishing. Had fished half the pool when I had a desent pull on the fly but nothing more so I carried on swinging my Orange Rubber legged Intruder down the pool. Nearly at the end of the pool I hooked the first fish of the day and even if it not was the biggest fish it realy gave me a good fight and got my adrenaline flowing. The 3lbs fish was fresh from the sea and after putting the small chrome rocket back in the river I went to celebrate my catch with cup of coffe. Just as I come back to my backpack Dick had his first fish on and after a short fight he could land a small fish to. Then we fished for abouth 3 hours and had some strikes on our flies but non of the fishes wanted to play... Even if not the fishing was the best we had a great time on the banks of Ljungan and thanks to Mattias and Dick for the company.

Dick Högström plays a chromer

Mattias Karlsson in action

The International Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset NJ 18-19 November 2011

Now it's not so long time before I and nine other Swedish fly tiers are flying over the atlantic to invade USA. It going to be real fun to meet all diffrent tiers and FB friends from around the world in Somerset NJ. We will fly to New York on the thursday the 17 of November and the day before I hope to have some time to fish the opening day here in my home river Ljungan.

http://www.internationalflytyingsymposium.com/index.html

Mattias Drugges Mad Dragon Fly Tying Movie

My good friend Mattias Drugge shows us how to tie his Mad Chinees Dragon in this movie from Fly Dressing. The Dragons swimms like crazy in the water and works great on Sea trout and Steelhead.

One of my own Dragon patterns

The Pain Reliever Tube Fly

the Pain Reliever

The pain Reliever is my latest pattern that came from my vise and I'm very pleased with it as it came out exactly like I wanted it to. The idea to this patter I got from a tube of pain relieving gel with just these colours and there by the name.. Pain Reliever. After some thinking and putting all the colours of the materials together on my fly tying table it all came in place at the first try. Many times I need to make acouple of test flies before I get satisfied with the wing, body or something else before I tie it on the leader for a swimm in the river. I will fish this fly in early mornings, in slightly coloured water and as a good weather fly in clear rivers. I'm sure that the Pain Reliever will give me a adrenalin rush when a big Sea trout strikes the fly and take off down stream like a freight train and leave me on the bank with a bent rod and a screaming reel.

Pattern recipe:

Tread: Orange Bennichi 14/0

Tube: Eumer Blue Plastic Tube in Large and Small combi.

Body: 1/2 Silver Mini Flatbraid 1/2 Holo Silver Dubbing

Hackle: First a Sunburst Soft Hackle tied in after the Bucktail. Second a Craw Fish Orange Soft Hackle tied in in front of the wing as a collar.

Wing: A bunch of Grey or White Bucktail Hair tied in forward and folded backwards, Two strands of Silver Holo Flashabou, Then three small bunches of Fox Hair in this order: Sunburst, Yellow/Olive and last Craw Fish Orange.

Topping: Two strands of Holo Orange Flashabou and Three Straws of Orange Peacook Hearls.

Cheeks: Blue JC

Head: Blue Eumer Monster Cone or Blue Cone Head.

New Vision Coma "Plus" Reel

The New Vision Coma "Plus" Reel is now avalible in two size 5-6 and 7-8. It's a upgrade version of the classic Coma work horse with a machined spool for better fitting, new designed reel foot and new drag adjustment knob. There also some other new parts that will make the reel preform and look better.
Take a look at the reel at your local Vision Dealer.

Nu har Vision förbättrat en redan bra rulle, till att bli ännu bättre. Rullhuset är som på den "gamla" rullen gjuten, men spolen tillverkas nu av svarvat aluminium, vilket ger en bättre stabilitet och prescision. Dessutom är bromsreglage, rullfot och lite andra smådetaljer utbytta mot komponenter av bättre hållbarhet och snyggare design. Rullen rinns i 2 klasser; 5-6 och 7-8.

For Swedish and Danish blog visitors:
http://www.flydressing.se/nyheter/nya-koma-plus!.aspx

Flat Heads

Flat Heads

The Flat Head flies are made for night fishing for Baltic Sea trout but the will sure work for other species to and also for fishing in daylight. I have used Sheep Fleece for the Muddler style head and it makes the fly "hoover" in the water and it will keep its shape in the water and make a great siluette so the fish can see the fly in the dark. The wing is made of zonker strips with a loop of Fire Line that I have used a needle to fasten it trough the skin on the zonker strip and then put on the trailer hook so it hangs in the back of the wing. It can be a bit tricky at first but with some practise it will get easier each time. When I tie this pattern on tubes I don't use the Fire Line insted I tie in a short piece of plastic tube in the back of the zonker strip so I can get the hook to hang in the back of the wing just like on the one Waddington fly with fire line.

Pattern recipe: Black/Orange version

Waddington Shank or Black Eumer Plastic Tube Small

20mm Fire Line to fasten the hook with.

Tread: Black

Butt: FL Orange Chenille. Then a Black Whiting Soft Hackle tied in collar style.

Legs: Two pairs of Rubber Legs. The first pair tied in after the Chenille and the second pair after the Soft hackle.

Wing: Black Zonker Strip (Rabbit or Opposum)

Hackle: A second Black Soft Hackle from Whiting

Head: Sheep Fleece tied in Muddler Style.

Eyes: Orange Epoxy Eyes glued in place.


Heres some pics of how I tie in the tube that holds the hook on the tubefly version

This picture show how I tie in the tube to fasten the hook

Secured with super glue and ready to tie in on the body tube

The Down Stream C Spey Cast

A great cast to use when the wind blows down stream and if you have room for the D loop. It's a easy cast to learn and it's very good to use in windy conditions.

Gaula day 4

Yesterday I had the alarm on 05.00 and jumped in the car to go up to Singsås and the Eumer boys. The water had droped 10cm from the night before and we were hoping to catch some fresh fish in the pools. I fished the pool and heard a nice splash from a salmon but did not see it. Anyway it,s nice to know that there are at least one fish in the pool. Olli was going to do a show in Elverum and I drived him to there apartment and went home for some lunch and rest. In the evening I started to fish the Stören vald again and the water was a bite high but fishabel. Fished to 24.00 and had no contact with any fish.

It's not just the fish that counts.

Ville fishing at Singsås

The flue zone at Stören vald

The Flue zone upstream.

Gaula at Singsås - Day 3

Today I was further up the river fishing with the Eumer staff in Singsås. The water was very high but short parts of the beat was fishable but the water temp had gone down from 16c to 11c and we did not see or feel any fish so I got home to have some dinner and had a nice evening with my family. Tomorrow morning I will go up to Singsås to fish with Eumer boys again and it looks like the water is going down fast now so maybe there will be some Atlantic Silver biting our flies tomorrow.

Olli "Mr Magic" Ojamo in action!

The Lords of Tube Flies

Last night I was visiting the Eumer Team with Olli and Jako Ojamo that also is fishing Gaula this week. We hade a great evening and made many diffrent fly patterns and changed a lot of ideas abouth tube flies.

The fly tying table

Olli Taking some pics of the flies

Gaula day 2

Angelica is fishing River Gaula in Norway



Day number two Started and ended with heavy rain so the River had rised four time the size from the night before but it was still fishable. On the mid day the sun broke trough the clouds and the water level started to drop a bit so my daughter Angelica and I put on our waders and went down for some fishing. The water have started to clear up and two of the pools looked to be fishable even the high flood. We fished acouple of hours before heading home again without a bite or even seeing any fish. Bur we had a great time and a lots of laughs and that whats realy counts in my world of fishing.

Right now it's coffe time and then I will jump in my waders and go down to Gaula for an hour or two in the rain. Tonight I will go up to Singsås for some fly tying and fishing with the Ojamo brothers from Eumer.

'

Gaula at Stören

E6 bridge in Stören



First day in River Gaula

After a 5 hours drive from my home in Sweden I arrived to Stören in Norway to fish the Gaula river. Bought the fishing license and desifected my gear and  had a bite to eat and a beer. Had no hurry down to the river so i just took i easy and enjoying the beautiful landscape here in the Gaula valley. Tackled up my rods and my first choice was Vision "Cult" 13,4#7 with a floater on the reel. A light rain started to fall and it started to get a bit dark so my first choice of fly was a Black & Blue Tube Fly. The water level looked good and the temp was 16C in the river. There were no one in the pool when I came down to the river so I could walk right out and start my fishing. After abouth 7 or 8 cast I had a strike on the fly but nothing so I took some steps down and casted out again and mended the line upstream and let the fly move a bit slower over the deeper part of the pool and just when the fly picked up some speed... Fish On! Had a very nice fight on my #7 rod but played the fish hard. After a while the fish got tierd and I could land a 5kg (10lbs)  male Salmon. That was a good start one my week here in Gaula.

A good combination: Black & Blue, Vision "GT" Reel and Dee Dram

Skagit Casting with Vision Cult 13,4 #7

Made this movie when fishing and Skagit Casting in River Ljungan in July. It was a perfect morning with no winds to talk abouth and I had my Play Sport cam on a tripod recording when i passed it. The rod in using is Vision "Cult" 13,4 #7 with a Vision Tip line Belly that weights around 430grain with a 15" Sink 8 Tip and on the leader theres a Zonker Fly with a Eumer Monster Cone.

Vision "Cult" rods comes from 12,6 #6 to 14,7 #9 and they are just wonderful to cast Skagit Style with. My "all round" choice would be the 13,4#7 backed up with 12,6#6 for smaller rivers and low water conditions and 13,8 #9 for bigger rivers and the heavy T14 and T17 Tips. These rods also works great with Scandinavian Shooting heads and Spey lines to i would like to add.
  

Skagit Mist Zonker Tube

Skagit Mist Zonker Tube

The Skagit Mist pattern is realy a Akroyd were you swapped the yellow/orange to red but it's a real great looking pattern and it will work perfect on are Baltic Sea trouts here in Sweden and as a autumn fly for many of the Scottisch rivers. Black and red flies has always worked great here in are Swedish rivers with patterns like Black Doctor, Red Butt, Glödhäck and my own pattern The Red Ass Tarantula. The White Zonker Wing make a great contrast to the red and black even in dark waters. I also tyed in Yellow JC feathers to add some more "spice" to the fly. On the fly on the picture I have also changed the front hackle from Teal to Guinea Fowl but still use Teal for my bigger tubes. I will fish this pattern in the evenings and early morning and later when autumn comes I will put it on the leader any time at day. 

Pattern recipe:

Tube: Eumer Red in large/small or medium/xsmall combination

Body: 1/2 Red Dubbing, 1/2 Black Dubbing

Ribb: Silver Tinsel. On the realy small tubes i don't have any ribb at all but on the bigger ones I can use both Flat and Oval tinsel over both body halfs.

Hackle: First a Red Soft Hackle between the body parts, Second a bunch of Ostrich Hearl twisted in a dubbing loop and tied in like a hackle. Third a Guinea Fowl or Teal Hackle as a collar.

Wing: White Rabbit Zonker Stripe tied in before the Ostrich, 2 strands of Holo Fuchsia Flashabou tied in on the side of the wing

Cheeks: Yellow JC feathers

Head: Eumer Red Monster or Cone Head.

The White Winged Akroyd Zonker

I have had the idea for this pattern in my head for a very long time now but last night it finaly took some time tying it! The Akroyd pattern has always been  a favorite and I have fished it in diffrent styles with great succse. The Orange, Yellow, Black and White or Brown will suit nearly every Salmon, Sea trout and Steelhead river in the world. In the past I have tied the White Winged version in the classic Dee Stripe wing style and also the original Akroyd with a cinnamon colored wing and have always liked the brown winged version the best but with zonker wing I must say the white one looks much better. I think this Zonker version came out nice and will fill an empty spot in my fly box.


Pattern Recipie:

Tube: Fl Orange Eumer large/small combo

Body: Mirage Salt Water Flash over the first 1/2 of the body. Black Dubbing on the second 1/2 of the body. In smaller size i just have the FL Orange tube as the first 1/2 of the body.

Hackle: First a Yellow Whiting Soft Hackle between the body parts. Start with à Black Ostrich Spey Plume or a big Whiting Soft Hackle before the wing. After the wing tie in a Black and White Grizzly Hackle as a collar.

Wing: White Rabbit Zonker Stripe. 2 strands of Yellow Mirage Flash on top of the Zonker wing.

Head: Black Eumer Cone Head or Monster Cone.


Why not try to tie a White Winged Akroyd for your self and maybe you will get a new favorite for the Chromers in our rivers all over the world.

River Byske pictures

I had a great time on the Byske river even that I didn't caught any Sea trouts or Salmon this time. Had one strike on the fly and I also landed a Pike the last night of fishing. I will go back later this autumn to try catch some Sea trouts in this stunning river and to fish with my good friends Stig Lundgren and Carina Wallin.

Heres some pics from the beatiful River Byske.

The "Iron Salmon"

In the middle of the Byske village

The fish ladder on the south side in Fällfors

The Observatory in Fällfors

Smoke on the water!

River Byske part2

After just fishing at night and have had a couple of fishes chasing My flies I had a fish om for a second or two this morning. The water level is slowly dropping but with cold nigits the water temp dropps to. Tonight i will try some new pools and hope for a take.

Fishing in River Byske part1

Fished some diffrent pools in River Byske last night. The water level is low and the temp is very warm 19c but i hope it will drop after a Cold night. I had one strike on my red ass tarantula tube last night but the fish didnt want to play with me!

Tonight i will try again and hope to hook up with a big fat Sea trout.

The Salmon monument in Byske

The Red Ass Tarantula Squid

This pattern is a mix between my Tarantula flies and Scott Howells outstanding Squidro pattern. This pattern i have made for night fishing for Sea trouts and Salmon here in Scandinavia but the patter will sure work for Steelhead to. The idea was that I wanted to have a light fly on a tube with lots of movment and not using Marabou or Ostrich spey hackles that gets worn to fast after been fished hard for some time. If I want to out some weight to the fly theres is no problem just use Tungsten Coneheads or Eyes.

The Red Ass Tarantula Squid

 Pattern Recepie:

Tube: Eumer Red Large and Small Combi

Body: 1/2 Just the tube or Mirage Salt Water Flash. 1/2 Peacook Black Dubbing (twisted in a dubbing loop) 

Wing: 5-10 Black/Red Fire Tip Sili Legs tied in in two bunches, one on top and one under the tube (How many depends on the size of the fly)

Front Hackle: First Hackle: Black Opposum (twisted in a dubbing loop) Second Hackle: Black Ring Neck Pheasant.

Cheeks: JC

Head: Red Eumer Monster Cone or Cone Head (Tungsten or Brass) 

The River Lanio Experience 2011

Some Tube flies for River Lainio

The 17/6 eight fishermans landed with the Helicopter on the banks of River Lainio in Lapland over 500km from the sea to fish for salmon. After setting up the rods and change to vaders we started to fish the beat. The first evening we just got some brown trouts and graylings and when sitting buy the river drinking some beer and a wee dram or two the first salmon showed it self. Day number two started with some fish contact and later in the afternoon Putte hooked and landed his first Salmon, a great fish! Later Pelle landed his first ever salmon to and Mattias Drugge lost a big fish just before it was ready for landing. The third fish landed was buy Kalle that never had a salmon before either and that fish weighted 10,5kg and was a real cracker. The next day started with The Lainio legend Per landed his first fish over 20lBs of three. Mr Drugge got up early the next morning and soon hooked in to a big fish. After a long fight he could land a the biggest fish for the trip and it weighted 13,3kg. Later Per got another round the 20Ibs mark and David lost a nice fish when he tryed to tail the fish. Later i Got into a big fish and it gave me a hell of a fight before i got it safley on the bank and it was a 11kg hen fish, a real beauthy. After 2,5 days fishing we break up the camp and went rafting down stream and stayed and fished some lovely pools on the way to the pick up point. Top rod on the trip was Lainio legend Per with three salmons over 20lbs.

Mattias Drugges 29lbs fish

Kalles 23Ibs salmon

Puttes first ever salmon on the bank

Are you intrested to to try your luck in the upper parts of Linio and want the best guides and service then contact me on thspey@hotmail.com or Mattias Drugge at: druggeflyfishing@telia.com