Stingray Intruder inspired by Ken Sawada

The last couple of day I been cleaning up in my flytying room that had become a real mess and found some old hidden or forgotten flyboxes in a drawer with flies that I made and fished with for eight to ten years ago. Many of my daughters first attempts to make tubeflies and also some intresting other flies that some how have lost there place in my boxes today even that they did catch lots of fish back then. I realy don't know why some of these flies have been put a side but when I get new ideas and start using new material or technics I often transfer my old favorite colors into new patterns and old ones is forgotten. It's Always fun to Watch old flies and see how I tied and what materials I used back then and sometimes give an old pattern a make over like in this case. 2006 I got my hands on a copy of Ken Sawadas book "Tube & Waddington Flies" and I got realy inspired by Mr Sawadas beautiful tubeflies. I Always have used a lot of bright colors and like to try all sorts of crazy color combinations (at least some of my fishing buddies would say) and that's why I realy liked Ken's flies. So when I found these old Sawada style patterns I was realy inspired to re-make then to something in Intruder style that I would tie and fish with today using new technics and also adding some new materials to them. I started this make over on one of my old favorites, the Stingray! Black, green and a little touch of white is a very nice color combination that works well in most of our Salmon rivers all over the world and many fishermens out there have caught big fishes on these colors.

The things I have changed from the original pattern is first that I put in a tin tail of bucktail. Second I tie in a Guinea hackle in the back. Third I change the color on the front shoulder Amherst from white to green but also some other small changes. 

Pattern recipe: Stingray Intuder

Tube: Lime Green

Tail:  A small bunch Black Bucktail tied in forward and holded back. 3 strands of Green Mirage Flash. 3 Natural color Amherst pheasant fibers. 2 Grizzly natural saddle hackle.

First hackle: Natural Guinea

Eyes: Green Pro JC

Body:Bright Green dubbing. (I brusch out the dubbing to get more volym to the body just to get more of a siluett as I will use this pattern for the Baltic Sea run browns that tend to like bulkier flies.

Ribb: Oval silver tinsel (I use no ribb as I spinn the dubbing in a loop)

Front shoulder: Black fox hair spun in a loop. Black Marabou spun in a loop. A bunch of Green Amherst pheasant fibers tied in around the tube or spun in a loop. You can also use a Composite loop and tie in all materials at the same time. Take a look at OPST on Youtube were Jerry French shows how composite loops should be made.

Head: Metallic green Pro Sonic disc or similar discs from other brands.

Try not to over dress the fly as it will swimm much better if spares dressed.

The new one on the left and old on the right.

The Easy Squid

It's been a long time since I could post a fly pattern on my blogg but now I'm back with the Easy Squid pattern. 

Have had the idea to make a easy to tie pattern for a long time because I normaly goes"over kill" when tying my flies always adding some extra material just to please my own eyes and I think it's both good and bad. Good: I get a fly pattern I realy have confidence in when fishing. Bad: It takes more time to tie the fly and when fishing T-tips in logg and stone filled rivers you will snag and loose a bunch of flies in a days fishing. In some pools when I know that I must get down realy deep but also knows that I can or probly will snag the bottom I may not use chose my best looking flies that I realy know works and I love to fish but insted use a fly that I may NOT WANT to use for the moment but I don't will spill any tears when loosing it. So not using the "right" style of fly I will fish the pool with less confidence and maybe not catch the Silver from my dreams.

The Easy Squid is not realy a "Squid" pattern but if you hold it vertical it will look quite like a small squid but in the water it will look and behave like a bait fish.They are realy "Easy" and simple to tie and now a days there's so many diffrent brands of Sili legs on the market so it's no problemo to convert any of your favorite patterns to a Easy Squid. For example you can take a bait fish pattern and use the pearl shimmering legs for belly, silver or gold legs on the side and black with silver or green flakes the back of the fly or why not transform a classic salmon fly to rubber version? I tie the fly in two diffrent sizes, one bigger and a smaller but always the same bead as body.

When fishing the Easy Squid I use a loop knot and I some times slide on a piece of plastic tube as a hook guide. Fish the fly on a normal swing or let it just free drift trough the pools as the Sili legs will get the fly lot of movment.

You can always add some extra materials like a hackle and also some Amhearst fibers just to get it to look more like a more "normal" Intruder style of fly.But just a brass bead, fake JC, Sili legs, disc cone and... Boom! It's ready to fish!

Pattern recepie: Rapala version

Tube: Fl Orange Small plastic tube 

Body: 5,5mm Gold Brass bead

Eyes: Large Orange Pro Fisher  JC subs.

Wing: 8-12 Sili legs (big fly = more legs)

Head: A Disc Cone 

Back in the game!

My oldest daughter Ello have been away from fishing for a while but now she is back again! We Went down the other day to try some new rods and she realy got hooked again and she said´that she forgot how fun it was to fish. Thats fun to hear as I have not been naggin' about it and try to get her back fishing when she wanted to do other stuff.

No fish for any of us but we had fun even that a gaelforce winds made casting difficult. Also our new "ghillie dog" Nova that made her third fishing trip learns more and more how to behave on the river bank and she enjoy being out fishing. We did not stay for more then Three hours as we went out of Oreo cookies after a while, how can you fish without Oreo's?