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Blue Charm Double

2014.12.29.dryfly.me.blue_charm

Hook: Kamasan B280 #4
Thread: UNI 6/0 Black
Tag: UNI-French Oval Medium, UNI-Floss Yellow
Tail: GP
Body: UNI-Floss Black
Rib: UNI-French Oval Medium
Wing: Squirrel Tail
Hackle: Keough Hen Saddle

A slightly larger double hook was in the vise today: the Kamasan B280 #4 is a very solid hook that you can trust for big fish! The blue charm came toghether quite nicely today: the wing aligned nicely with the tail and the head was even and smooth.

2014.12.29.dryfly.me.blue_charm_closeAlignment of the wing and tail: not very important for the actual fishing, but I did enjoy getting it aligned like this.

2014.12.29.dryfly.me.blue_charm_tailBottom view:

2014.12.29.dryfly.me.blue_charm_bottom

 

 

Sunburst Spey

2014.12.28.dryfly.me.sunburst_speyHook: Alec Jackson #1.5
Thread: UNI 6/0 Red
Tag: UNI-Mylar Peacock #16
Body: 1/2 Red Seals fur, 1/2 Black Seals fur
Rib: UNI-French Oval Large
Wing: Red/Orange/Yellow fox
Sides: JC
Hackle: Schlappen Fire Orange, Whiting Rooster Cape Black

Davie McPhail have a great video of a Sunburst Spey on youtube that (after my sunturn spey) I had to give a go. I got some of the bronze spey hooks from Alec Jackson that fits perfectly to this pattern, the only problem is that I should have had this in #5 & #7 as well since this is a rather large fly to go fishing with!

I deviated a little bit from the original pattern: the front hackle where I only had fiery orange schlappen and a pure black front-hackle, but the overall pattern is the same.

2014.12.28.dryfly.me.sunburst_spey_frontThe vibrant colors in the wing, the hackle and the body will make this really shine up once it is in the water.

2014.12.28.dryfly.me.sunburst_spey_closeGreat mix in the wing:

2014.12.28.dryfly.me.sunburst_spey_back

 

 

 

Allys Shrimp – Singlehook

2014.12.25.dryfly.me.shrimpHook: TMC 7999 #4
Thread: UNI 6/0 Red
Tail: Orange synthetic that I had around
Body: UNI-Floss first half red, second half black
Rib: UNI-French: Oval Medium
Wing: GP Tippet Orange
Hackle: Keough Hen Saddle Orange

Another classic fly for salmon and seatrout, I got a orange hen saddle not long ago and I figured that it would fit perfectly with the allys shrimp. Will tie this up on some different sizes and on tube, but for now it is back to the holiday season and other things than flytying for a bit.

2014.12.25.dryfly.me.shrimp_close

 

Sunturn Spey

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.sunturn_speyHook: Alec Jackson Spey #1 1/2 Heavy Wire
Body: 1/3 Lagartun Black Silk Floss, 1/3 The Fly Co. Yellow Seals Fur, 1/3 The Fly Co. Red Seals Fur
Rib: UNI-Mylar Silver #10, UNI-French Oval Small Gold, UNI-Mylar #16 tied reverse over the hackle
Hackle: Foxtail Hen Neck Red, The Fly Co. Yellow Rooster Neck, Black Heron. Order: red, yellow and finally black in front
Wing: Veniard Mallard Duck Bronze Large

Today is winter solstice, and here in Norway this marks the coming of more daylight and the start of a journey towards the spring where we once again will get to go out and flyfish for trout and salmon. One of my favorite beer breweries here in Norway is Nøgne Ø, and they have a tradition to brew a batch of Sunturnbrew on this very day. It is dark, has lots of flavor, fits perfectly with my tastebuds and is a massive 11% alcohol!

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.sunturn_spey_bottle

Some years back I bought some bottles to see how it matures, and I open one bottle every year, on winter solstice, the very day it was created. This batch was brewed back on 2010.21.12 and is batch number #573. Today I was inspired when I saw that the brewers are at it again and are creating another batch of this great beer! I sat down and thought about the taste, the label, the winter solstice and created this spey fly that I call “Sunturn Spey”, a homage to Nøgne Ø and their Sunturnbrew.

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.sunturn_spey_back

The main idea came from the white to yellow to red writing on the label, I also wanted to convey the darkness of both the beer and the time of the year that we have.

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.sunturn_spey_frontThe flow of the hackle together with the seals fur dubbing represents the sun coming out of the darkness. I would like to get some clean Sunturnbrew labels and mount this fly in a frame together with it and send it to Grimstad to the brewers!

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.sunturn_spey_sideDetail from the body: the counter-wrap will ensure that the hackle stays in place

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.sunturn_spey_back_detailA double mallard wing on top:

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.sunturn_spey_topI’m very happy with how this fly came out, and I could frame it, but the colors and shape of this fly makes it one that I will tie up a few of to have in my salmon box for when the summer comes!

Blue Charm Doubles

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.blue_charmMore Blue Charm today,  but this time on a Partridge Patriot #8 double hook. The more I tie on these small patriot hooks, the more I like them. I haven’t fished with them so I don’t have any experience on the hooking capability and durability if a larger fish is on, but the hook itself feels light but strong.

This late autumn and early winter has seen a lot of salmon patterns from my side: I tend to focus on one side of the fly tying at a time, and this time it is salmon. The thing with this is that you get to focus on one particular aspect of tying that later can be adapted to different styles or patterns. With the amount of salmon flies I put out here you would think I have done more salmon fishing than the 1 time I was after salmon this autumn, but I haven’t! I want to do more of this next year, and focusing on salmon flies this winter is one of those things I do to prepare myself for the river.

2014.12.21.dryfly.me.blue_charm_close