Autumn Creeper Grub – Kelson

Hook: Partridge M2 #1/0
Thread: Semperfli 18/0
Tag: Gold tinsel and yellow silk
Rear hackle: Red, cheeked with kingfisher
Body: Black chenille
Center hackle: Yellow, cheeked with kingfisher
Front hackle: Black and black heron, cheeked with kingfisher

2017 starts out with another Grub: the “Autumn Creeper” from Kelson (1895). The original have red macaw, yellow macaw and vulturine hackle with chatterer cheeks: here I have substituted with standard hackle to get the same colour scheme in the fly.

Black Creeper Grub

Posted on 31 December, 2016 by Håvard Eide grub kelson mustad salmon

Hook: Mustad 80500-npbl #1/0
Thread: Semperfli 18/0
Tag: Silver and light blue silk
Tail: swan & macaw
Rear hackle: Black, cheeked with kingfisher
Body: Black chenille with a black hackle in the center, cheeked with kingfisher
Front hackle: Black, cheeked with kingfisher

Continuing the grub series, here a pattern from George Kelson “The salmon fly” from 1895. I substituted ibis with swan, powdered blue macaw with blue/yellow macaw and chatterer with kingfisher. The look and feel is the what is important here (plus the fact that I don’t have 6 chatterer feathers around for testing out new patterns). Will try to tie this one up with light blue hackle tips to see how that can work: the kingfisher is not maintaining that clear colour once it is in water, so for fishing purposes it would be good to have something that will last a bit longer.

A pattern that can be tied up with both shorter (and more sparse) hackle and one with longer hackle, depending on the movement you want in the water. A heron hackle in front of either the rear or front hackle could also be something to explore.

Mar Lodge Grub

Posted on 29 December, 2016 by Håvard Eide grub mar lodge partridge salmon

Hook: Partridge M2 #1/0
Thread: Semperfli 18/0
Tag: Veevus Small
Tail: JC back to back
Rear hackle: Grey
Body: Silver with black band
Rib: Veevus Medium
Wing: JC back to back
Front hackle: Grey

Continuing my research on the grub patterns I came across a low-water Mar Lodge Grub version on a picture over at feathersfliesandphantoms.co.uk that had a interesting look: the minimalist flow, the grey hackle that will flow over the silver body and the JC that pops out. Would like to see this with the orange-colored JC that I have, but I’ll leave that for another time. The pattern should work for sea-trout as well, so I might tie up a version on a saltwater hook later on.

A friend of mine had a good input for this pattern: put a heron hackle over the rear hackle. I tied it in sparsely to follow the general feel of the pattern, this is one to bring for the sea-trout and salmon on those late summer days.

Tippet Grub

Posted on 26 December, 201626 December, 2016 by Håvard Eide grub partridge salmon

Hook: Partridge M2 #1/0
Thread: Semperfli 18/0 Black
Tag: Veevus French Tinsel M, Seals Fur orange
Rear Hackle: Tippet wound as hackle and furnace hackle
Rear Body: Olive berlin wool
Centre Hackle: Tippet wound as hackle and furnace hackle
Front Body: Olive berlin wool
Front Hackle: Tippet wound as hackle and furnace hackle
Head: Shellac

Going through the old salmon patterns you find the standard classics that most will recognise as a “classic” salmon fly: the gaudy pattern with married or mixed wing that have a lot of color and flare. But you also have the grub – a pattern that you can follow up to the shrimp patterns of today, the “Ullsokken” salmon fly or various sea-trout patterns that we use here in scandinavia.

Going back through the history of salmon patterns I have come over some grubs from time to time and have wanted to start tying some up to carry with me in the box. The first is here: the tippet grub, tied it up in slightly different hackle length to start testing it out in the water once the season starts. This is a pattern I can see working good in this color, but also with oter color combinations – I will try with both black and orange colored tippet later on for variations over this pattern.

grub

Autumn Creeper Grub – Kelson

Black Creeper Grub

Mar Lodge Grub

Tippet Grub

flyfisher.org sites

Last posts

Recent Comments

Categories

Choose Month

flyfisher.org

Sites