Langrumpa Bugger

Posted on 15 April, 201315 April, 2013 by Håvard Eide cdc dr hends inspired tmc tungsten utc

Hook: DR 305 #10
Thread: Sheer 14/0 White
Tail: From the bottom: White CDC, Mallard Flank, Green CDC
Body: Hends Superfine Grey, Whiting Hackle, UTC Ultra Wire Silver
Head: 3mm tungsten bead

This is basicly a variant of a wooly bugger, but it has a story: last year I was in a cabin in Norway near langrompa lake and inspired by the nature and colors (we walked a lot in the moutain around the cabin) this pattern came to be as a memory of this great place. I like freestyling when tying with whatever I have in front of me, and this is one of those outcomes. The white (from moss and snow) and the greens was very predominant in the mountain around us, so the tail represents the nature around langrompa lake Also tied this on a TMC 5263 #10: To give you an idea of the nature that inspired this pattern:

Tiny Adult Down-Wing Midge

Posted on 12 April, 201312 April, 2013 by Håvard Eide #30 gamakatsu midge tiny tmc varivas

If you read towards the end of the excellent book “Tying Small Flies” the following pattern shows up in the “32s!” chapter: Tiny Adult Down-Wing Midge.

I’ve tied some flies on the TMC #30 before, but I had a package of Varivas #30 Ultra Midge and Gamakatsu C12-BM #30 that I hadn’t tested out yet, so this ended up as a showcase between the three hooks.

All flies tied with Sheer 14/0 for body, CDC as wing tied in with TMC 16/0

TMC 518

I like the 518: it has a nice hook-gap and good strength in the hook that can deal with “some” force. The eye is small, but that is only to expect in these small hooks. For standard dry-fly in the #30/#32 this is my preferred choice.

Varivas 2300

First time I tie on the Varivas 2300. Compared to the 518 above this must be handled with a delicate hand! The hook is really light and bends with only the smallest amount of force. On the positive side: the hook-gap is slightly larger than on the 518. I have not fished this yet, but my initial thought is that I would trust the 518 over this hook, but that is to be seen later this summer.

Gamakatsu C12-BM

It is barbless, curved and has a extra large eye. The feel of the hook is now better again: it feels strong and can deal with some force. The extra large eye makes this a better choice for attaching it with cold fingers when you are out next to the river.

The hooks

All hooks together to show the big difference in eye size:

The packages together with their respective midges on top:

The pattern itself is easy to tie in on these small hooks. The 518 is still my favourite, but the Gamakatsu is a very good runner-up after this round, so I will experiment some more with that hook before the summer (it is also the only barbless I have seen in this size)!

#32: Tiny Midge Adult With Upright Wing

Posted on 10 April, 201310 April, 2013 by Håvard Eide 32 cdc tiny tmc

Hook: TMC 518 #32
Body: TMC 16/0 for attaching the CDC, Sheer 14/0 for the body
Wing: White CDC

This pattern comes from the “Tying small flies” book by Ed Engle, a very good book about just that: tiny small flies in all its variants.

Practising with #32

Posted on 9 April, 20139 April, 2013 by Håvard Eide 32 tiny tmc

Hook: TMC 518 #32
Body: TMC 16/0
Hackle: Smallest hackle from a Whiting Bronze dyed brow

I really enjoy the challenge of tying on a #32, here I practice on tying in the smallest hackle feathers I can get of my Whiting cape. To take a idea and bring it down from #12 to #32 challenges both your imagination, your stock of material and your eyesight!

This pattern is one of the simpler to tackle in this size, as long as you can get the hackle small enough.

Thread: Uni 17, TMC 16 and Sheer 14

Posted on 1 April, 2013 by Håvard Eide sheer thread tmc uni

Tying very small flies (down to #32) one of the first thing to consider is what kind of thread to use to avoid building up too much. So far I have tested out 3 different threads that I use for sub #20 hooks:

UNI 17/0
TMC 16/0
Sheer 14/0

Here I have wound up the different threads on a TMC 100 #24 hook to give you an idea on how it looks like.

Thread: Uni 17/0

I normally don’t take this out until I hit #30 or #32, but for these very small flies this thread is the absolute best: the build-up is hard to notice! But, this of course comes at a cost, it can be a most frustrating thread to work with compared to anything else: it feels like thin silk between your fingers and it will break as easy!

Thread: TMC 16/0

This thread is pre-waxed and is easier to work with than the UNI 17/0 thread. Since the UNI only comes in white this is the other #30/#32 thread that I use. The TMC is stronger than the UNI thread so it is “easier” to work with on the small hooks.

Thread: Sheer 14/0

The Sheer 14/0 is my default thread for anything sub #18 – this thread is strong compared to its minimal buildup and is very easy to work with. It also comes in a wide variety of colors that makes it ideal to build bodies for small emergers/nymphs. This is also one of the threads I can use for large atlantic salmon flies when building up lots of material to avoid buildup of thread.

tmc

Langrumpa Bugger