Pike flies

Of course, I’m still playing with ostrich herl. I should have started dying this stuff a long time ago (instead of paying a ridiculous price for something so simple).

This is how I store different colours. I’ve put my saddle hackles in folders like this as well, it’s very practical.

These are the flies I’ve tied today (I’ve been playing with the Shinetail pattern as well, but more on that later). All three are about 18 cm long, tied on an SS-1930 inox (from TOF), size 4/0.

 

- I’ve started with orange Vampire Plush (chenille) around (1 cm of) the hook shank

- then yellow bucktail around the hook shank

- yellow Krystal Flash on top

- yellow ostrich herl on the sides and on top (about 55)

- orange ostrich herl on top (10)

- 5 orange grizzly saddle hackles

- and the head is yellow, orange and black lama hair (cut into shape) with homemade epoxy eyes.

And again, I forgot to put the Crazy Legs in the head. And again, they where laying in front of my nose. I think they are cursed!

 

I’m very pleased with this one.

- yellow Vampire Plush around

(1 cm of) the hook shank

- purple bucktail around the hook shank

- mixed yellow and purple ostrich herl on the sides and on top (about 65)

- two yellow and two purple grizzly saddle hackles on top

- the collar is made of 4 artic fox dubbing loops (yellow, purple, yellow, purple)

- sequins and epoxy for the head

The purple ostrich herl turned out a bit pale (that doesn’t mean they are rubbish), but the ones that are drying now, look a lot better (I’m still experimenting).

This is my version of a torö killer by Ulf Hagstrom. You can find a tutorial on the ‘real thing’ at www.ulfhagstrom.blogspot.com

- I’ve started with 10 strands of light olive ostrich herl around the hook shank

- some yellow Krystal Flash around it

- light olive Vampire plush around the hook shank

- light yellow bucktail around the bottom of the hook shank, and olive bucktail around the top

- light green Krystal Flash on top

- light olive ostrich herl on the sides and on top

- again light olive Vampire Plush around the hook Shank

- olive bucktail around the bottom, and green bucktail around the top

- light green Krystal Flash on the sides, and dark green on the top

- light olive ostrich herl on the sides, dark olive a little bit higher, and green on top

- olive bucktail around the bottom, and green around the top, both towards the hook eye

- fold back the bucktail, secure it with your thread, glue in some epoxy eyes, epoxy the head, and remove the thread

Aesthetically speaking, this one has a bit of a chin, but sister pike won’t mind (so neither do I).

Ulf Hagstrom is a real artist (check out his blog, and see for yourself), so I can only dream of his skills. But I’ve fished with this pattern a lot last winter (we didn’t have this amount of ice last year), and by adding the bucktail in the tying process, this fly has a lot more volume when wet, and it keeps the ostrich herl from wrapping around the hook.