Norski Lad

                                                                Norski Lad

Started tying up my stock of Norski Lads. I am begining to prepare my competition flies. The fly was invented by Steven Breivik and is known throughout Scotland as an excellent fish catcher.
Tail: Black marabou and couple of strands of Pearl Krystal Flash.
Body: Medium Opal Mirage Tinsel.
Rib: Silver Wire.
Wing: Black Marabou with a couple of strands of Pearl Krystal Flash.
Wing flashes: Silver holographic tinsel.
Head: Roe deer (Natural).

Top dropper contenders.

Orange Hedgehog
The original Hedgehog was invented by Sandy Nicolson and used by the Orkney anglers in an inter county match on Vaara to devastating effect.  I have found an orange version to be paricularly useful. Normally I fish it with a floating line but it can make an interesting addition to a sunk line cast.
Hook: B170 or B175 when after the big boys.
Body: Fluo Orange Blaze.
Wing: Deer hair.
                                                                  Orange Hedgehog

Claret Bumble

Claret Bumble

If you have not already done so, do yourself a favour and read A Man May Fish by Kingsmill Moore. In his book he describes his Bumble series designed primarily to capture sea trout. The Claret Bumble is one of my favourite flies that has served me well for brown trout. When asked by the museum to send in an exhibition to encapsulate what living here means to me I had no hesitation in choosing a Claret Bumble for their display.

Hook: B170

Body: Claret seal's fur.

Butt: Flat gold tinsel.

Tail: Golden pheasant tippets.

Rib: Gold wire.

Body Hackles: Black and Claret cock hackles wound together.

Shoulder hackle: Blue Jay. 

Cased Caddis

                                                  Filoplume Cased Caddis

                                                    Cormorant Cased Caddis

Hook: Kamasan B170
Body: Hare's mask dubbed on black thread. The Cormorant has the addition of a touch of pearl green Lite Brite.
Hackle: Black filoplume. (small fluffy feather that pulls away from cape along with the hackle you select for other flies).
Wing: Fluff from the bottom of black hacle you select for other flies.

As mentioned in previous post, early season trout have a penchant for cased caddis. The beasts in question make their houses from particles of sand. Previously I have used Simple Palmers with a gold bead on the point to entice these trout. This year I hope more fish will  be encouraged to munch down on these imitations.

Simple Palmers

                                                         Original Simple Palmer
Hook: Kamasan B160
Body: Hare's mask dubbed on yellow thread.
Rib: Silver wire.
Tail: Original tail of Glow Brite 10. Low light conditions Glow Brite 2. Also Glow BriteFlou. Multiyarn 11.

I kept a fishing diary for more than ten years until my children were born. Now they are old enough for me to start again, using this modern technology. Looking through my old diary I noticed how many early season trout had a fondness for cased caddis. This may explain the success of the Palmers illustrated here.

Colour

Orange Palmer
Hook: Kamasan B160
Thread: Uni Fire Orange.
Body: Orange wool.
Rib: Oval silver tinsel.
Hackle: Furnace hen.
This fly will liven up any cast and is especially useful once the daphnia are on the go. It is straight forward to tie and is one of a series of simple palmers I intend to introduce on this site. A longshank size 8 version has been the downfall of above average size trout.