First attempt

I bought some deer hair and made a attempt to tie a muddler, I have tried before but with no success.
I think the quality of deer I have previously used (natural coloured) is a good quality for small flies such as a streaking caddis but for my larger salmon tubeflies it just wouldn't work.
Now I bought a more “ruff” quality and it feels really good to use in my tubes.
For the next months I will practice and hopefully this will turn out to catch fish.

Muddler for 2010 salmon ?

At the moment a few new patterns for salmon and sea trout is emerging in fishing magazines.
Those patterns will probably appear in most salmon fishers flyboxes during the 2010 season, I know of some innovative and experienced people that has been using them for a seasons or so.
In some of the flies I have seen, the fly is built as a “standard” hair wing salmon / sea trout fly, but it is then finished with a muddler head!
The thoughts around the fly is generally that the muddler head is creating a sound in the water and this sound is supposed to be appealing for the fish.
One might think this would mean a floating fly, but you might as well fish the muddler to a sinking or hovering line.
If you fish the muddler on a sinking line, the fly will bee “hovering” and you might be able to fish it better, especially on the dangle or in slow water where you might be caught in weed or rocks with another fly.
This is one of several advantages for this fly.
I have not tried this myself yet but it will be tested throughout this year.
I think it has been used a bit more for sea trout than salmon fishing but this year the muddler will probably be tested hard for both salmon and sea trout.

white water

I was in Falkenberg today and went down to river Ätran, just to watch it for a moment. Its fairly cold (-6 C) and winter is closing in, wading is starting to look like an adventure. even in faster water ice is starting to build up.

This river is where I spent most of my salmon fishing last season, and I probably spend quite a few days here when the season opens again in April. For now the ducks will not be bothered by anglers but soon enough I will cast a fly across the stream again.

I cannot wait...

New Tubes

Snow and ice is covering most of Sweden, so fishing is for me out of the question.
Instead I spend this winter day by sitting home with my vice and tying flies.
I have found a “type” of fly I really like to tie. At the moment I tend to tie my flies in a way (I think) a lot of Scandinavian salmon fishers build their flies. I do not like copying others but building these, I think I might bee doing just that...
Anyway, today I have built some rather big flies for spring fishing.
I will start my season in a river called Ätran, it enters sea by the town Falkenberg on the west coast. Those fishing in the river tends to use red / brown or red / black patterns, and my fly is a fairly big version of red / brown with quite a bit of glittering.
I started to use angel hair last year and I mostly use it as a body hackle, in these flies I have a bronze type that I hope will give the fly some extra attraction without being overwhelming. These are the largest I now have in my fly box, the wing is about 10 cm and will hopefully give the fly an impressive (and irresistible) volume in the current.

2010 bet

Me and a friend of mine has a small bet for the 2010 season, the price is supposed to be a bottle of whisky for each of 3 categories. The first, the biggest and the most caught salmon and / or sea trout...
I planed to start the fishing really early, I had a small stream in mind that open in January and as it happens I have some clients fairly close to the particular stream...
The stream is called Nybroån and I have passed it a few times, it looks good!
When I went to their web page to book my day ticket, I found out that day tickets are available for Friday, Sunday and Monday, good fishing days but not for me since I´m not there during those days... I would have liked a head start but hopefully I will get a early start anyway, somewhere...

Icy fishing

A new year has begun, and as the clock turned to 00:01 January first a new season is open!
Coastal fishing for sea trout is now open but only in the south part of Sweden and for me that means 200 km to the nearest fishable coast.
I have never been fly fishing in the sea for sea trout, wading in cold icy water, slippery rocks and chilly wind is not that appealing sitting at home looking out on the snow.
But casting the fly for the first time even into icy water gives some warmth to the frozen surroundings.

I do not have the gear for coastal fishing, a two hand # 9 -10 or a single hand # 6 rod is the best I got, the #6 is not enough for a windy day, and #9-10 is a bit heavy.
Santa was out touring recently but did not bring me any new gear... I might have forgotten to write.

During the time of I read in blogs about people preparing for sea trout fishing, tying flies and packing gear for the opening day.
I am getting quite inspired and thinking that it might be nice to try it. Nothing planned and the winter is cold, but I think I will give it a try some time this year.