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A BUG FOR THE DEEPS
Fishing the dry fly for grayling and trout is my passion and I
prefer it to any other method. I get a greater thrill out of
seeing fish coming up to take my fly on the surface than I do
from nymphing or any other kind of wet-fly fishing. Sadly
dry-fly fishing doesn't always work. Sometimes, it is necessary
to use unweighed nymphs, flymphs or emergers for fishing just
under the surface in order to be successful. The worst thing
that can happen to a dry-fly fisherman, however, is when fish
are lying right down on the bottom, or are feeding in deep lies.
In these circumstances my leaded bugs can be successful, or at
least worth a try.
The leadhead is probably the most successful deep-water nymph I
have ever used. There were many modifications and changes made
to the original before I arrived at the dressing I use today.
Originally designed for the large, deep and swift rivers of
Scandinavia, it has since to prove well in many other rivers
too.
NEW FISHING GROUNDS, NEW FRIENDS
During my first years as a fly fisherman, I only fished with dry
fly and it took me some years to discover the value of nymphs.
When I first developed my own nymphs, I never guessed how much
satisfaction and pleasure fishing with a nymph would lead to. I
developed the leaded bugs especially for grayling feeding in
deep lies. Before 1980, I only tied a few nymphs for fishing in
Holland and to practice my tying skills and, because of the good
results I had been getting with the dry fly abroad; I was seldom
prompted to use them.
During one of my summer holidays in the early eighties I met
some Swedish fly fishing fanatics at the Glomma River in Norway.
I usually fished in the areas around Koppang, Atna and Alvdal,
but the interest in new fishing grounds and fishing pressure
drove me further upstream. I found a nice camping place between
Tynset and Os named Knennan, located in an area described as one of the best grayling
waters in Europe. Unfortunately it was crowded at that time, mainly with
Swedish fisherman but everyone was friendly to us so we decided
to stay and see how things turned out. It was a good choice and
in less than one hour after putting up our tent I had befriended
a group of fly fishermen who already fished a couple of days and
knew exactly where, when and how to tackle the river. When they
invited me to accompany them during their nightly trip, I realised that this was the beginning of a completely new
experience.
FAVOURITE BEAT
With this group, I fished one of the most beautiful stretches of
the river. After several years of fishing this beat has become
one of my favourites; I call it Otter Creek. Every time I have
fished this stretch I have seen otters, they were unbelievably
curious and a good company during the lonely nights. They
actually never disturb my fishing and were more one of the
aspect of the fantastic wildlife in this area of Norway.
Lars one of the group members, used to fish with very heavy
nymphs and this especially caught my attention. He was the only
one who fished below the surface, and he did so with
considerable success. I had some interesting discussions with
him, as I was very eager to learn.
The killing fly Lars was using, he called his Kvennan Special.
It was named after the camping place that he had stayed and
fished for more than 15 years.
One evening, after a bitterly cold and rainy day when the dry
fly had not been nearly as successful for me as usual, Lars
invited me to his caravan and were we exchanged some fly
patterns. He also gave me an excellent tying demonstration of
several of his own kind of bugs. I regret that I did not make
proper notes on that occasion: I am sure many anglers would love
to hear about my Swedish friend's marvellous patterns.
Lars was a very good teacher and his techniques were simple and
effective. Because of the success with his nymphs I tried to
copy the pattern and after a few attempts a reasonable one was
born. I showed my "Kvennan Nymph" to Lars who was very
complimentary. At that time I only had been tying a few years
but I am sure his help instilled confidence in me and was
probably instrumental in the development of the nymphs I tie
today. The Kvennan Special is still one of my favourites but
more importantly, it is also the fly that gave me the idea for a
very successful series of patterns that I devised myself.
I first tied my own weighted nymphs during the winter after I
had been introduced to the Kvennan Special. The nymphs were tied
using layers of leadwire to weight them. The materials Lars used
for his fly were not available in Holland, but I found some
satisfaction in using rabbit fur and partridge feathers. My
first nymph I called Lars's Grayling Bug and it did very well.
IMPROVEMENTS
In a year of experiments with this variation of the Kvennan
Special I tried to bring some improvements to the fly: I left
out the tail and moved the body hackle much closer to the hook
bend. A smaller tag in the same colour as the original pattern
still existed, but it was not long before I did some colour
experiments with the tag too. The fibres of the partridge tail
feather gave a nice long tail and very good action. Today I
consider this idea to be one of the best in my development of
grayling bugs.
Many people do not believe in catching grayling with this three
centimetre long tailed fly, but I can assure you that I caught
more fish than in any other season before. I called this fly The
Lost Caddis because it was for me a reasonable imitation of a
cased caddis larva released from stones or weeds. The tail could
be seen as the legs of the insect while the tag imitated the
head.
I used to tie all the bugs using leadwire to weight them, but
the split-shot which I have used since 1984 was the accidental
result of having run out of leadwire on one occasion. My only
option was to place a leadshot on the hookshank just behind the
eye. The "Leadheaded Grayling Bug No 1" was born.
With this first Leadheaded Grayling bug, I fished during the
winter and first part of the new season with great results, but
when I tried to use the fly in more shallow water of Central
Europe, the fly got stuck in the weeds, or on the bottom or
between stones. Then I got a marvellous idea. An idea that
certainly had came up in the minds of several other fishermen
too, especially when they liked to present their flies deep and
close to the bottom. I tied an upside-down variation, which I
achieved by replacing the leadshot on a piece of monofilament
just above the eye. This improved version of the leadheaded bug
I named "The leadheaded Grayling Bug No 2", now better known as
"the Leadhead". This pattern had even more action than earlier
designs. A pattern using exactly the same tying technique for
securing the leadshot was designed by Ingo Karwath around 1985.
I am sure Ingo and I had the same idea around the same time. His
pattern is known as the "Cousteau Nymph"
After 1984 the patterns did not change much. I did some
experiments with other dubbings, but I always came back to
rabbit fur or squirrel dubbing. For the tag material I tried
many different materials, but the fluorescent green Flexibody
has given the most spectacular results and seems to be the best
by far.
The latest improvement of the leadhead was made a couple of
years ago by Oliver Edwards. He is a very good friend of mine,
and one of the best fly tiers and fisherman of fishable
realistic flies I know. Oliver was impressed about my series of
flies and after some discussions with me, he designed his own
and more realistic variation on the leadhead, which he called
the "Peeping Caddis". With exclusive drawings he describes his
tying method in his magnificent book; "Fly Tyers Masterclass"
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