A new generation of hairwing patterns
by Hans van Klinken
Let me give you a little background about the arising of
my most popular hairwings ever. The first prototypes arose
in 1988 at the River Bondal where I became enormous
successful after 4 blank Salmon years with a fly I called the Bondal Silver. I designed the pattern in a cabin close to
the banks of the river during one of these days where you
better could stay inside due to unbelievable bad weather
conditions. The Bondal Silver was the first pattern on
which I caught a salmon below the surface. Until then I
only had succeed with dries in the north and central
Scandinavia. After my success with the Bondal Silver I got
more interested in hairwings and my confidence started to
building up. Between 1989 and 1991, I did some extensive
experiments with the same patterns in central Norway,
basing these tests particularly on the length of the wing.
My conclusions were striking. In the same period, I also
started some other experiments with different beard or
throat hackle material. The magic touch I got while I was
after salmon in the estuaries of the Fosen peninsula at
Norwegians west-coast.
When I had sent a few of my latest patterns to the USA I
started to concentrate myself even more on hairwings. The
greatest motivation to continue with these ideas was
because the conclusion my
American friend Dick Lemmerman was coming to. He was
really crazy about one particular pattern of my Bondal
series; the Bondal Black was his absolute favourite for
the Margaree River in Nova Scotia. Dick renamed the fly
to the "The Dutchman's Balls" -. I have no idea why but the name
already became so popular that I have to use it myself to
prevent confusions. With the advent of the Bondal Black,
even more hairwings within the same series evolved and they larger and
larger. Today the Bondal series include about 13 difference
patterns, which are worthwhile to try for Atlantic Salmon
in Europe, Russia and eastern North-America.
The dressings and more backgrounds
Hairwings are an easy tie, but I insist on some
differences based on my personal preferences and
experience. First, for me the hook must be down eyed
because I fish my flies with a lot of action and just
below the surface. I firmly recommended the CS42 or Bomber
hook from Partridge. The shape is beautiful . I believe
that a down-eye hook with special kind of knots
produces a more natural drift during fishing and a
superior-hooking angle. The hook has a fine wire, is very
sharp and extremely durable and the barb is small and easy
to remove. During the years I fished many waters in which
barbed hooks were not allowed and I didn't find any
differences between using a barb or not. The greatest
difference with my new generation of hairwings has to do
with the beard (or throat) of the fly. Nowadays I use dyed
rabbit fur exclusively for all the beards on my Bondals
and Pulsars. I prefer to use the soft and long hairs of a
zonkerstrip - and use a considerable bunch of it. I take
very long fibres, sometimes even almost reaching the
hook point. I tie it in long and with a very good reason.
A long beard you can make shorter easily just by pulling
it off between thumb and forefinger. The fly has an
unbelievable action and definitely has a superior
attraction for fish. Although many people say that
traditional jungle cock eyes sometimes can be deadly, I
removed them from all my fishing flies. I find no evidence
that they do any good whatsoever. In order to give my
flies a personal touch, I tied in a tail of teal fibres
and add a few longer fibres of teal as a sheath over the
wing as a kind of topping. Finally I use a more powerful
technique to secure the wing because I prefer durability
above appearance. This technique you will find in the
tying instructions. A beautiful small head of the fly
surely looks great but do you think the fish would mind?
My 13 most effective patterns from this new series of
hairwings are:
no 1: Bondal Black
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine silver wire
Tail: A few fibres of mallard or teal
Butt: Blue fluorescent nylon wool tied much longer than
normal (substitutes for all patterns: floss, Uni nylon
stretch or Wapsi's super bright dubbing)
Rib: Oval silver tinsel medium size
Body: Peacock herl or as substitute Wapsi's Super Bright
peacock dubbing
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur, dyed kingfisher blue
Wing: Dyed blue squirrel tail (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle) substitutes: black bear or natural
black squirrel
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Head: Black
Excellent fly for dark rainy days. Killer on the Margaree
River in Nova Scotia Great fly for the Norwegian west
coast.
no 2: Bondal Silver
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine silver wire
Tail: A few fibres of mallard or teal
Butt: Blue fluorescent nylon wool or substitutes
Rib: Oval silver tinsel medium size
Body: Flat silver tinsel. Worthwhile to try is holographic
mylar tinsel.
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur, dyed kingfisher blue
Wing: Dyed blue squirrel tail (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Head: Black
Superb fly for estuaries, sea pools and fresh running fish
and also a good fly for sea trout in Norway.
no 3: Tony's First Choice
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine silver wire
Tail: A few fibres of mallard or teal
Butt: Yellow fluorescent dept ray nylon wool, tied much
longer than normal
Rib: Oval silver tinsel medium size
Body: Peacock herl
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur, dyed hot orange
Wing: Dyed blue squirrel tail (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Head: Black
My best Salmon fly for Scandinavia. Killer in the Grey
River and succeed in many other rivers in Atlantic Canada.
no 4: Clearwater Special
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine silver wire
Tail: A few fibres of mallard or teal
Butt: Yellow fluorescent dept ray nylon wool, tied much
longer than normal
Rib: Oval silver tinsel medium size
Body: Peacock herl
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur, dyed fluorescent green
Wing: Dyed green squirrel tail (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Head: Black
Superb fly for the Miriamichi and tributaries. Very
effective when rain coloured the water.
no 5: 1997
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine gold wire
Tail: A few fibres of teal dyed yellow
Butt: Yellow fluorescent stretch nylon tied much longer
than normal
Rib: Oval gold tinsel medium size
Body: Golden holographic mylar tinsel
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur, dyed fluorescent yellow
Wing: Dyed yellow squirrel tail (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Teal fibres dyed yellow (top)
Head: Black
Best salmon fly during the 1997 season in Newfoundland and
Labrador.
no 6: Where-ya-Wannebee Special
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine gold wire
Tail: A few fibres of mallard or teal
Butt: Yellow fluorescent stretch nylon tied much longer
than normal
Rib: Oval gold tinsel medium size
Body: Peacock herl
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur, dyed fluorescent yellow
Wing: Dyed yellow squirrel tail (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Head: Black
Killer in most rivers of western Newfoundland. Named after
the lodge from were we organised our fishing trips. Superb
fly for waters with a high concentration of tannic acid.
no 7 and 8: Orange Bondal and Golden Orange Bondal
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine gold wire
Tail: A few fibres of mallard or teal
Butt: Orange fluorescent nylon wool tied much longer than
normal
Rib: Oval gold tinsel medium size
Body (Orange Bondal): Peacock herl
Body (Golden Orange Bondal): Golden holographic mylar
tinsel
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur, dyed fluorescent orange
Wing: Dyed orange squirrel tail (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Head: Black
Very good fly for waters with a high concentration of
tannic acid.
no 9: Stordals Killer
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine silver wire
Tail: A few fibres of mallard or teal
Butt: Red fluorescent wool tied much longer than normal
Rib: Oval silver tinsel medium size
Body: Peacock herl
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur, dyed fluorescent blue
Wing: Dyed blue squirrel tail (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Head: Black
Good fly for dark days, high water and late evening. Named
after the Stordals River in Norway where this pattern
tempts most fish during a certain day in the 1989 season.
no 10 and 11: Green Bondal and Yellow Green Bondal
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 yellow
Tag: Fine silver wire
Tail: A few fibres of mallard or teal
Butt (Yellow Green Bondal): Yellow fluorescent stretch
nylon tied much longer than normal
Butt (Green Bondal): Green fluorescent stretch nylon tied
longer then usual
Rib: Oval silver tinsel medium size
Body: Flat silver tinsel
Beard (Yellow Green Bondal): A nice bunch of rabbit fur
mixed from dyed fluorescent yellow and green
Beard (Green Bondal): A nice bunch of dyed fluorescent
green rabbit (same colour as tag)
Wing: Dyed yellow squirrel tail (bottom)
Dyed green squirrel tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Head: Yellow
I like this fly most directly after a rain shower
no 12 and 13: Second Change and Last Chance
Hook: Partridge CS 42 size 8-4
Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 black
Tag: Fine gold wire
Tail (Second Chance): A few fibres of teal
Tail (Last Chance): A few fibres of mallard or teal dyed
yellow
Butt: Yellow fluorescent stretch nylon tied much longer
than normal
Rib: Oval gold tinsel medium size
Body (Second Chance): Peacock herl
Body (Last Chance): Golden holographic mylar tinsel
Beard: A nice bunch of rabbit fur natural black colour
Wing (Second Chance): Crystal flash or Angel hair mixed
colours (bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres (top)
Wing (Last Chance): Crystal flash or Angel hair mixed
(bottom)
Fitch tail (middle)
Mallard or teal fibres dyed yellow(top)
Head: Black
Excellent flies to offer you a Second or Last chance after
you rolled a fish.
TYING TECHNIQUE FOR THE BONDAL SERIES (see drawings)
Step 1
Put on tying thread and tie in a piece of round tinsel or
wire.
Step 2
The way I prefer is to secure the wire on the hook shank
and wrap a few windings towards the bend. Then I wrap it
back so that there is a double layer. Tie in the tail of
teal fibres in front of the tag. Take a piece of
fluorescent nylon or floss and secure it on the hook shank
.
Step 3
Make a nice long butt. Using up to 5 windings is no
problem. Tie in the tinsel for the rib and 3 or 4 long
peacock herls for body.
Step 4
Make a nice body from peacock and secure with the ribbing
with opposite windings. Tie in a long bunch of soft rabbit
fur as beard or throat. The traditional way to make the
wing is to build it up. The squirrel tail fibres are added
first, than the fitch tail and finely the mallard fibres
over all.
For my fishing flies I use a different technique to secure
the wing. The reason for this is very simple. Just take
some hairwings from somebody's fly box and give a strong
pull at the wing. In many cases you will separate the wing
from the fly. The other reason is that during time the
lacquer dries out and looses the holding. To make the wing
more durable I use following technique: I tie in the wing
at the bottom of the fibres on the thickest part. The top
of the wing must be pointed in the opposite direction of
the hook eye. I tie it in very strong and than pull the
wing backwards. Finely I tie off the wing as strong as
possible. The head will be a little bigger but you will
never lose the wing anymore. Secure well and tie off.
Step 5
The completed fly
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