Flies to catch "Inconnu"
By Hans van Klinken
When I started to explore the feeding behaviour of the
Inconnu, I found that spoons were most successful in
inciting them to strike. I, therefore, wanted a good trade
off between realistic fish fry and a streamer. I actually
had put all my efforts into designing a small streamer
with the same action and mobility as a huge well-proven
pike fly. To accomplish this, I chose a very short hook
shank. I didn't want to tie the flies as big as the huge
and famous pike flies that we use in Holland, because I
already knew this wouldn't work. The bait the Inconnu feed
on is much smaller. I also realize that we have to use a
sink tip line, and therefore I didn't want to make a heavy
(weighted) fly. I use many strange, but effective fly
fishing techniques, and have developed my own ideas and
rules over the years. When I use wet flies, streamers or
nymphs on a floating line, I always use patterns with some
weight inside. If I use sinking or sinktip lines, I prefer
light or even unweighted flies. This gives the fly much
more action (which I call opposite action). This allows
more variety in retrieval speed, and gives the fly some
extra mobility as well. With these techniques, I also can
do a lot more with the rod tip. The Inconnu has many
names, and because it is most often described as the
Tarpon of the North, I wanted a fly that had a good
saltwater look as well. Another good reason to follow
these thought processes was the stories I had read about
the possibility that the Inconnu may have migrated from
saltwater into the fresh water rivers and lakes in the
distant past.
I finally found the "magic touch" one day when looking
through my wet flies. I found a very nicely weighted
saltwater streamer, with heavy tungsten eyes on top. I
used this fly with unbelievable success in a shallow
Norwegian fjord with a floating line. Starting an
experiment, I changed a few materials and left out the
weight, but I wasn't very satisfied at first. It took me a
few more weeks before I finally got the idea to use a hot
glue gun as I also do for my large pike streamers. I had
seen some fly tiers in Denmark and Sweden using this trick
for their favourite sea trout flies in the Baltic Sea.
Instead of the tungsten eyes, I created a soft head from
the melted glue. This would make the flies light and
transparent, and the long wing gave the fly an
unbelievable action. The hot glue makes a wonderful head,
and as long the glue is not fully dry, it can be formed
and molded into many forms and shapes. You have to
experiment because a good shape not only greatly increases
the fly's action, but also makes casting much easier as
well. I simply prefer a realistic "fish head" shape. This
hot glue was an excellent idea because when it is still
warm, it gets deep into the fur, hairs and synthetics,
which also makes this pattern much more durable. Other
great benefits of using this hot glue are: It is softer
and not as heavy as epoxy; Epoxy flies usually sink
quickly, and hot glue doesn't. I like many epoxy flies,
and its great material to experiment with during the
winter months, but I honestly must confess that I prefer a
much softer material for the Inconnu flies that I had
envisioned. I strongly believe that a fish feels with its
mouth as we do with our fingers, and because the Inconnu
belongs to the Whitefish family, I thought that even those
big fish must also have a very soft and sensitive mouth.
That's why I chose the hot glue and not the epoxy! It was
great to experiment with the hot glue gun, and a few weeks
after my first trials, I pressed some very realistic
holographic fish eyes into the hot glue to give the
pattern a more realistic look. It was easy to add the eyes
between two layers of glue, and the final result was also
more attractive. I tried the pattern in a bathtub, then in
a nearby pool, and the action with a sinktip line was
incredible; above all expectations.
I tested the fly on some little pike during the winter,
and made a few more changes to improve the durability. I
also sent the pattern to a few of my friends to test it
for me while doing some saltwater fishing. Their results
and feedback were amazing, especially with respect to the
mobility and action of the fly. After many weeks of trials
and experiments, I was finally sure that this was to be
the fly that I wanted to use for Inconnu in the summer of
2001. This was exactly the fly I was looking for.
The materials for my Inconnu flies
The final hook choice was the Sea Prince from Partridge
(code CS52), and I decided to use size 1. Its an extremely
strong hook, and in spite of my concern that the wire
could be too thick, I still made this choice. I didn't
know how big the Inconnu really would be, so this hook
could be perfect or a real disaster. It was just a guess,
and later I learned how effective this choice really was.
For the tail, beard or throat material, I used soft body
hair from rabbit, hare, arctic fox and mink, and I also
experimented with similar substitutes. I used dyed
materials in several bright colors as well. It was not
easy to find the fur that I really needed, because I
wanted it quite long. I also wanted at least the same
action, or perhaps better then the flies in my large
Bondal series of Atlantic salmon flies. I personally
prefer fuzzy stuff, with long under-fur that occasionally
includes a few extra long, tapered hairs. Mink and arctic
fox are just perfect, and therefore became my favorites.
For the body material, I mainly used Light Bright or Angel
Hair, which is a wonderful synthetic dubbing, but any
other extremely fine, flashy and shiny dubbing material
should have a similar effect. Depending on what color I
want for the bodies, I also use Crystal dub, or I make my
own mixture with soft hair and synthetics. The original
Crystal Flash makes really wonderful bodies as well.
In a few of my new Inconnu patterns I have included some
complete hackle feathers. Those flies turned out to be
very successful as well. I didn't use the fibers, but
rather a complete feather, and I mainly used saddle
hackles. My personal choice is a high quality feather from
a natural grizzly saddle cape.
For the wing, in my opinion, only one material is perfect
for all saltwater and similar patterns. This, of course,
is polar bear. This wonderful material, however, is
strictly forbidden in Holland and many other countries so
I can't use it because we have to respect rules and
regulations. I also don't like to kill wild animals for
their fur or feather or any reason. Reasonable substitutes
are goat, arctic fox and bucktail. I build up the wings
and mix in Crystal flash, flashabou, flashabou tinsels,
holographic tinsels or any great looking holographic fiber
material, and even Crystal hair. As topping, I sometimes
use strands of peacock herl, and for the eyes that I add
to the melted glue, there are many superb fish eyes
available nowadays!
The best can advice I can give you is to buy the best hot
glue gun you can find. There are many of my friends who
bought a cheap model. While theirs soon failed, mine is
still working! Furthermore, you will need transparent melt
glue sticks and a good marker.
The patterns
I have no particular names for my Inconnu flies so far,
but I prefer to tie the series without names anyway. The
reason is quite simple; all patterns have just slight
differences. Most of the flies are quite similar; with
only the colors I use being different. Of course I
experimented a lot with other materials, and made some
trials with marabou as well. There is still a lot left to
accomplish with these patterns. The dressings below will
probably give you the best idea as to how I build up my
Inconnu flies. So just give it a try, make your own
changes, and use your imagination and creativity well! The
flies I designed were especially for the Inconnu, but I
can assure you that they will work for many other
saltwater species too.
The Dressings:
Inconnu No 1
Hook: Partridge Sea Prince size 1 (code CS52)
Thread: Transparent or white (clear monifil works great as
well)
Tail: A nice bunch of chartreuse colored under-fur (rather
long) with some nice soft hairs sticking out about 5-6cm.
(tapered is preferred) A few strands of silver colored
holographic flashabou mixed with a few strands of light
green flashabou on top of the tail
Body: Light green light bright mixed with white and pearl
and dubbed firmly
Wing: A build up wing with green flashabou (fine) at the
bottom, tied in as long as the tail. I also experimented a
lot with a nice tapered bunch of angle hair! Over this, I
put a nice bunch of polar bear substitute, tapered again,
and tied in as long as the tail. Natural white bucktail,
extra fine (soft), and of very high quality seems a very
good substitute. On top of the wing, a few (12) strands of
peacock herls (I take the fibers close to the "eye" of the
peacock eye)
Throat hackle: chartreuse colored under fur (pretty long)
Head (under layer): For the first layer of the head …..
shape it like a cone, and press flat at sides
Eyes: Red colored flat fish eyes (adhesive) stick on both
sides of the head under layer
Head final: Melt glue (transparent) over the eyes and
under layer
Inconnu No 2
Hook: Partridge Sea Prince size 1 (code CS52)
Thread: Transparent or white (clear monifil works great as
well)
Tail: A nice bunch of white colored under fur (rather
long), with some nice soft hairs sticking out about 5-6cm.
(Tapered preferred) A few strands of pearl colored
flashabou mixed with a few strands of light blue flashabou
on top of the tail
Body: Kingfisher blue colored light bright, mixed with
white and pearl and dubbed firmly
Wing: A build up wing with colored holographic flashabou
(fine) at the bottom, tied in as long as the tail. I also
experimented a lot with a nice tapered bunch of angle
hair! Over this I put a nice bunch of polar bear
substitute, tapered again and tied in as long as the tail.
Natural white buck tail, extra fine (soft) and of very
high quality seems a very good substitute. On top of the
wing, a few (8) strands of extra fine blue-silver colored
holographic flashabou tinsel
Side wings: On each side, a good quality grizzly hackle
Throat hackle: Kingfisher blue colored under fur (pretty
long)
Head (under layer): For the first layer of the head …..
shape it like a cone, and press flat at sides
Eyes: Red colored flat fish eyes (adhesive) stick on both
sides of the head under layer
Head final: Melt glue (transparent) over the eyes and
under layer
Inconnu No 3 (one of my favorites)
Hook: Partridge Sea Prince size 1 (code CS52)
Thread: Transparent or white (clear monifil works great as
well)
Tail: A few strands of silver and blue colored holographic
flashabou tinsel (about 6-7cm) Then a small bunch of white
and hot orange colored under fur (pretty long) mixed and
with some nice soft hairs sticking out about 5-6cm.
(Tapered preferred and hot orange; twice as much as
white.) On each side of the tail a grizzly hackle (8 cm)
Body: Peacock colored light bright mixed with white and
pearl and dubbed firmly
Wing: A build up wing with blue colored holographic
flashabou (fine) at the bottom, tied in to half way up the
tail. I also experimented a lot with a nice tapered bunch
of angle hair! Over this I put a nice bunch of polar bear
substitute, tapered again and tied in as long as tail.
Natural white buck tail, extra fine (soft) and of very
high quality seems a very good substitute. Next a few (14)
strands of extra fine blue-silver colored holographic
flashabou tinsel. On top of the wing some polar bear
substitute again.
Side wings: (I tie this fly with and without side wings.)
At each side, a good quality grizzly hackle tied in at the
front of the body.
Throat hackle: Hot orange colored under-fur (pretty long)
Head (under layer): For the first layer of the head …..
shape it like a cone, and press flat at sides
Eyes: Red colored flat fish eyes (adhesive) stick on both
sides of the head under layer
Head final: Melt glue (transparent) over the eyes and
under layer
The general tying steps
Step 1
Place the hook in the vice and wrap the entire shank with
the tying thread. This avoids the difficulty of a slipping
wing and head when the fly is finished. Cut off a nice
bunch of hair for the tail and secure it well to the top
of the hook shank. Let the fibers stick out about 5-7cm.
You can be very flexible with this size, so experiment
with the length!
Note: You also can choose to tie in some strands of
flashabou first, then the hairs for the tail, then put
some extra flashabou on top again. A mixed tail works
great as well. You can use white plus any other color fur,
or choose a combination of other very effective colors
that coordinate well with the wing or body colors.
Step 2
Tie in the flashabou on top of the tail. Secure all the
tail material well on the hook shank!
Note: If you want to include the grizzly hackles in the
tail you, have to do it in this step! Be sure you tie in
the feathers so that they are pointing out to create the
most action and mobility when the fly moves through the
water!
Step 3
Apply your dubbing material to the thread. Start as close
as possible to the tail, then forward and return backwards
again. Finish with your dubbing in front again. Actually,
you have 3 layers of dubbing. Be sure you make your
wrappings very tight!
Note: You can twist your dubbing, or use any dubbing
twisters or whirls to make a strong body. I tie the body
pretty tight, but always pick out some fibers when
finished.
Step 4
Now make the wing. The traditional way to make the wing is
to build it up. The holographic fibers are added first,
than then the goat or bucktail fibers, and finely the next
layer of flashabou strands or other topping to finish the
wing.
Note: Be sure the wing is pretty long. At least as long as
the tail! The wing has to be of good volume as well, so do
not don't be too sparse with your materials. There is one
minor rule I use for my wings: Make them tapered and
never cut them, just pull out the hairs and fibers until
the wing has a wonderful and tapered shape.
Step 5
Tie in a long bunch of soft rabbit fur as beard or throat.
Note: Make the beard or throat long, and be sure you cover
the hook point with it! You must always use very soft
hairs, so select them well, pick out, and then tie them
in!
Step 6
Now take your glue pistol. Be sure the glue is warm enough
to spread inside the hair. Build it up slowly. Let it dry
for a few seconds, and then push it flat with your
fingers. Make a nice looking tapered-cone head. If dry,
then color the top to give it a more realistic look.
Note: Melt glue without a glue pistol works too, but it
will be much harder to get your beautiful transparent
color. Always flatten or squeeze the head from the side,
because that will give your creation the best action in
the water.
Step 7
Now put the eyes on both sides, and cover everything again
with your second layer of melted glue. The fly is finished
as soon the melt glue has dried.
Success
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