I was hoping to get out yesterday afternoon after taking the wife to meet her sister as they are away for the week on a cruise, but by the time I got back the heavy rain had started so it was a night in with peace and quiet and some tying.
After rising at 6am this morning to see if any the rivers were fishable which they weren't, back to bed for a few hours then a lazy day tying some patterns in preparation for the Grayling.
My old friend and author John Roberts introduced me to this pattern years ago and I have to say since he gifted me a few then showed me how to tie them myself, these flies have taken more smutting Grayling for me than I care to remember, they have worked when all other patterns have failed.
The Supa Pupa Size16
Originally shown to me with white/brown bodies, I've found that there are many adaptations of the supa pupa since its original tyings by a Swedish angler in the 70s and the yellow/ brown work just as well & I've tied a few green to see how they fair as I got a few Arctic Grayling on this colour whilst in Finland.
Also decided to tie up a few small jig head nymphs in size 16's & 18s.
Not fishing like I would have liked but a nice way to spend the afternoon & whilst browsing back over one of John's old books " The Grayling Angler" published in 1982 I noticed that I took the easy route to magic river whilst in Finland by using a helicopter, he wrote a small piece in the book entitled Europe's Biggest Grayling in which William Currie walked 17 hours across the Tundra from Kilpisjarvi in 1962 to fish the same spots I did on my recent trip.
George
ReplyDeleteI tie a fly very similar. It's called a orange/yellow palmer.
The difference is you seemed to have clipped the hackle on the top.
Alan,
ReplyDeleteYes the hackle is clipped top & Bottom so that it only has hackle coming from both sides, is sits right in the film of the water, The yellow bodies one was an absolute beastie last night...27 Grayling.