Chris McCully

Pike and zander on the Flash Fly

Sunday, 15 November 2009 at 20:46

It's not just pike which will take the Flash Fly.  Zander will take the pattern, too.  A zander has no difficulty whatsoever in hunting and taking a 6/0 streamer - as here.  It was almost dark when this shot was taken, so I've tweaked the light levels a bit. 

You'll find more details about tying the Flash Fly in the following entries.

Photo: Benno Rozestraten.

A voyage round the Flash Fly 1

Sunday, 15 November 2009 at 17:22

So many people have asked me about the Flash Fly that I thought I'd better say something about the pattern.

First, I didn't invent it. Morten Valeur designed the streamer, and his design was adapted by Michael Jensen, who in 2003 publicised the dressing in his book Fly-Fishing for Pike (an excellent work). I have further adapted Michael's adaptation, and here record my gratitude to both men.

Second, the Flash Fly is far and away my most successful pike streamer. The specimen pictured has taken well over two dozen pike, including two this afternoon (65 and 70cm., in pouring rain). When this shot was taken the streamer had been extracted from a pike's jaw just an hour before. It's looking battered, right enough, and some of the tinsels have broken or worn away, but it will still catch pike. I've used the pattern with success in Sweden and Ireland as well as in the Netherlands.

Third, I fish them barbless (or on de-barbed hooks). Terminal gear for my normal pike fly-fishing, where smallish pike up to 10 or 12lb. can be expected,  is a 6-foot length of 20lb nylon knotted (via an Albright Knot) to a 12-inch length of titanium - to which I crimp on a tough spring clip. I have never yet had such gear break, slip or come apart. It's simple, light and tough.

Fourth, they're easy to cast. A Flash Fly 8 inches long tied on a 6/0 hook can easily be set away by an 8- or 9-weight rod. Because the 'fly' is made of nothing more than tinsel then it sheds water easily and dries quickly.

Fifth, they're tough. The shank is left bare, so if you do want or need to use forceps to remove the hook then the shank of the streamer can be grasped on the naked steel, as it were. So durable are the streamers that each one is good for well over a dozen pike.

Some minimal tying notes follow....

A voyage round the Flash Fly 2

Sunday, 15 November 2009 at 17:18

Use good hooks.  These Daiichi models are excellent in sizes 6/0 and 4/0, though I prefer the bigger hook even for polder pike (average size 2-6lbs.).  I nip down the barbs of the hooks with pliers.  Other reliable hooks are Ad Swier Absolutes and Gamakatsu worm hooks (LS-5013F), both in size 6/0.

Once the hook is secure in the vice, use good tough thread.  'Big Fly' thread is ideal.

A voyage round the Flash Fly 3

Sunday, 15 November 2009 at 17:15

To begin the tying, first secure a length of cactus chenille at the rear of the shank.  Begin opposite the point of the hook.  Use tight turns, and add a drop of varnish when you're done.  The chenille helps the tinsel fibres (yet to be added) to strut around the hook shank.  Colour of chenille is unimportant.  I tend to use red, green or orange.

A voyage round the Flash Fly 4

Sunday, 15 November 2009 at 17:08

Add tinsel. The tinsel(s) you add at the rear of the streamer should be approximately one-and-a-half times the length of the hook shank. I first add a layer of stiffish tinsel (I use Lametta Christmas tinsel, silver). The stiffer tinsel helps to prevent the softer Flashabout tangling in the bend of the hook. Once that's tied in, I add that further layer of softer Flashabou (copper, silver or gold).

When adding the tinsel(s), select a thinnish, long length. Tie in amidships of the length, and then sweep back the forward-pointing tinsel fibres, subsequently binding them down. You can tie in three or four bunches of tinsel like this, perhaps in contrasting colours: silver, copper, gold, green-gold.... The streamer should finally have both volume (not mere bulk), lightness and mobility.

When you're done, make a neat tapered 'head' (at the tail of the streamer!), whip finish in the usual way, varnish and allow to dry before fashioning the front end of the streamer.

A voyage round the Flash Fly 5

Sunday, 15 November 2009 at 17:07

Now repeat the process at the head.  Tie in a length of sparkle yarn or cactus chenille....

A voyage round the Flash Fly 6

Sunday, 15 November 2009 at 17:01

Add the front tinsels - first some stiffer tinsel, then a layer of Flashabou. I've here tied in a lighter gold (rather than copper) tinsel, just because I like the effect. You should ensure than the front tinsels are just slightly shorter than the rear ones. Whip finish in the usual way, apply varnish and allow to dry. Total length of standard Flash Fly - 7-8 inches (16-18cm), though I build them up to 10 inches. In principle you can leave the streamer exactly like that, but I sometimes prefer to add eyes and epoxy at the head (please see next entry).