Søren Flarup - Ahrex Hooks

June 1st

All season openings are exciting. The longer the closed season is, the more excited we are just to get back to, in this case, the big, Norwegian rivers. As the clock nears midnight on May 31st, the first fly fishers are at the ready, river side, the long rods strung up with heavy sinking lines, short, stout leaders and big flies. Hoping for one of the big, silvery unicorns many of us have been dreaming about since last season – or maybe since the last trip to Norway, maybe years ago. But always just happy to cast a line, feel the force of the river on both the line and the legs as you wade.

Pike

I think I said it last week, or maybe the week before, May is a difficult month for fly fishers. Everything is on, everything is happening and there’s everything to choose from and a new mini-season is opening every two weeks. Soon it’s night fishing for sea trout in the rivers, but for now, let’s just focus on something that is very close to our hearts, here at Ahrex: Fly fishing for pike.

The Mayfly

Not mayflies as such – but the mayfly, the E. Danica and it’s stillwater relative, E. Vulgata are hatching now – or will be in a matter of days. Writing a blog can be many things and repetitive to a degree is one of them. There are seasonal highlights that deserve a spot on the blog every year and I believe we’ve covered the big mayfly hatch every year since the blog began.

Introducing The Patagon Bos Taurus

*Martins Red Fox tied by Martin B. Hedeggard.*

The name alone implies it – Patagon Bos Taurus, it sounds almost intimidating and the fish this hook is intended for are intimidating as much as they are beautiful. Big, strong South American rainbow trout in fast flowing water. Rainbows that like big flies and require a big, strong hook.

Pop-pop-pop

There are many fly fishers and many have different tastes and preferences. Salmon on the hitch, grayling on a deep nymph, trout on streamers and so on. But I think all fly fishers enjoy visible, vicious takes on the surface, whether on a foam beetle or a popper. Right now is perfect pop-pop-pop-time.

Wicked Documentary

Last week we released a new portait of our good friend, Stefan Larsson. Stefan Larsson doesn’t look like the typical fly fisher – nor is he the typical fly fisher. Long beard, lots of fingerrings and necklaces, smoking cigars and sometimes heard calling for Simms in the woods. That’s not because he’s lost his waders, but because his dog is called Simms.

Hot coffee, cold water and stickers

What else do you need, really? Well, we all like a little more gear than that for our fishing trips, but a cup of hot coffee and a bottle of cold water on a hot day is nice. And the rod tubes need stickers, right? Otherwise you’re not really on the beat (just so you know).

A talk with Bob Clouser

*The Clouser Minnow – tied by Bob Clouser*

As many of you will have noticed, we launched a new hook in the middle of March, the SA 210 Bob Clouser Signature. An excellent all round hook for saltwater flies, but designed around the specific wishes for the perfect Clouser Minnow-hook that Bob himself had. It was a great honour and pleasure for us to work directly with The Man himself and an even greater pleasure that Bob and his spouse, Jackie, were very, very pleased with the result.

Down – and up!

Sometimes everything is turned upside down – and it seems to be a tendency that is also permeating this blog lately. In March we introduced the SA 210 Bob Clouser Signature hook, and while it, in every way, is a “normal” hook, the fly it was designed around is an upside-down-fly. I’ve touched on the subjects “up-side-down” and “weedless” before, and here we go again.

Matukas and zonkers

I wrote a blog about matuka flies late summer last year, diving a little bit into the history of the style. Our resident, fly tying factory, Håkan, has made a step-by-step instruction on tying a matuka, so let’s take a more detailed look at the fly.