‘I have always enjoyed the fall season on the coast. I particularly like the fall season, because the fish are always in good condition after feasting their way through spring and summer.’
Andreas Larsson has written this week’s blog for us – a few tips for fall fishing along the coast and a beautiful zonker fly for the season.
The Danish-American connection. Poul Jorgensen is a Danishman, who spent most of his life in the United States, where he earned quite a reputation as an excellent fly tyer. Being Danish he of course kept a connection to Denmark and he was, among many others of course friends with the Mad Veterinarian, Preben Torp (a well known character in Denmark).
One can almost hear how this fly got its name after it began gaining some popularity. “What did you catch it on?”. “Oh, just the usual one…” So what is Den Vanliga (Swedish for The Usual)? It is an unusually effective salmon fly that we usually tie on tubes, no-body style and with a built in weight.
I’m not sure how many of the younger generations of fly fishers are familiar with the name Hugh Falkus? When I was new in this hobby, Hugh Falkus was a giant. One of Britain’s most well-known, well-respected and revered fly fishers. He was a prolific salmon- and sea trout angler, living almost on the banks of the Cumberland Ask with other hallowed streams within easy reach.
It’s not as serious as it seems, but it was the general thinking behind the first Intruder-flies Ed Ward, Jerry French and Scott Howell tied, sometime in the early 90ies. They discovered that big flies would illicit aggressive strikes – because the “intruded the personal space” of big fish, without spooking them. To begin with they used them for king salmon and then slowly transferred the style of fly to steelhead fishing.
April 16th is an important day in Denmark. It’s the opening day for the all the salmon rivers in the western part of Jutland, Skjern, Varde, Storå, Ribe, Konge, Sneum and a few more. Gudenå in eastern Jutland has been open for some time now. Of course, it’s also Her Majesty The Queen’s birthday, which I’m sure is much more important to must, but like not to you, the readers of this blog..
Unlike in Denmark, where you can fish the coastline all year round , sea trout along the Swedish west coast are protected until April 1st.
… in the salmon rivers might seem relatively far away right, but that allows proper preparation (or as a former, German elite forces friend taught me – The 7 P’s: Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance). And while this proverb might have otherwise serious consequences in his former line of work, it also has the potential to get the most out of a week of otherwise difficult fishing.
Absolute perfection at the vice – the Green Highlander tied by John Lind Rasmussen. Pattern as per Dr. T. E. Pryce-Tannat, all original materials – even the hook is custom made by John himself – absolutely stunning work.
Few types of flies are surrounded by more traditions, mystery and historical buzz than the classic salmon flies from the 19th century in England, and one of the most famous and wellknown is the Green Highlander.
Not the vermin – the fly series. The RAT-series are famous flies, swung for salmon all over the world. They are usually tied on double hooks (but singles do just as well) and rarely in huge sizes – in part due to the tradition wing material, which is grey fox.
