Summer - Ahrex Hooks

Sam’s One Bug

We have just passed Christmas and started the new year when a package arrived at the office – a nicely decorated package box containing a belated Christmas present from the USA with contents that really impressed us. Two nice decorated boxes containing some very nice, brightly colored and especially foam flies – the famous Sam’s One Bug that have been developed for bass fishing in the USA.

*Even the box was decorated with a beautiful drawing of the Sam’s One Bug*

*What an amazing package from Wade Bleven – son of late Craig “Sam” Blevins.*

The package came from the late Craig “Sam” Blevins son Wade Blevins, who is working to continue the story of one of the most famous foam flies for bass. We’ll turn the word over to Wade Blevins:

The Ultimate Generalist?

When fishing new destinations and waters, are you the type to spend the winter researching hatches, relevant to the time of your visit? I am. In general, I am fairly meticulous in preparing for a trip, especially if involves travel and the following expenses. I can stand being somewhere and missing opportunities because I didn’t prepare.

Late summer dries

In late summer when it’s hot and dry, trout fishing possibilities are limited. Trout are rarely active when the sun and the heat is high. It’s not impossible to catch them, though, especially if you restrict your activity to the evenings.

Predator and prey

Most predatory fish change behaviour over the season. They are found in different places and feed different times of the day. Why? They are predatory and follow the behaviour of their prey. So I suppose, in a sense, that you can say they have only one behaviour – they follow their prey. If you’re fishing for predatory fish, and I suspect most of us are, the key to catching them is often to understand what they’re feeding on and the prey behaves.

Ants

Once you mention the phrase, “10 Must-Have-Flies”, that list is obviously going to be different depending on what you’re fishing for, when you’re fishing, where you’re fishing, weather conditions, water level, water clarity – and of course, who you ask. I think you understand – there are no “10 Must-Have_Flies” for anything. But there are of course flies you really should have and if you’re fishing trout and grayling, particularly in or around (but not restricted to) woods and wooded areas, an ant imitation is one of them.

Green drakes and brown trout

The two largest mayflies that hatch in Scandinavia are the E. Danica and it’s still water relative, E. Vulgata. Most commonly they are simply referred to as “may flies”. In this article, Andreas Larsson tells you more or less everything you need to know about the E. Vulgata, the imitations and the few tips on how to succeed in a hatch.

Phryganea Grandis

Many flyfishers are looking for the time when the big mayflies, E. Danica and E. vulgata, start to hatch in late spring and early summer. The image of a big newly hatched mayfly dun swirling down the stream or standing on the surface of a small lake, is for many of us the true picture of what flyfishing is all about. And it is great fun to see, when also the biggest fish lower their guard and start chasing those big flies. But in Stillwater, there as time that are even more fun to experience and that’s when the big Caddis flies begin to show, running the surface to safer ground.

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.

The small stuff

The importance of a certain food item for trout and grayling and other species can be ascertained in several ways. You can get on the water with a seine and check what’s available to the fish, but you can also have a look at the number of imitations of a certain insect or other prey.

Calamari Time along The Northeast Coast

Super Squid tied on PR320 by Jonny King -06

Steve Silverio is our coordinator for the North American Ahrex Pro Team and in general a great help and friend to us, here at Ahrex HQ. Steve often offers invaluable advice on many levels and he was very much the man behind our HR 418 WD Bomber hook. Below Steve has written a Little on squid flies for striped bass. Just now, in the early summer months squid are coming close to shore to bredde and behind them follow big, stripes bass.

Continue reading “Calamari Time along The Northeast Coast”