Yup, that's right, I spelled it with a ''k''. Making it my own! Lots of people have been asking what flies I use for Char and Salmon right now and I figured I had better post up a couple patterns.
I like to carry bugs in 2 colors, and 2 sizes. Dark bugs being combos of black/purple, black/blue, blue/chartreuse. For bright bugs it's hot pink, white/olive, white/tan. I include some flash, but not an over the top amount. I like the movement of natural materials so I use marabou, schlappen, rhea, and ostrich.
The 2 sizes are tied in different styles, my ''big'' patterns, which are in the neighborhood of 4'' are tied on waddington shanks, with a loop of braided line attached in a manner that your hook of choice can be looped on. The hook size varies from one fishery to the next, but for an all around hook I use an Owner #2. The beauty of the stinger hook is that if the hook gets dull, you can simply remove it and loop on a new one. I also feel you hook up a greater percentage of those half hearted takes. When swinging these intruder type flies you want them to be running just like the Beastie Boys song, ''slow and low, that is the tempo". Most times the take will be a slow, spongy sort of feeling, and will be dismissed as bottom till you set the hook and the rods starts pumping! Here is an example of one tied stinger style in black and purple which is my favorite fly hands down! The second is the hot pink.
The other size, which I call my small pattern still measure up at about 2 1/2'' long! but are tied on either a #2 or #4 2XXlong Tiemco. These work better when the water is clear or if my clients can't chuck a half wet chicken. To get the movement I like in my flies, they're tied with materials that tend to grab air and stay a bit buoyant, so I generally wrap the shank of the hook with .030 lead wire. Char are especially notorious for following swung flies out of the current and then taking them while being retrieved. The lead helps the fly to rise and drop when a generous pause is done between strips back in, triggering a strike that will startle you! Usually this happens within the first 5 strips or so. Below are examples of the same flies tied on the long shanks.
There are a million different patterns, and we all have different ideas about size and color but this is what works for me, and I think if you have too many different ones in your boxes to choose from you'll spend more time changing them, and second guessing them, than fishing!
Anyways..... Back to my vise!
Erik
