Trout Anniversary - ”Thinking Outside The Box”

A Brown Trout to Remember

A magnificent 50 cm (or 20") brown trout taken the 15th of October several years ago

 

           This is neether the biggest, the most beautiful or the trout that gave me the most pleasure playing him, but it's really ”A brown trout to remember”. Another reason is that I don't have photos of many of my most memorable trout since it hasn't been a habit of mine to bring a camera. This one was taken on a 7' rod 1-2 weight on a small barbless dry flymph (The Possum) and a pretty thin tippet. Furthermore it was taken on one of the last days of the year that it was possible to fly fish in still water. The lakes were frozen over just a short while after the 15th of October that year. Quite some years ago but still very vivid in my memory.

           ”Thinking Outside The Box” so to speak was what gave me the opportunity to play this trout and many others like it or even more beautiful. This calls for an explanation from my side.

           A pretty long time ago when I was fishing in this little lake with many a nice trout the good caddis or sedge patterns wheren't taken by the trout. At that time it didn't make sense to me. Therefore – yes, your'e right – I had to ”Think Outside The Box”. Using the most lovely imitations would just put the trout down for a while or make them go away from the spot I was fishing. So what could I do? Since it was quite some time ago now – taking the human lifespan into consideration – I can't say exactly how it came about but I was pondering over the mystery about the trout getting spooked by traditional flies that should have worked. I got help from a book I had read, written by very known fly fishers here in Sweden and they also included parts written by Vernon S. Hidy and has ”Big Jim” Leisenrings ”Color and Materials Book” in print at the end of the book that is called ”Flymfer & andra mjukhacklade flugor” (Something like Flymphs and other softhackled flies in english). There is a part talking of very spooky big brown trout that the authors finally could trick with flies and make them take.

           Now I guess that everyone wants to know what flies these big spoky trout finally took. It was small floating flymphs. That was kind of an eyeopener for me at the time. I had read the book earlier (perhaps several times) but now an idea took form to try something similar to get my spooky big browns to take on dry fly. This way ”The Possum” was born.

Two flies "proven in battle"

The original or first type I tied

Can be used in all available sizes of Tiemco 103-BL

Tying description:

Hook: Tiemco 103-BL size #11-21

Body: Australian opossum - Hence the name 

          (I tend to use just black but also have tied other versions)

Hackle: Genetic grizzle hen hackle

          (I just use double hackle on the biggest -
           which was the original or first)

Tail: Grizzle hen
 

          With this fly I've been in contact with really big brown trout that, after almost breaking my bamboo rod snapped the leader in a matter of a few seconds, and others that I've taken to hand ranging from 1-4 pounds or so. Needless to say - this pattern and some others with a similar success – are flies that I always bring with me.

           That makes me remind a fly fisher that I met when fishing at Molntjärn (my favorite still water). The trout were taking on a small variant of The Possum just below the surface and this man came up to me and asked the usual question: ”What are they taking?” upon which I showed him and he wanted to buy some from me. Naturally I gave him what he wanted for free and he was happy to get a chance to give the pattern a try.

           By chance I met him the following year too. He had fished ”The Possum” quite frequent and with a good result. He mentioned that the fly was liked by the trout in Storån, a stream pretty known among fly fishers in Sweden since Frank Sayer have fished there. During his visit a new pattern was born tied by him the – Sawyer Swedish Nymph – more or less like the Pheasant Tail but made with grey goose instead to look like the nymphs that was discovered in that stream.

           My conslusion of my own experience and what has been told me by others is that – at least here in Sweden where we don't have limestone or chalk streams – strict imitation of what the trout is eating isn't needed (perhaps just during very special circumstances) to get in contact with nice trout. It's mostly a matter of ”buggyness”, size and where the trout is feeding.

M.O. 

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