tie in, one on each side and one underneath (apparently thereās a big stink amongst the Brits about their orientation - donāt have 'em hanging below the body and you catch some flak); trim butts
Nicely done Scott, that is a fly I didnāt expect you to cover. There are lots of variations on it. Iāve seen it in just about every colour you can imagine, and tied most at one time or another. Even an all CdC version.
The fly is very much a child of international loch style competition fly fishing. There are size limits on the flies used in these competitions. The equate to a standard shank size 10 with a short tail as the largest fly permitted. (I have no idea why). Competitors must not use flies that will not fit in a gauge like this
The smaller size is the hook size, and the larger the size of the overall fly. It was to fit into this restriction that brought this fly about.
It is fished both wet and dry. Having cast it out, usually as one of a team of three flies, it is given a few seconds to sit on the surface then pulled. Sometimes the fish want them dry, if they do they are Ginked to float, otherwise fished sub surface. There are many other variations on fishing them that have come about, even using buoyant flies on sunk lines as part of the same team.
In recent years it doesnāt seem to be as popular as it once was, it may just be fashion, or it could be that over recent years there does seem to be less surface activity.
It would be interesting to know how you get on with fishing this pattern. It is very much a general imitation of food than anything specific. Certainly not a āhopperā imitation as you know them.
Thanks very much for the information; nice to get a little history on the fly. Canāt wait to put it to work on a little freestone stream I have in mind; the cutts have never been too picky there.
Hereās another one Iām playing around with. Iāve seen it called either a Sedgehog Hopper or a Half Hog; whichever, itās pretty cool.
Main difference is the hook (Dai Riki 135 #10) and the addition of a deer hair wing.
Get to this point (I was trying different body materials - this oneās gold Sexi-Floss ribbed with holo copper tinsel)
Thatās the Half Hog, the Sedge Hog has bunches of hair all down the back. Hereās the selection I tied up for myself this year. These are the colours we find useful.
