06/01/2022

Fly Tying Video 'Simple Flies - The Universal'

Fast, simple, catchy! In our latest tying video we show you a real Simple Fly: "Pelle's Universal". A fly that never misses in Martin Rieck's fly box when he goes to the coast. This sea trout fly is used by us the whole season with success and is tied from only three materials.

Small amphipods, sticklebacks, shrimps, small fry and many other small prey. In the shallow bays of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, the table is richly laid for the sea trout, but it is not always clear which food the fish have dialed in on. That's exactly when we need an all-rounder like the "Universal", which imitates a wide variety of prey at the same time. In the small sizes you mimic smaller amphipods and crustaceans, tied on a larger hook you perfectly imitate shrimps or sticklebacks. In Martin's fly box this fly has a regular place, or rather a regular row, because he likes to have always a few different colors and sizes at hand.

Between the fast frantic strips the bites come hard as nails! A big sea trout has grabbed the "Universal" in shallow water.

The presentation

Martin prefers to fish his "Universal" fast, with abrupt strips so that the fly jigs and jumps around frantically. Whether it's small scud, shrimp or bait fish, a fleeing prey swims nervously and that's the movement we want to recreate. The rule of thumb: the larger the fly, the faster and larger the strips may be. But as always there are exceptions to the rule and therefore you should vary every few casts and do something different, for example a "Roly Poly" or "Figure 8".

By the way, the "Universal" has already proven its catchability beyond the coast and has earned a sure place in our stillwater boxes as well. Just below the surface trout can rarely resist the short hectic movements and regularly surprise us with spectacular bow waves and aggressive bites. Tied a little more sparsely, it can also be offered wonderfully as a wet fly in flowing water.

On the tying vise

The Universal is a real Simple Fly: easy, fast and with only few materials needed. There are no limits to the colors you can use. In the cold months you can tie them a bit bigger, heavier and brighter/flashier, while in late summer and fall muted colors and smaller hook sizes usually work better. You can vary the weight of the fly by the number of lead wraps. For stillwater fishing, for example, we like to use unweighted versions that sink slightly only due to the hook weight. If you like, you can spice up the tail with 1-2 strands of Crystal Flash.

A drop of super glue will secure the finishing knot and make your fly much more durable.

List of materials:

For "Pelle's Universal" you don't need much at all. In this video Martin has chosen the following materials:

Hook: Gamakatsu F314 - Martin's favorite hook for sea trout. He chose a size #8 in this video, but always has patterns in sizes 6-10 on hand.
Tail: Rooster saddle hackle in "fiery brown". Feel free to vary the color.
Body: Hare's Ice Dub (any Ice Dubbing will work here)
Hackle: Grizzly hackle Saddle (A long grizzly hackle is what you want)
Thread: Thread in matching color in the strength 6/0-8/0 (e.g. from Textreme or Veevus)
Lead Wire: quantity and diameter of the wire determine the weight of the fly