adh-world
Ready to make it pop for the season start? Then get yourself some Flashwing Flies in your salmon box! Flashwings have been on everyone's lips in recent years - not only among salmon anglers but above all among the salmon themselves. The sparkling flash flies originated in Scandinavia, but quickly they were found in salmon boxes all over the world. Especially at the start of the season on fresh salmon, the glittering flies have proven their effectiveness thousands of times over. We also had the opportunity to be convinced of their success in Norway several times and were completely infected by the hype. Therefore, we would like to thank Simen Strømhylden at this point, who sat down with us to show you his version of the Flashwing Tube in this video.
Flashwing Flies swim somewhat against the current - literally but above all metaphorically, because they contradict a bit what has been a mantra in the salmon world for years. They don't imitate anything, they don't suddenly surprise the fish, they're not subtle. Instead: they irritate and are visible from a distance. They are big, glittering, conspicuous, and tied in all the colors of the rainbow. Actually, they resemble much more a pike fly - and from our own experience, we can confirm that the bites sometimes come just like with a pike. Flashwing Flies have only become popular in the last few years and have really stirred up the salmon world, especially at the start of the season, because suddenly Flashwings were to be found everywhere in the catch statistics throughout Scandinavia. And at the latest, when you see a beautifully tied Flashwing dancing underwater in the current, any doubt about its effectiveness completely disappears. Depending on water color, season, water level & temperature, you can play with materials and colors to achieve exactly the perfect blend for the respective purpose. Flashwings are effective all year round and are indispensable from our personal salmon fly boxes.
Whether in Norway or Iceland, salmon are into the glittering Flash Flies. And for Simen Strømhylden, Flashwings have quickly become part of his standard repertoire when chasing salmon from start to finish of the season.
Simen Strømhylden (from Nextcast & CND) has his very own secret recipe, which he shares with the salmon world for the first time in this video. His Flashwing variation is tied on a brass US tube, mixed with natural materials, and fished as a swing tube (i.e., with a free-swinging hook). He loves these flies especially at the start of the season, after a rain shower, when the water is slightly elevated and turbid and on rivers with a darker water color, as is often found in the Baltic region, England, Scotland, or Russia.
So if you need a little inspiration for the upcoming salmon season, this tying instruction might be just the thing.
Tying Materials:
- Tying thread in 10/0 - 12/0 (e.g., Veevus / Frödin)
- Tube: 1.8 mm inner tube (plastic) with 16 mm US tube as weighting
- Flash dubbing (e.g., Frödin SSS or Flashabou Dubbing)
- Tag / Underwing: Fluoro Fiber
- Hackle: Soft-hackle in two colors (e.g., orange / black)
- Flashwing (lower and upper wing): medium-stiff flash mix (e.g., Krinkle Mirror Flash, Predator Star Flash, or similar)
- Medium Wing: Fox (helps to create a nice profile)
- Jungle Cock (Substitute)
- Superglue
Many of the absolute classic patterns can be tied as Flashwing variations (Phatakorva, Banana, Sillen, The Usual, Gaula-Green, etc.) and thus also fished in similar situations. We wish you lots of fun watching, tying, experimenting, and above all fishing with the irresistible Flashwing Flies! And if you're too lazy to tie, you can of course find great Flashwing fly patterns in our shop ;)
