Juvenile Steelhead and Atlantic salmon parr are skilled surface hunters that have their attention fixed to the surface as soon as insects start swarming at the river bank.

Millions of years of training have made them what they are, and it is when conditions are perfect they take full advantage of the food on the surface…The temperature in the river and the air is a critical element of their surface activity – something we, as anglers, will experience when we target the adult fish entering the river.

Traditionally anglers target steelhead on the river’s surface during summer and into late autumn. Many different wake fly patterns have been designed for this highly specialized sport that draws anglers deep into the wilderness of Oregon and British Columbia. Many fly patterns are designed to wake subtly. Others are made to be fished more actively.

Rivers are turbulent, and the light is low – Spotting the fly on the river surface can be challenging, so we decided to make some visible wake flies.

Anglers have been fishing this new steelhead wake fly pattern on different rivers in British Columbia and Oregon season 2014 – 15 –  and the results have been great. We call this tube fly The FlashBack Bug.

We have tied the fly in 3 sizes similar to flies tied on # 1 – 4 – 8 hooks
It features our Riffling Hitch tube system, and the fly wakes perfectly in the rough and calm water.

Photo: Mr Loren Irving

We have combined some of the favoured steelhead wake fly patterns in the design of the FlashBack Bug and used some of the best fly tying material available to create a wake fly that would perform perfectly.

The iridescent foam used as back on the fly reflects the light and makes the fly glow upon the river even in poor light conditions.

Photo © of iridescent snake Mr Marc A. Spataro

Iridescent: Opalescent, shimmering, luminous, glittering, sparkling, dazzling, shining, gleaming, kaleidoscopic, rainbow-coloured –

We have many words for this highly attractive-looking material that we find with animals on land and in water –

Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the property of certain surfaces that appear to change colour as the angle of view or illumination changes. It is often created by structural colouration.

We have combined the iridescent colors with soft 2-millimeter sheets of black EVA foam to create this great looking fly tying material

Dear Flyfisher: Welcome to yet another newsletter from us at Fishmadman.
Summers salmon season is right at the door and already river temperatures here in Denmark and southern Sweden is up and above 12 degrees Celsius or 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit A magical moment in the world of Atlantic salmon and the time to get your riffling hitch flies ready…

This time we have the true pleasure of showing you one famous top water fly from Derek Knowles one of the men who pioneered the world of tiny wake flies tied on tube – Some newly designed “Scandinavian” colors of John Rohmer´s Semi Seal dubbing. A superior fly tying book from Italy + a special Newsletter bonus to take you into summer salmon fishing

Very tight lines from Jesper & Per

The wake-tube pioneer Mr Derek Knowles

In 1987 UK angler and author Derek Knowles wrote a fascinating book on his salmon fishing with dry flies and small tube flies. The book Salmon on a Dry Fly showed a generation of anglers new ways to make efficient patterns for surface fishing.

Mr Knowles did most of his fishing in highland rivers in Scotland, where he was co-owner of the Mallart, a tributary to the famous Naver River.
Highland rivers like the Naver and the neighbouring Helmsdale are known for their surface-oriented salmon, and fishing techniques like dibbling and dabbling have long been favoured in these waters.

Derek Knowles’s book from 1987 gives a refined look into a world of stealthy salmon fishing with thin leaders and small surface flies in Highland rivers.

In these perfect surroundings, Mr Knowles formed the small surface tube fly named the Yellow Dolly, which some of the riffling hitch tubes we used today properly are formulated from.

With a flare of stiff yellow and black hairs, the fly has a profile that resembles a tiny doll with a skirt. Derek Knowles tells his readers how the Yellow Dolly can be fished either at dead drift or on the swing across the river – Derek recommends bringing various sizes to the river – and changing to a smaller size if the fish rise to the fly without connecting – Tie the Yellow Dolly in ⅝, ½ and ⅜ inch.

Today many European anglers would not think twice when putting on a tiny riffling hitch tube pattern. Still, in the heydays when Derek Knowles designed his small waking flies – few European anglers would ever think of going on the surface with their tube flies.

If you want to read Derek Knowles’s fine book on his experience with tiny wake flies, we recommend you buy: Salmon on a Dry Fly (ISBN 854931558) on amazon.co.uk, where it sometimes can be purchased second-hand.

Above: The Yellow Dolly from the Hands of Derek Knowles. Tied on a ⅝ inch piece of red electrical cord. Best fitted with a small Partridge Outpoint Treble Hook # 16

Special thanks to Mr Derek Knowles and Mrs Susan Howe, Digital Director at orionbooks.co.uk

NEW John Rohmer dubbing – made for Euro salmon

John Rohmer from Arizona, USA, supplies all of our dubbing simply because his products are the best material available – This time, John has made us 5 NEW colours of Arizona Seal Dubbing – Suited for European salmon patterns…Generous bags of excellent material that has proven to be just the right formula for finicky steelhead in North America as well as sea trout and salmon here in Europe – see the 17 colours we have in our shop

A NEW batch of tails – is here!

Traps have been set for squirrels all spring * and we now have the perfect selection of small tails from Grey Squirrel, Soft, thin hair just right for your riffling hitch flies. Get it here

* caught as part of legal pest control in the UK

The perfect Riffling Hitch tube

We have had this tube produced for years now – It is an unbeaten secret plastic formula that makes the best riffling hitch tubes available: Low memory – Very versatile and will support a range of hooks – Works perfectly in cold climates and won’t split like most other tubes will do in cold water… Get it here

Your new Riffling Hitch tube flies for this summer are a: Fishmadman Newsletter offers.

Through the years, many of you have asked us to select flies for you – so we decided to set a selection of Riffling Hitch flies on the menu this time. 12 super flies in the company with a small range of suitable OWNER hooks
The set comes in two versions: Either with single hooks or a box with treble hooks, and they are available with a very favourable Newsletter discount.

Get your promotion code here – Use it when you buy in our shop

Discount will last to the end of June 2014

As in the earlier years, we are proud to invite you to the annual worldwide Fishmadman competition – We will have a nice host of prizes for those who take part – and something extra special for the 2014 winner – Join us here

Fly Tying in Italy

Fly tying is often described as a form of art and fly tiers as artists but fly tying is foremost a craft, and as so, fly tiers have to learn the skills, techniques, tools and materials to get a result.
Once in a while, talented craftsmen write a book on the finesse and details of fly tying  – and this is precisely such a book. Italian angler and fly tier Armando Quazzo has made an excellent book on fly tying… So filled with practical and intuitive tricks, I and fellow fly tiers agreed that this book was one of the best we had seen for decades…
An extensive chapter on fly-tying material is succeeded by an even larger chapter on practical details. The book is finished off with a line of fly patterns from anglers from many countries.

Fly Tying il grande libro del costruttore di mosche artificiali By Armando Quazzo is written in Italian and is printed by Edizioni Gea. At 59 € and can be bought from Sedge & Mayfly