Sunray Shadow : Fly tying at it`s best

 

The Sunray Shadow ones tied with hair from monkey – Today anglers will substitute monkey hair with material like goat (like the Sunray Shadow shown on picture) Goat will work just as well – Here tied with Kashmir goat dyed black – Numerous + 20 kilo salmon has been caught on the Sunray Shadow a.o a; 25 kilo (55 lbs.) giant from the Alta River – and a 21 kilo (46 lbs.) fish caught in the Lærdal River by Mark Brooks the son of Margit and Ray [hr]Buy flies 

Almost half a century has gone by and still today the Sunray Shadow fly stands as a unique example of fly tying at it´s best – simple and efficient – And a fishing tribute to the angler Raymond Brooks

 

The Collie Dog fly

Hair from dogs can defiantly be top-notch fly tying material but it is illegal to sell hair from dogs or cats in Europa – so if you can get your hands on some long haired canines it is worth your while sweet talking the owner into a bit of trimming. The Collie dog breed comes in many shapes and colors I prefer to be sociable with these two critters: Border Collie  or Rough Collie

 

Collie Dog and Sunray Shadow is names closely linked with long winged flies, and you will find variations of these famous salmon tube flies in fly fishing shops around the world.

Here a 1 inch Collie Dog pearl version with a 3 inch wing

 

The Collie Dog fly is a old Scottish fly pattern designed in the late 18´century.  It was probably one of the very first, if not the first hair-wing salmon fly ever, to be deployed on a salmon river.

Still today it`s argued whether or not it is UK or US anglers who rightfully can take the claim for the salmon hair-fly project ?

The Collie Dog was originally designed to be tied on double or single hook`s – Today most Collie Dogs is tied on tube – with or without the silver body. As hair from Collie (Border Collie) can be hard to obtain, most anglers will settle for quality hair from goat like the Kashmir Goat

 

Here a version of the Collie Dog actually tied with hair from a Border Collie

 

 

Fishing tube flies with long hair

These flies with their long wavy wing can have a hypnotic grip on salmon. Presented correctly the salmon will go to great length to intercept a fly like the Sunray Shadow or Collie Dog, often chasing the fly across the river – hitting it in a spectacular manner much in the way they attack a wobble, spoon or spinner – When fishing keep your eye on the fly and bring it all the way in to the bank…this is one fly that salmon will stay with all the way – and it might hit it the last second.

When fishing close to the surface with long-winged flies anglers often see the salmon reacting to the fly by splashing or waking, something that can be quite useful – when you actually want to determine if the pool holds fish or not. Flies like these are also named: lifters or Reaction flies…

Here a Small Pearl and Green Sunray Shadow Buy fly 

 

In Iceland the Sunray Shadow will also be used as a Attention fly, fished over lies that might be unproductive or over-fished – The Sunray Shadow is then replace with a much smaller pattern and salmon will very often come to the surface.

Speed kills

When summer arrives and water starts heating up – speed seems to be a key word with these flies, and anglers will fish it in ways to generate speed – this could be done with floating or intermediate line fished straight across the river. By hand-lining the fly back, in long pulls. By mending the fly line downstream to generate a belly, hereby increasing the pull on the fly line and so the speed of the fly.[hr]

 

When fishing in colder water it is advisable to fish the Sunray Shadow or Collie Dog fly slow and make sure to present it to the fish for a longer period. Use intermediate lines with sink tip or even full sinking lines to fish productive fast water.

Working with size

Big is not always better and particularly not when it comes to salmon. In relation to this it is well worth keeping different sizes of these special flies in the box – Although a 2 inch Collie Dog or Sunray Shadow might seem big when other anglers work with tiny # 10`s – 12´s in hot water – it can still be surprisingly efficient to use these flies fished very close to the surface.

Here a Riffling Hitch version of the Sunray Shadow tied with hair from Sunray Zebra Shadow ™

 

We use a selection of flies in the range from 2 to + 6 inches. The 3 1/2 inch version being the regular fly on most rivers, and the smaller versions for low water summer conditions – The bigger flies are made for early season fishing and even in low temperature; 5 – 6 degrees Celsius (41 – 43 degrees Fahrenheit) – salmon will come right to the top to grab them

We also bring out the big Sunray Shadow flies when summer turns into autumn, in those precious hours when everything starts turning dark… Here the big Sunray Shadow might be the best choice for those local salmon becoming restless and agitated in the dark See other big Sunray Shadows in the E-shop 

What does these big flies represent ?

Anglers often wonder why such and such fly is efficient ? – Some flies like; prawn-flies and nymphs are more obvious than others.

Long winged flies like the Collie Dog and the Sunray Shadow is often mentioned  in relationship with glass eels or juvenile eels – a food sours that the Atlantic salmon could meet in the sea on its way to and from the river (in European waters often in size 40 – 45 millimeters  – 1.6 – 1.8 inches)

In terms of food look-alike`s we believe that these big flies could represent a broad spectra of critters that the salmon could meet throughout it´s entire life at sea,  like; sand eels, herring, sprats, prawns and juvenile eels – All erratic moving food that the salmon will have to react to very decisively.

[approved]It is also with these – straight in from the sea aggressive salmon, that the Sunray Shadow and Collie Dog is most productive. It is like their recent feeding behavior at sea still is set to full speed when they enter the river. See Brooks Zebra Shadow in shop 

The parr fly

Another big wing fly we have had success with throughout the years is a version of the classic Blue Charm. The wing of the fly is tied up of sections of silver tippet squirrel – with its contrast marked body it is to give the impression of a salmon parr – Fly is fished slowly over freshly arrived salmon that often will attack it ferociously.

The big Blue Charm Parr fly – A tube fly for super fresh salmon …especially from the beginning of August

 

Actually the salmon parr know quite well that it will have to keep clear of these fresh aggressive salmon – Ones giants arrive from the sea…all salmon parr have gone into hiding.

 

Here we have designed a big Sunray Shadow in a contrast marked version – We have humbly named it the Sunray Zebra Shadow

Buy Sunray Zebra Shadow  

 

 

 

 

The recipe to success

We have all our long-winged Sunray Shadow and Collie Dog flies tied on our Flexible plastic tube   with the exception of the occasional fly tied on an aluminum tube. If we need to fish further below the surface we rather use a sink tip or full sinking line, than use weight on the fly – It is as the fly looses some of it´s fish catching abilities when weighted down to much.

Hooks for long wing flies

Fishing with these special flies is an action filled sport and you will feel fish hitting and pulling the fly during a fishing session – Ever so often these same fish will have a go at the fly more than one time – as long as they haven’t touched the hook.

We use both single, double and treble hooks on these flies and recommend that you set a small blob of glue in the fork of the double and treble hooks. This will to some extend, prevent the hairs from getting seriously entangle in the construction of the hook. Getting the wing caught up in the bend of the hook is an inevitable part of fishing flies with long soft hair and to make sure everything is working as intended, one has to check the fly on a regular basis – Obviously an annoying hassle – but it is well worth the effort to put the time into the long wing project. See our range of hooks 

Good things for big flies

See our NEW fly tying material for Sunray Shadow flies: Sunray Zebra Shadow ™ 

 

NEW Sunray Shadow box

The perfect dimensions – strong and inexpensive

 

 

 

☛ Support Mr. Orri Vigfússon and NASF in rescuing the Atlantic salmon – Go to NASF page ! ☚

Tubes designed for the purpose

The flies were tied on tubes designed exclusively for the purpose, consisting of an inner and outer tube, allowing a tube fly hook to rest in the rear part of the tube.  Hair from a monkey was used in the design of the wing. The monkey hair came from a carpet a friend and fellow angler had in his living room. Later Ray found a supplier of the hair needed and finally also made a registered pattern on the fly that he named: The Sunray Shadow.

The Sunray Shadow fly was tied commercially for the Brooks family by Danish company Lawcock and later with fly tiers in Singapore.

The Sunray Shadow – Big fish fly

The Sunray Shadow: Ones made with hair from Colobus monkey, today anglers will substitute monkey hair with material like; goat that will work just as well.

Left: Fly shown is made with Kashmir goat hair. 

Numerous + 20-kilo salmon has been caught on the Sunray Shadow, among other, a 25 kilo (55 lbs.) giant from the Alta River – A 21 kilo (46 lbs.) fish caught in the Lærdal River by Mark Brooks, the son of Margit and Ray.

Right: The list of big fish caught on the Sunray Shadow fly is long – Here is a photo of another serious giant of an Atlantic salmon caught in Northern Norway by Mr Jens Olav Flekke

Almost half a century has gone by and still today the Sunray Shadow fly stands out as a unique example of fly tying at it´s best – simple and efficient

Hair from dogs can defiantly be top-notch fly tying material. Still, it is illegal to sell hair from dogs or cats in Europa – so if you can get your hands on some long-haired canines, it is worth your while sweet talking the owner into a bit of trimming. The Collie dog breed comes in many shapes and colours. I prefer to be friendly with these two critters: Border Collie or Rough Collie

Collie Dog and Sunray Shadow are fly patterns closely linked with long-winged flies, and you will find variations of this famous salmon tube fly in fly fishing shops around the world.

Left:  a 1-inch Collie Dog fly pearl version with a 3-inch wing

The Collie Dog fly is an old Scottish fly pattern designed in the late 19th century.  It was probably one of the first, if not the first hair-wing salmon fly ever, to be deployed on a salmon river.

Still today it`s argued whether it is UK or US anglers who rightfully can take the claim for the salmon hair-fly project?

Above a version of the Collie Dog fly tied with hair from a Border Collie

The Collie Dog was originally designed to be tied on double or single hooks – Today, most are tied on tubes – with or without the silver body. As hair from Collie (Border Collie) can be hard to get, most anglers will settle for quality hair from goats like the Kashmir Goat or Artic runner

See hair for Sunray Shadow and Collie Dog Flies in our shop  

 

 

Left: Stunning 100 cm, probably 22 lbs salmon caught on the Collie Dog tube fly displayed on the page above. The Collie Dog fished fast (hand lined) square across the fish in fast water –  A highly productive way to fish the Collie Dog and Sunray Shadow.

Tube flies with a long wing like the Sunray Shadow and Collie Dog is unique flies in the world of salmon flies. Flies with a simple expression are favoured on many rivers across the Northern Hemisphere.

With their wavy wing, these flies can have a hypnotic grip on salmon. Presented correctly, the salmon will go to great lengths to intercept a fly like the Sunray Shadow or Collie Dog, often chasing the fly across the river – hitting it in a spectacular manner much in the way they attack a wobbler, spoon or spinner – When fishing keeps your eye on the fly and bring it into the bank…this is one fly that salmon will stay with all the way – and it might hit it the last second.

When fishing close to the surface with long-winged flies, anglers often see the salmon reacting to the fly by splashing or waking, something that can be pretty useful – when you want to find out if the pool holds fish or not. Flies like these are also named: lifters or Reaction flies…

In Iceland, the Sunray Shadow will also be used as an Attention fly, fished over lies that might be unproductive or over-fished – The Sunray Shadow is then replaced with a much smaller pattern and salmon will very often come to the surface.

Right: Nice salmon from Iceland caught by Mr Rasmus Ovesen using Fishmadman Collie Dog tube fly

When summer arrives, and water starts heating – speed seems to be a key element with these long wing flies, and anglers will fish it in different ways to generate speed – This could be done with floating or intermediate line fished straight across the river. By hand-lining the fly back, fast – in long pulls. By mending the fly line downstream to generate a belly, increasing the pull on the fly line and so the speed of the fly.
I have often used this technique during summer/autumn and seen how it may work wonders for a short time – then suddenly lose its effect entirely.

Right: Fish the Sunray Shadow or collie dog fly on a 90 ° angle and pull the fly – in jerks – as fast as you can across the salmon lie – Don´t worry about overdoing speed – the salmon is much faster than you. A good trick is to stop and leave the fly motionless altogether – when you come close to your rod tip – the salmon will often take the fly in a big splash or jump.

Strike when it jumps.

If you see fish jumping in the path of your fly – it will most certainly be the salmon that has grabbed the fly – I always strike when I see the fish jumping – 9 – out of 10 times I hook the fish..and it will go ballistic after such a hooking …so be prepared to clear the line fast out the guides after hooking-up

Pulling the Sunray or other long wing salmon tube flies fast across the river – even having the fly jump through the surface is a highly efficient way of connecting with salmon – And big and small fish may follow the fly trying to grab it in high jumps.

Sometimes I stop pulling in line when salmon chase the fly – I leave it still in the water’s surface – and wait for the salmon to grab it.

My all-time favourite fly for this sport the Speed Sunray Shadow – See the fly in the shop here

Stripping an Iridescent Sunray Shadow… fast as you can… across the river can in times of fresh running fish be one of the most productive methods you can use – but take care it is yet another all-absorbing form of fly fishing that may take up your time and ruin your sleep.
See flies in our shop

Cold and slow

When fishing in colder water, it is advisable to fish the Sunray Shadow or Collie Dog fly slowly and present it to the fish for a longer time. Use intermediate lines with sink-tip or even full sinking lines to fish productive fast water.

Working with size

Big is not always better and particularly not when it comes to salmon. Concerning this, it is well worth keeping different sizes of these special flies in the box – Although a 2-inch Collie Dog or Sunray Shadow might seem big when other anglers work with tiny #10s – 12s in hot water – it can still be surprisingly efficient to use these flies fished very close to the surface.

Here is a version of the Sunray Shadow tied with hair from Sunray Zebra Shadow ™

We use a selection of flies in the range from 2 – 6 inches. The 3 1/2 inch version is the regular fly on most rivers, and the smaller versions are for low-water summer conditions – The bigger flies are made for early-season fishing and even in low temperatures, 5 – 6 degrees Celsius (41 – 43 degrees Fahrenheit) – salmon will come right to the top to grab them.

We also bring out the big Sunray Shadow flies when summer turns into autumn, in those precious hours when everything starts turning dark… The big Sunray Shadow might be the best choice for those local salmon becoming restless and agitated in the dark.

See other big Sunray Shadows in the E-shop 

 

 

We do a line of very small Sunray Shadow flies that we recommend anglers bring for summer conditions and difficult fish – small, simple interpretations of the original tube fly suited for floating lines and light gear.

This is what fly angler Bill (Beatle) Abshagen from Colorado used when fishing Despedida Lodge in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina Fish was eating small Skuds (14 & 16’s), but this fish was hungry and couldn’t resist an appetizing smaller Sun-Ray.

Dwarf-like Sunray Shadow tube flies – Perfect for summer conditions – low water and finicky trout and salmon – Our small Sunrays are also designed to be used as riffling hitch flies. See the small Sunray Shadows in the E-shop 

Hooks for long-wing flies

Fishing with these special flies is an action-filled sport, and you will feel fish pulling and hitting the fly during a fishing session – Ever so often, these same fish will have a go at the fly more than one time – as long as they haven’t touched the hook.

We use single, double and treble hooks on these flies and recommend that you set a small blob of glue in the fork of the double and treble hooks. This will to some extent, prevent the hairs from getting seriously entangled in the construction of the hook.

Getting the wing caught up in the bend of the hook is an inevitable part of fishing flies with long soft hair, and to make sure everything is working as intended, one has to check the fly regularly – An annoying hassle -. Still, putting the time into the long-wing project is well worth the effort.

See our range of hooks 

Superior hair for Sunray Shadow and Collie Dog Flies

A fantastic horse

We are constantly on the lookout for great fly-tying material, and we were not late to say yes to this fabulous hide deriving from the animal the fly-tying business call; Arctic Runner. An arctic runner is, in fact, a euphemism for the Icelandic horse…
Icelandic horse comes in all kinds of quality and can be bought in well-assorted shops – It’s 2 – 4-inch long hair stacked in a significant way that forms the perfect wing for salmon and steelhead flies.

Special Abilities

Arctic Runner is prime material wings on salmon and steelhead flies – The material ability to be shaped and cheat fish is well-known. We use it on many of our flies, including Collie Dog flies.

See it in our shop

Perfect Sunray Shadow hair

Top quality Kashmir goat with long shiny hair dyed jet black – Perfect for Sunray Shadow and Collie Dog Flies
The length of the hair can vary from batch to batch – But we will try to keep our promise and get you what you see in the picture.
 See it in our shop

Special edition Sunray Shadow hair

 

See our material for Sunray Shadow flies: Sunray Zebra Shadow ™ 

See all 11 colours

NEW Sunray Shadow box

The perfect dimensions – strong and inexpensive