As every year in Rozewie

As is the case every year in the Rozewie...

by Kuba Chruszczewski    

And here I am again in Rozewie. How many times have I come for belons? Fifth, sixth in a row?

I've been coming here for a couple of seasons, because I've grown very fond of this magical place - the northernmost point of our coast with a historic lighthouse, with a steep cliff giving a healthy bite when approaching while returning from the beach after fishing. (Photo 1.)

I come because I have grown very fond of fly fishing in the sea. Gently rocking on the caster at calm sea levels, sometimes fighting against the higher tide of the surf. (Photo 2.)

And - above all - I come for the belons. Strange, exotic for our ichthyofauna fish that visit our coastal waters around mid-May, when the fields turn yellow from blooming rapeseed. For the angler they are available for a short time - three or four weeks. During this time they are excellent for fly fishing. They are not particularly picky, effective when catching them are small flies generally imitating the small invertebrate fauna of the coastal Baltic. Fights belon very bravely and impressively providing a lot of fun - it rides on its tail, jumps like salmonids, shakes its head like a pike to get rid of the fly stuck in its mouth. And this is where the problems arise. It happens quite often that the fish easily frees itself from a poorly stuck hook. That's because the mouth is very hard and narrow.(Photo 3.)

After several years of experience, I decided to try to minimize the number of ''drops.”' I decided that pinning fish is favored by the design of flies, made on special sea hooks. Such hooks are usually quite thick, with a standard or slightly extended shank. And here, in the shape of the hooks I have used so far, I guessed the reason for the considerable number of fish not pinned, or lost in the haul. So what to do about this problem? I came up with a cunning plan. Namely, I decided to apply a solution that worked for other species. This solution was to be, in my idea, a properly armed tube fly.

I have already written more extensively about the advantages of tube flies over traditional designs. Among the numerous advantages of tube flies, this time I wanted to use one - good holding in the haul resulting from the favorable ratio of the length of the hook to the whole lure. After a strike, the hook ( provided, of course, that it is short ) slides out of the tube and causes the lever acting to balance the spearhead stuck in the mouth of the fish to shorten noticeably. And if, in addition, in place of the hook, a small three-armed anchor is used, such an armament should definitely increase the number of successful jams and hauls....

So I came to Rozewie this time equipped with a suitable set of microtubes, as armament I prepared hooks with a short shank, and triple hooks.(Photos 4., 5.)

    And it worked. I was quite satisfied with the result of my experiments. Flies armed with hooks gave the best efficiency in hooking and hauling, short hooks with ears also worked well. (Photos 6., 7.)

The eye of the hook or anchor can be pressed into the flexible end of the construction tube, or the fly can be left loosely strung on the leader. Then you just need to secure the knot with which you tied the rigging, by pulling a piece of thin, soft plastic tubing over it ( and partially over the hook eye). This will protect the knot from damage by the fly, which will hit it during casting.

  In the brackish waters of the Baltic Sea, the tube fly has another undeniable advantage over flies made with standard hooks. I happened to make the latter on ordinary „freshwater” hooks. Mainly due to the lack of suitable models of sea hooks on the market in the desired sizes, and, to be fair, due to their not inconsiderable price. Unfortunately, a freshwater hook, if you forget to rinse it in fresh water after fishing, can quickly corrode under the influence of even not very salty Baltic water. The fly is then lost. In contrast, in the case of tube flies, only the armament is lost.

  I like tube flies more and more, I discover more and more of their advantages. What will be next? Apparently, anything can be coined on a tube, some of my colleagues are already experimenting with tube-made nymphs, for example. I haven't gone that far yet. For now...

Kuba Chruszczewski photo 4

Other photos - Tomek „Tijo” Zawilinski