Red Hot
by Kuba Chruszczewski
It sometimes happens that the conditions in which we come to fish, to put it mildly, are not comfortable. You can even say that everything - the time of day, light, layout and direction of the currents - is against us, as if someone had invented all this on purpose to make our lives more difficult. And this is where you need to fish, because right here and now , in these unfavorable conditions, the fish are feeding very well and there is a chance for something nice. Such situations happen from time to time and certainly have one plus. Well, they activate the imagination and invention and contribute to the emergence of new solutions - we improve fishing techniques and methods, invent new fly patterns ....
Just one of my favorite flies ( later developed into a whole family of patterns) was created out of the need to cope with the difficult conditions in the fishery where I came to fish. In the fast, uneven and foamy current, „broken” by large stones, intense feeding of trout and grayling began with the sunset, which, reflected in the rippled water, made the already bad conditions for dry fly observation difficult. The only solution to locate the fly on the surface was to use an imitation with high, vertically placed wings , necessarily in white. I found such a fly in my box - it was a classic Royal Coachman (Photo 1). Unfortunately, while it was fairly well visible, its buoyancy in rough water left much to be desired. Something had to be done about it. So I made some modifications to the classic design. While leaving some elements characteristic of the Royal Coachman ( high white wings, brown blackberry, a tail made of several rays of tippets), I made changes that I trusted would improve the buoyancy of the fly in rough conditions. So I dispensed with two rings of peacock rays and a trunk of red silk, and in its place I gave a trunk of non-absorbent synthetic dubbing and on it I put a pallmer-type blackberry made from a good quality neck feather of a brown cockatoo. The whole thing looked promising. And it worked well. The fly, supported by a stiff tail, a blackberry on the trunk, and a front blackberry that was slightly longer, swam very well, and, importantly, pleased the fish. So I decided that the successful fly deserved to be named somehow. I gave it the name Red Hot and decided to follow suit. Using the same set of materials, I made a fly with its silhouette resembling a caddisfly. And also proved to be effective. I do not know what determines the effectiveness of these patterns, after all, they are flies that can be categorized as fancy. I have a feeling that the tippet tail - a common element of many traditional, classic flies - and the bright red color of the torso are somehow attractive to fish. I am reaffirmed in this belief by the fact that subsequent variations of the fly described - wet and streamer - have also proven to be quite effective, although, vividly, they do not imitate any specific aquatic organisms that are trout food. I am quietly hoping that the salmon version, and the tube version for winter trout will not disappoint me either, which I intend to check in the coming season.
Photo 1.
Royal Coachman
Hook - for dry fly, 16-10
Tail - tippets
Torso - peacock ray , red silk, peacock ray
Wings - white aileron
Blackberry - brown rooster
Photo.2.
Red Hot Dry
Hook -j.w.
Tail - tippets
Torso - red dubbed
Blackberry on the trunk - brown rooster
Scroll - thin gold wire
Wings - white aileron
Front blackberry-brown rooster
Photo.3.
Red Hot Caddis
Hook - for dry fly, 12-8
Tail , thorax, thorax scutellum, scroll, front scutellum-as above.
Wings - white aileron, arranged in a canopy
Photo.4.
Red Hot Wet
Hook - for wet fly, 12-6
Tail, trunk - as above.
Thorax blackberry, front blackberry - brown hen
Wrap - oval gold
Wings - white aileron
Photo.5.
Red Hot Streamer
Hook 2-4 x long, 8-2
Tail, trunk, trunk scissor, wrap - as above.
Wings - two pairs of white saddle feathers of a rooster
Front blackberry - Hen badger brown
Arms - Jungle cock
Photo 6
Red Hot Salmon
Hook - salmon double- 10-6, single- 4-2/0
Tip - gold oval lamella
Tail - tippets
Torso - red dubbed
Wrap - oval gold
Blackberry on the trunk - brown hen
Wings - white polar fox + flash silver
Front blackberry - hen badger brown
Arms - jungle cock
Head - red
Photo.7.
Red Hot tube
Plastic tube
Tail - tippets
Trunk, trunk scissor, wrap -j.w.
Wing - white zonker
Foreleg I - red cover feather of golden pheasant, foreleg II - hen badger brown
Head - copper conehead
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