Sunray Shadow
by Kuba Chruszczewski
I happened to fish for salmon in Norway a few years ago, on a short estuary stretch and practically at the very mouth of the river into the fjord. Twice a day, along with the tide, fish appeared in the river. Oriented in the tidal „timetable”, local anglers occupied convenient spots in advance, waiting for the salmon to appear. I am of the opinion that no theoretical knowledge or experience from other fisheries can replace the information obtained from a local angler. So I asked fly fishermen I met on the water for advice on what fly to use in this fishery. Norwegians don't make secrets out of such things - they eagerly opened their boxes, recommending different patterns as the most effective ones. I quickly noticed an interesting thing. In addition to the various other flies, almost all those questioned pointed to a fly as the most effective one, which - against the background of more or less colorful and striking patterns filling the boxes - stood out for its very modest, one might even say poor construction. Made as a tube fly, on a transparent plastic tube, it consisted practically of a long wing of soft black fur. I was familiar with this design, of course, but somehow I never had any conviction for it. Maybe because of this ascetic design - I do like flies that are simple and modestly dressed, but the salmon fly, however, I always associated with a more complex and elaborate design. Or maybe I just didn't believe in it.... And it is known that if you don't believe in a lure, you just don't attach it to the leader. I took the advice of the locals, specifically the warden, who, inspecting my license, praised the fly I was fishing with at the moment. So I stayed with this pattern and caught two not very big fish on it. A result not very impressive for a few days of fishing. Maybe if I had listened to the advice of other anglers and used the fly they recommended, then who knows....
This modest „tube”, praised by local fly fishermen, was the famous Sunray Shadow, a fly - a legend. One of those without which you should not set out for salmon and regardless of the river, country, continent.... I already know that at the earliest opportunity ( and this will be later this season), I will not miss the opportunity to try it out. I have read a lot about the effectiveness of Sunray Shadow in various conditions in the literature, a lot of information about it can be found on the Internet. And - most importantly for me - it is highly praised by all my colleagues and friends who have a lot of experience in salmon fishing.
The story behind the creation of Sunray Shadow (a lovely name, by the way) is interesting. English angler Raymond Brooks, while searching for the perfect salmon fishery in Norway, discovered the Laerdal River, which met his expectations. It met them to such an extent that he and his wife Margit leased the fishery from 1966 until the mid-1990s. And it was over Laerdal that the Sunray Shadow fly was developed in the early 1960s. It proved so successful that Mr. and Mrs. Margit and Ray Brooks began producing and selling it.
So let's see how Sunray Shadow is made as originally developed by Mr. Brooks:
The prototype of the fly was made on a plastic colorless tube (Photo 1.).
The first layer of wings was a bundle of white-tipped bristles from a squirrel's tail (Fig.2.).
It supported a long ( up to 10 cm.) strand of soft black monkey hair . At the end came a finial of several rays of tail feathers of the peacock (Photo 3.).
Finished Sunray Shadow armed with a hook , or anchor ( Photos 4., 5.).
And that's it. That's all and that's all it took to create one of the most effective salmon flies. Anecdote says that the material for the wings came from a carpet of monkey hair , which Ray Brooks discovered in the living room of his friend - an angler from Switzerland. At the moment, due to species protection such fur is unavailable.Fortunately, long, soft hair of various goats, selected fox tail hair works just as well.You can also use Scottish sheepdog hair. After all, there is a very famous and effective fly with a very similar design to the Sunray Shadow. This is the Collie Dog fly, developed in the British Isles as early as the end of the 18th century. It differs from the Sunray Shadow in that it is made on a silver-colored tube ( originally probably on a bare silver hook) and has a modest red blackberry. (Photo 6.)
Whether Ray Brooks , working on his Sunray Shadow was modeled on the Collie Dog or not - it is not known. In any case, both flies can be used interchangeably, since their effectiveness is due to one common element - a long, mobile wing made of fur, which with its unique, pulsating work in the rapid water irresistibly attracts salmon. It is said to provoke even fish slumbering at the bottom, indifferent to other flies.
Like many other classic designs, both Sunray Shadow and Collie Dog undergo many modifications, so that sometimes they no longer resemble the original. For my part, as always, I encourage experimentation, but in moderation. Especially in the case of the designs in question, I believe that one should not knock down open doors - brilliant in their simplicity, the designs invented many years ago still work. And you certainly shouldn't deprive them of the element that makes them strong - the long, soft fur wing. You can use different colors of fur in the first layer ( Photos 7., 8.).
. Let's also try to enrich the wings with a small amount of shiny addition, make a bow tie on a tube of a slightly different shade than the original, such as with glitter, and equip it with Jungle Cock cheeks. The use of conehead in different colors will add some weight to the bow tie. In order to try flies at dusk, I made some on tubes made of fluorescent plastic, which glow in the dark for a while after being treated with a UV flashlight.( Photos 10., 11.).
I have the impression that the Sunray Shadow is one of those flies that you tie to the leader when conditions do not clearly indicate what to choose from the box. I'm going soon, this time I won't miss the opportunity to test the fly in battle. When I return, I'll tell the story....
Polish 
English