Fly Fishing Tips: Flies
We sell a good selection of Gaula flies on-site at the lodge but here is some advice for those of you who want to advance purchase.
The size of the flies used on the river varies according to the height of the river but as a general rule the flies used on Gaula are bigger than those used on, say, traditional British rivers. In the early season, big, tube flies are favoured while the mid-season sees a switch to large doubles and smaller, medium size tubes. By late season, small doubles and light aluminium or plastic tubes are most useful.
While some people like to use heavy brass tubes to achieve depth in heavy water, I much prefer to use lighter tubes in plastic/aluminium and use the weight of the fly line to achieve depth. Plastic and aluminium tubes tend to swim better, in my opinion but I will use brass tubes with sinking lines in really heavy water when I want to fish the fly as slowly as possible.
I truly believe that the movement of the fly and its wing shape are critical. The materials used to construct the fly and create movement are critical as is the profile and shape of the wing. I like the wing to be quite long and slim, like a thin willow leaf, when viewed from the side, above and below.
Sizes
Early Season – tube flies (templedog) between 2 and 4 inches (5-10cm), size 3, 5 and 7 doubles
Mid Season – brass and aluminium tubes 1-3 inches (2.5-7.5cm), size 5 and 7 doubles
Late Season – aluminium and plastic tubes (1-2 inches), Sunray shadow (up to 4 inches), size 9 and 10 doubles, trebles
in sizes 10 and 12.
Midnight Sun Fishing (June and July) – big, predominantly black tubes between 2 and 4 inches (5-10cm), brass, plastic
and aluminium.
Patterns and colours
Most of the successful anglers on the Gaula use flies with highly mobile winging materials such as temple dog, arctic fox and arctic runner. These materials are more mobile than the traditional bucktail hair wings and although they cost a little more, are undoubtedly worth the effort.
Flies incorporating shades of green are highly successful on the Gaula, such as the green highlander and the black/green highlander. Green is a trigger colour for daytime fishing and works well whenever the river is running reasonably clear. Brown is also a great colour and the earth tone colours seem to really score from mid to late season.
My own fly, the ‘Gaula Howler,’ which incorporates a white polar bear under wing and includes chartreuse (yellow/green) in its design works at all times of the season as does the green highlander but from mid-season onwards I tend to go for flies with the brown and copper earth tones in them such as my own ‘Jonas’ and ‘Eirin.’
In the 2007 season I was introduced to a new colour combination by a German friend, Walther Deus. Walther was using a black and white fly with a speckled guinea fowl throat to great effect and I tied some up on his advice. The result? A fish first outing and several other takes after that (most of which resulted in lost fish!)
When the water is running coloured (Gaula’s water turns the colour of ale), flies with orange work very well. Black and orange temple dogs or doubles are a good choice, as is the old standby, Ally’s Shrimp along with the cascade shrimp. These flies show up in the beer stained water that when rising, can go black, like Guinness. As the water falls, use a fly with a little more brown and less bright orange in it and you will do well.
Night fishing in the early and mid-season is all about black flies and as a general rule, you should go up a size or two from your daytime choice to give the fish a big, dark silhouette to focus on. Big black or black and orange temple dogs, black and blue or black and red are the prime choice along with black or black and orange doubles.
In low water, when the fish can be picky, small black flies such as the stoat’s tail work very well. Black and silver flies, sparsely dressed in either small trebles, doubles or aluminium/plastic tube versions are favourite. The Gaula Howler, tied as a one and a half inch aluminium tube is also very successful. Alternatively, wake the fish up with a big sunray shadow skated around the pool. These big flies with their flowing black hair wing will often spur lethargic fish into action. Fish them either straight or with a riffle hitch.
Flies for Gaula
Green Highlander templedog tube, black green highlander tube, flamethrower tube (high water), pot belly pigs in black and orange, black and silver, black and green, silver-grey templedog tube, Ally’s shrimp, Cascade shrimp, Sunray Shadow, Bomber.
How to tie the Gaula Flies - advice from Matt Hayes