Photos www.rakkenes.com

My favorite dry fly equipment: Fly rod: Hardy Sintrix FWS Zeprus 9’ #5 or #4

Fly reel: Hardy Ultralite 5000MTX Fly line: Scientific Angler MPX #5 or #4, Waders: Simms G3 Vest: Simms

Sunglasses: Costa Howler bifocal + 2.5

Leader: Trout Hunter 14’ + tippet ring and Trout Hunter tippet material. Floatant: Dry Dip and Gherkes Gink

Connection between fly line and leader is loop to loop. Knots for tippet and leader to tippet ring is improved Davy knot, the same for dry fly to tippet.

My leader is dependent of location, but the most standard is the 4x or 5x Trout Hunter where I remove the tippet part of the leader and add the tippet ring and tippet. The tippet length and diameter is depending on conditions, fly size etc. If I want a shorter leader I remove some of the butt section before making a perfection loop to attach the leader to the fly line.

Approach and stealth is very important, but different depending on where you fish. Where I fish, my main presentation method is across and downstream with a reach cast. Sometimes with a curve added. It is important to have a low profile and wade carefully. When in New Zealand the most common presentation is upstream,

My most used cast is the Reach cast, very often with slack in the front part of the leader. When fishing caddisflies I want to move on the water, I very often try to make a curve in the front of the line so that when moving the fly, it is going downstream and across. That is in my experience the best cast to be able to switch between movement of the fly and dead drift.

The most common way to present a may fly imitation during a hatch or spinner fall is dead drift. That’s why we have to use reach cast and slack in the tippet. Sometimes what we call invisible drag can be enough to give a refusal. Under difficult conditions it can also be important to try to get the tippet under the meniscus by using fluorocarbon tippet and Mud. Sometimes, however, moving the fly is what incites a take, especially with caddis flies. In my experience a combination of dead drift and twitching the fly can be the best.

Casting skill is very important in fly fishing. By that I don’t mean distance, but the ability to put your fly in the right spot with the line and leader positioned on the water for the presentation you want.

One thing I wish I could do better is the spey cast. I am terrible at that.

As an author of a book about fly fishing entomology I would say that the more you know about the insects the better. For practical fly fishing a general knowledge of the most important aquatic types of insects and some terrestrials will improve your fishing a lot. But the more knowledge you have the more enjoyment you will have, and I think you will be more success full.

When the fish is rising it tells us a lot.

The rise form can give us an indication of what the fish is eating. But in my opinion, it is a very often a great advantage to study the rise and what’s on the water with binoculars in addition to studying the rise forms. The trout will very often eat what is trapped in the film more slowly than what’s on top. But the rise form is also depending on whether the fish rise from the bottom or it is just hanging right under the surface. The speed of the current also plays a part and so does the speed of the insects if they move.

Reading the water is one of the most important skills a fly fisher can have. Some of the basics can be learned by reading or watching videos. But nothing beats time on the water. If the fish is rising it tells you where it is during a hatch. If nothing happens you have to rely on your experience and knowledge about where the fish likes to be. If I am blind fishing, I am usually concentrating on necks, seams and eddies.

My fly selection

Is very much depending on where and when I fish. In what I call the hatching season, when you can plan your fishing around hatches, I think it is important to have a lot of different imitations. Sometimes the fish can concentrate on the hatching insect, sometimes the finished one. For some mayfly species I can have three or four different imitations. When I choose an imitation the most important is shape, size and how it sits on or in the water. For some flies I think color can be important, but I have more variation in materials than colors.

My favorite may fly imitations are a No-hackle fly and a Spent spinner. My favorite caddis fly is Rackelhanan. An everything fly I use a lot is the F-fly that I tie with a thin rabbit dubbed body. My favorite blind fishing fly in Russia or northern Norway is the Streaking Caddis.

A good fishing fly must last.

The hunt for the perfect fly is vital to anyone fly fishing. Most importantly the fly must look like a chunk of relevant food for the fish. But that’s not enough. Most of us demand more from the fly we choose to place right in front of the feeding window of an easily spooked trout. The fly should behave as you’d expect it to – consistently under all conditions.

“My demands vary whether the fly is a dry, a nymph. The dries must comply with the size of the hatch, the profile of the naturals and the aerodynamics of the fly must be perfect. The fly must land softly, and the footprint must be like the natural. To me, the exact color is not that important.

In Scandinavia the long and dark winters results shorten the fly fishing season down to five months but also serves an opportunity to tie flies for seven. I believes in simple and durable flies that can stand more than a few sharp teeth from trout.

“A dry must keep floating, even after several fish.

“My three favorites are all dry flies. It’s an olive no-hackle tied with wings of tied-up rooster hackle, a rusty spinner with tied-up hackle and the brown Rackelhanen”, he says.

In theory, the olive no-hackle is an easy tie, but you need to practice completing a fly that is well balanced and floats evenly on the surface.

The spent spinner is tied just like the no-hackle dun. The only difference is that the wings of the dun are formed in a V-shape, while the spinner wings are flat like the spikes on a cross.

“I use the olive no-hackle when the may flies are on. The most usual sizes for Scandinavian waters are size 12, 14 and 16. Color varies with the hatch. The spinner is of course used during spinner fall, but its also a great searching fly for the evenings or when you don’t know what the fish is rising to. The Rackelhanen is a fantastic caddis imitation. It floats like ship and can be used both as an indicator fly and an attractor”, he says adding that the fly must be fished with movement and motion in the water.

PÅL KROGVOLD’S FAVOURITE FLIES

“The no-hackle and the spent spinner is tied with wings from a blue dun rooster hackle. Tails are form mink, cock de leon or micro fibettes. Bodies are dubbed with superfine polydub on sizes 16 or smaller. Size 14 is tied with superfine in the body and Fly Rite as the thorax. From size 12 its Fly Rite all the way, but with an Antron mix in the thorax”, Pål Krogvold concludes.

The no-hackle

Hook: Standard light dry fly hook such as the Mustad R30 for sizes 10-20. Mustad R50 if you’re fishing for the big hog.
Tying silk: Danville 6/0 matching the body color.
Tails: Fibers from gray mink, or fibres from Coq de Leon or blue dun rooster
Body: Match the hatch. Fly Rite #10 is a good starting point for the most common mayflies in Scandinavia.
Wings: Tied-up blue dun rooster hackle – alternatively CdC or Comparadun hair.

The Spent Spinner

Hook: A standard dry fly hook such as the Mustad R30
Tail: Gray hairs from the mink’s tail, or fibers from Coq de Leon or blue dun rooster
Body: Fly Rite #5 og #6, equal parts mixt by hand
Wings: Blue dun rooster – tied-up.

The Rackelhanen

Hook: Standard dry fly hook such as the Mustad R30 or R50. Most common sizes are 10-16
Body: Brown Poly yarn for sizes from 16, Fly rite #6 for hook sizes smaller than 18
Wing: Brown Poly yarn.

Fighting the fish is important

and I have a tendency to fight the fish on the harder side. Especially when fishing locations where some of the fish has to be put back, I think it is important to use a minimum of time fighting the fish. I use the thickest tippet I can get away with.