BHD Garfish Fly

Articles w/pattern

Garfish!

The Baltic garfish or needlefish appears in colossal numbers each spring and is a great joy to target with a fly - and a delicacy to eat.

Learn more here.

This was one of the first flies I tied specifically for garfish, and still one that I like a lot. It's a simple variation of the Big Hole Demon. It's unnecessarily complicated and nowadays I rarely use it. It's still very efficient, and if you want something that's a little more than a tuft of dubbing on a hook, this could be it. If you want it to last more than a few fish, varnish or cover the body with LCR.

Originator:

Unknown

Pattern type:

Cold saltwater fly

Skill level/difficulty:

Medium

Instruction:

Start the thread behind the hook eye.
Tie in the tail the full length of the shank, reaching one shank length to the rear.
Take the thread forward and tie in the tinsel.
Wrap tinsel in touching turns to the hook bend and back.
Tie down and trim tinsel.
Tie in the hackle, tip first, shiny side forward.
Wrap the hackle 2-3 times, tie down and trim.
Form a small head, whip finish, trim thread and cut.
Varnish the head.

Species:

garfish

Materials: