 FLY
OF THE MONTH
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BLACK
SEDGE
By Luca Montanari
Materials List:
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| Hooks: |
Mustad mod. 80000
size 16 to 12 |
| Thread: |
Black |
| RIBBING: |
The stem of a black hackle |
| Body: |
Seal fur (or substitute) dyed black |
| WINGS: |
Strips of goose, or turkey,
feathers dyed black |
| HACKLE: |
Black |
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 From
the end of winter until the beginning of
spring, the panorama of insect hatches that
we can observe by many rivers with clean
water is dominated by the Ephemeras.
In May, however, the situation changes and,
together with the up-wings, the sedges appear
on the surface of the water courses. These
dynamic invertebrates, characterised by the
particular roof shape of their wings, become
one of the delicious preys for trout and
grayling during the summer, stimulating the
aggressiveness of the fish with their restlessness
when they hatch or when they lay the eggs.
There
are numerous species of trichopters living
in European rivers, with evident differences
between them in dimension and in colours
of their wings: many are grey with brown
speckles, others brown and some other
completely black. This diversity has induced fly
tiers to give "life" to an infinite multitude
of sedges, which are prepared with several
kinds of materials and adopting disparate
building techniques. Caddis imitations
with the wings realised in the traditional
way appear, for their structure, quite
similar to each other, because their
wings are generally composed of two strips of
fibres cut off from the feathers of particular
birds, such as goose, turkey or pheasant.
A
classic pattern in this category of artificials
is the Black Sedge - a fly that looks like dark
trichopters, such as the Silo nigricornis,
or a megalopters, like the Sialis flavilatera.
I quite often use this specifical imitation
in June, when I see such insects on the water,
or when I decide to approach a river just
testing out what the fish goes for.
Tying
instructions: |
Step
1:
I
start tying the Black Sedge, by fixing
the hook on the vice jay and applying
black thread on its shank. I use this thread
for binding in the stripped stem of a
black hackle on the hook bend.
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Photos
and fly by Luca Montanari |
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Step
2:
Then
I wax a short stretch of the thread and distribute
a pinch of black seal fur (or substitute) on
it, using my fingers to form a compact dubbing,
which I wrap around two thirds of the rear
of the hook shank in order to create the fly
body. |
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Step 3:
With
wide turns of the hackle stem around the sedge body,
I make the ribbing.
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Step 4:
From
the dyed, black goose, or turkey, feathers, I cut two
strips of fibres approximately half a centimetre wide:
the feathers must be previously varnished with a light
layer of clear glue. |
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Step 5:
II
place the two strips of fibres on the index finger
of my left hand, arranging them into a "V" shape
while paying attention that the strip which will
act as left wing (this is the wing which on the
hook will be turned towards me) is above the right
one. Next I put the thumb of my left hand on the
wings and then I put them in position on the hook.
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I
tie them in front the fly body, passing
the thread along the point at which the
two fibre segments intersect. When I
finish this step, the wings must have
a roof shape and the length must be a
length a little longer than the hook
shank .
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Step 6:
From
the neck of a black cock, I select two hackle fibres
that are as long as the hook shank and I tie them in
at the fixing point of the wings. |
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Step 7:
With
apposite pliers, I alternatively wrap the two hackles
around the front third of the hook shank, constructing
a fluffy collar.
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Step 8:
Next
I cut off the surplus of the hackles and I create the
fly head with some turns of the black thread, which
is then finished with a whip-finish and with a small
drop of clear varnish. |
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Step 9:
The
Black Sedge can now be "introduced" into the fly
box, ready for use wherever I discover the presence
of a good population of dark trichopters,
or as a fly for "search fishing" when
I need a very floating sedge.
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