A true classic on the Danish coast and a very universal small fish imitation, which has not only caught thousands of sea trout, but would very likely also be able to catch almost anything that has scales and swims.
Den Grå Frede. A hard D, a hard R, a strange A with a ring over it, a very soft D and altogether quite difficult to pronounce for most foreigners. It's a fly, which is known by far the majority of the Danish coastal anglers. The name translates into The Grey Fred, which might be easier to get over your tongue.
The fly was originally tied by Danish Peter Loevendahl, who makes his flies to almost industrial strength on large hooks with lots of superglue to secure everything. He sometimes ribs the fly with flash twisted to a thread and continues the flash into the head and the eye of the hook. The fly has been widely adapted by Danish coastal anglers as well as our Scandinavian brothers and anglers visiting from Germany, The Netherlands and the rest of Europe.
This version is a little more subtle and quite durable with its copper rib, but otherwise very true to the original. We have featured the fly before, but this is the first time we show in detail how to tie it.
The fly is very universal imitation of any small, bright fish, and can even stand in as a shrimp. It is of course tied in the very well known Wooly Worm tradition, but still differs from this mainly with it's eyes and large dubbed head. You can vary the fly in color and get almost any nuance you want. Brown and black are a staple colors in many boxes, but orange can also work well. But the far majority of Grey Fred's are brightly grey like the fly shown here.
I have tied huge Grey Fred's which have fished for tarpon, and I am sure that this fly will be able to catch almost anything that swims and has scales with little or no modification.
The flies in the pictures are tied by Ken Bonde Larsen.
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There's a Black Frede and an ancient article on the Grey Fred to be found on GFF too.
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