Den Grå Frede, a Danish sea trout fly - The Grey Fred - A classical and very universal fly tied in the Wooly Worm tradition with a twist - Global FlyFisher

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The Grey Fred

Published Dec 2nd 2008

A classical and very universal fly tied in the Wooly Worm tradition with a twist

By Martin Joergensen, Ken Bonde Larsen

The grey killer
Martin Joergensen

Den Grå Frede. A hard D, a hard R, a very soft D and 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.

Portrait of a fly
Martin Joergensen - Kasper Mühlbach



The Grey Fred
TypeCold saltwater fly
Originator
Peter Loevendahl
Difficulty
Medium
Target species
Cod
Garfish
Largemouth bass
Sea trout (sea run)
Smallmouth bass

Materials
HookSaltwater streamer hook, #6-2
ThreadDark grey or black
EyesBead Chain eyes
WeightLead free wire
TailA few fibers of crystal flash and two grizzly Chickabou feathers
RibCopper wire
BodyDubbed grizzly marabou
HeadDubbed grizzly marabou

Tying instructions
See images below
The flies in the pictures are tied by Ken Bonde Larsen.



Finishing off
Martin Joergensen



Henning Eskol - Martin Joergensen



There's a Black Frede and an ancient article on the Grey Fred to be found on GFF too.


Add comment  Go to article start
User comments
From: Ron Myers · ron0·at·nb.sympatico.ca  Link
Submitted August 6th 2010

Thank you Martin; Received your E-mail on the blood nose pattern. Quick responce,I well be tying some of the patterns.wollys is one of my favorits. thanks agan. Ron in Canada


From: John Kingma · kingma_john·at·hotmail.com  Link
Submitted February 22nd 2010

Hi Martin,

The Gra Frede was still missing form my arsenal for my coming fishing trip to the Swedish west coast. Looks very fishy.

Maybe some tips for the ribbing and dubbing:

I like some pearl flash in my sea trout flies I discovered long ago that pearl tinsel or crystal flash won’t stand up to the sae tout teeth. Some years ago I tried midge diamond braid pearl as ribbing for my PK Mysis. It works great. Nice pearl flash and very strong. The fish can’t destroy it.

Dubbing with Marabou is easy when: you make a loop put on some wax, hold the loop open with your finger, stick in a marabou feather( up right to the stalk), close the loop, snip of the half with the stalk and twist. Works every time and gives a great rough dubbing.

Tight lines,

John


GFF staff comment
From: Martin Joergensen · martin·at·globalflyfisher.com  Link
Submitted March 30th 2009

Drew,

Glad you liked the instructions.

The ribbing is ordinary copper wire as it is found from Uni as Soft Wire or can be bought in Michael's Craft. I have no idea what diameter it is, but it's not really critical as long as it's not too thin and fragile and not too thick and stiff.

My own variation is roughly documented in my article about filling the box a couple of years ago and I tend to vary this fly depending on mood, available materials and conditions. My most common variation is using hare or rabbit fur for the tail as well as for the body. This makes a denser fly, which sinks a bit more rapidly than the marabou Frede.

Apart from that my flies are slightly warmer than the original in color, bordering on tan rather than grey.

But as I said: it's temper and what's in the materials box more that science that governs this.

Martin


From: Drew · a.kosmider·at·sbcglobal.net  Link
Submitted March 29th 2009

Martin,

Thanks for the awesome instructions on how to tie the Grey Frede. I first came across the Grey Frede in the book Woolly Wisdom (which is also how I found your site). I've tied some and had success with them catching Browns in Lake Michigan here at home in Wisconsin, U.S. This new web page is a fantastic help for tying the fly. I have a couple of questions though. What gauge or thickness is the wire you use for ribbing? Also, on your podcast on Danish flies and in your review of Woolly Wisdom you state that you use a hybrid of the Grey Frede and the Magnus and Bjarke patterns. What does that fly look like? Are there any pictures and instructions for it on GFF? How is it different from the Grey Frede?

Thanks,
Drew


From: Paul MacDonald · paulrita2001·at·yahoo.com  Link
Submitted February 24th 2009

Hi
Although I'm only starting to tie Grey Fred, a trick I used with other flies was to put the KF in a loop of Uni Cord and twist it together. It makes a good rib and resists teeth well.
Tie in all 4 ends both kf and both ends of cord and twist that.
Looking forward to using Grey Fred for smallmouth bass.
Paul


GFF staff comment
From: Martin Joergensen · martin·at·globalflyfisher.com  Link
Submitted January 6th 2009

Jan,

Yes, the marabou can be a menace to handle. It's simply so fluffy that it seems to stick everywhere but on the tying thread - in your beard, in your nose, on the table, on the floor - everywhere but on the fly.
The trick is to dub it sparsely and do many layers, as it is with most dubbing. If you try to spin on too much at a time, it forms a rope, which will not stick to the thread. A small amount will cling to the thread much more willingly. Also observe that the direction you spin the dubbing has an impact. Read this article on dubbing technique for an explanation.

Another option can be using dubbing wax. Some tyers prefer waxing their thread and in this way "glue" the dubbing on. It's usually not necessary, but can be a help if you have problems taming the dubbing.

Third and las you may want to spin the dubbing in a loop. Make a loop, dub one leg loosly and spin the two threads together. That will lock the dubbing between the two threads, and secure it completely.

Martin


From: jan weinhold · janweinhold001·at·aol.com  Link
Submitted January 5th 2009

Hi Martin,
I tied my first Gre Frede with your great instruction - thanks a lot for it.
I have only problems with making the marabou dubbing - it's so fluffy that it is difficult to attach to the thread - is there any trick?

Best regards,

Jan


From: Michael · kystfluefiskeren·at·yahoo.dk  Link
Submitted December 5th 2008

Martin

Oops. First I looked at the pictures, and after my comment I read the text. My mistake.


From: Pike · pike007·at·seznam.cz  Link
Submitted December 4th 2008

Martin: Yes, because you Danish always use floating line :-)


GFF staff comment
From: Martin Joergensen · martin·at·globalflyfisher.com  Link
Submitted December 4th 2008

Eddie,

Good to hear from you! Yes, the weight is for improved action and better penetration of the water. With no weight the very fluffy fly will hover almost without sinking. The weight dives it and gives it some swimming motion when retrieved.

Martin


From: Eddie Bouma · eddie·at·247ff.com  Link
Submitted December 4th 2008

Martin,

I remember the first time you publiced an article about the Fred(e) in the beginning of this century. I tied some at the time and with the Magnus it's still my favorite fly for seatrout. I noticed you use 'lead'-wire ánd chain-eyes, why's that? Better action?

Eddie Bouma
www.247ff.com
Eat, Sleep, Flyfishing!

P.S. By the way; Great tying-instruction!!


GFF staff comment
From: Martin Joergensen · martin·at·globalflyfisher.com  Link
Submitted December 2nd 2008

Michael,

As you might have read, we clearly write "He sometimes ribs the fly with flash twisted to a thread and continues the flash into the head and the eye of the hook", so yes, the original used flash.

But this version will last quite a lot longer - not least if you catch fish on it. The twisted flash is very vulnerable to wear and tear, and once that breaks the hackle also comes loose and the dubbed body is exposed. We have occasionally tied the fly using flash for a rib, but then use a monofilament beneath it for strength, and we sometimes incorporate a bit of flash in the final turns of thread on the head, but have omitted this in the fly shown.

Martin


From: Pike · pike007·at·seznam.cz  Link
Submitted December 2nd 2008

I like it. On my autumn sea trout session on Fyn I caught two two fish on this fly during one day.


From: Michael · kystfluefiskeren·at·yahoo.dk  Link
Submitted December 2nd 2008

The original Grey Frede, uses Crystal Flash from tail to head including rib.



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