Published Jun 23. 2017 - 7 years ago
Updated or edited Dec 15. 2022

Narova Foam Beetle

Russian Dmitri Tseliaritski's Narova foam dry fly is an easy and robust pattern template for terrestrials, beetles in particular

Black Narova
Peacock Narova
Black Narova
Dmitri Tseliaritski

Russian fly tyer Dmitri Tseliaritski is quite an innovative fly tyer whose new patterns I always check when he posts them on Facebook.
This particular pattern was simply labeled Narova Dry Fly, and is a fairly simple construction using foam to form the body and shell of a beetle imitation.
Dmitri forms a compound body and shell consisting of foam, dubbing and a rib, and does so on a needle in such a fashion that the finished body/shell can be slid off the needle and tied in on the hook in a manner that reminds of the foam bodied mayflies seen quite often. But once the body has been secured, Dmitri bends the foam back over the body and ties it down, forming a shell and providing a lot of buoyancy in the fly. Since the hook is fairly short and winds up “hanging” under the body in the surface, the fly ends up with an almost detached hook and a fairly large gape leading to good hooking abilities.

Narova River
Dmitri Tseliaritski
Peacock Narova

Orange Narova

Golden Narova

Step 1 - start thread

Step 2 - tie down foam

Step 3 - tie in ribbing

Step 4 - dub body

Step 5 - wrap ribbing and whip finish

Step 6 - the finished compound body

Step 7 - tie in hair

Step 8 - tie in body

Step 9 - trim foam

Step 10 - add dubbing

Step 11 - bend foam and tie down

Step 12 - CDC dubbing loop

Step 13 - trim butts

Step 14 - wrap and whip finish

Color and material variations are basically endless. The examples shown here all use black foam, but you can use other colors to imitate more colorful naturals. Likewise you can vary the color of the dubbing, uses peacock herl, add a rib to the body or not, uses CDC or ordinary hackle. On this page you can also see a caddis pattern tied using the same technique. By making a longer body and adding antennae, you get an excellent and high floating caddis pattern.

The flies are fished on fairly thin leaders, preferably attached with a loop know, which allows the fly to move freely and positioning itself properly in the water. Being a good imitation of a terrestrial, the fly is well suited for fishing during warm and dry periods, placed close to the banks or further out on windy days, looking like a small insect that has dropped onto the water. Consider twitching the rod tip slightly now and then to simulate the movements of a struggling insect.

Narova Dry Fly
Pattern type: 
Terrestrial
Originator: 
Dmitri Tseliaritski

A simple foam fly well suited to imitate terrestrials such as beetles

Species: 
Materials: 
Thread
Black 8/0
Body
Narrow black foam strip
Rib
Translucent Mylar tinsel, narrow
Dubbing
Black dry fly dubbing
Hook
Tiemco 212Y #11-13
Tail/legs
Black deer hair
Hackle
Black CDC in dubbing loop
Skill level/difficulty: 
Easy
Instruction: 
See article for detailed step-by-step instructions


Caddis style Narova
Narova caddis
Dmitri Tseliaritski

Comments

Břetislav Kašpar's picture

Hi Dmitri...

Very nice, I will try brown/cinnamon color for this concept. Thanks Dmitri!

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