Narova Foam Beetle

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.

Peacock Narova

Orange Narova

Golden Narova

Dmitri Tseliaritski

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

Dmitri Tseliaritski

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 caddis

Dmitri Tseliaritski