Published Nov 10. 2016 - 7 years ago
Updated or edited Nov 10. 2016

Tryggelev Terror

We always say that sea trout in the ocean are opportunistic and will take almost any fly. This pattern disproves that thesis

Green head
Green head
Martin Joergensen

We take two annual trips to fish for sea trout. OK, most of us take more two, but the spring and autumn summits where friends from several countries meet to fish here in Denmark are special. We have covered them before: a week of good camaraderie, good food, a wee drink now and then, lots of fly tying – and then some fishing of course.

Constants and variants

But if you come for the fishing alone, you might get a bit disappointed. Because as it is with fishing, the outcome varies. When it comes to the food and drink, the quality level is high and constant. When it comes to good mood and good friends likewise. When it comes to the quality of the fly tying... well, let's let that rest... But when it comes to the fishing the quality level is wildly varying. Fishing depends on so many factors out of control: weather, conditions during the previous season, the fish behavior, the effort made by the anglers, the locations, the presence of other anglers and much more. Sometimes we have excellent fishing. Sometimes it's OK. Sometimes it's downright miserable.

Henning
Nice weather, nice water
Nice weather, nice water
Martin Joergensen - Rüdiger Höhn

Autumn 2016

During our trip in the autumn 2016, fishing was well above average. The location was a well known one that we had visited many times before. We had even staid in the same house. The spots we fished were well known. The weather wasn't perfect, but not totally crazy either. We didn't celebrate one big fish after the other, but we did celebrate a fantastic number. Rüdiger, the guy who tied up this pattern, caught close to 40 sea trout during the week, which must be an all time high for one of these trips, and, as he said, matched what he would normally catch in a year.
And not only the number was impressing, but also the fact that the fish were caught on one single pattern, the one shown here: the Tryggelev Terror. Tryggelev is one of the locations we frequently fish.

That fly

Tryggelev Terror
A box full
Tryggelev Terror
Henning Eskol - Martin Joergensen

Rüdiger and Kai were fishing together and found fish. Not big ones, but nice fish in the 40 centimeter range – which is about 16 inches for the non-metric. That's not a big sea trout by any measure, and we like them larger... of course. But when the alternative is catching nothing, then 40 centimeters isn't bad at all. And there were a few larger fish in the roster. A couple about 50 centimeters or some 20 inches were kept for the pan.
Rüdiger literally hauled the smaller ones in. A take in almost every cast in some periods. Kai was fishing right next to him, and didn't feel a thing. Rüdiger was fishing a small, discrete fly with no major characteristics apart from a bright chartreuse head. Dubbing, teal, a bit of flash and not much to advertise itself. But it worked.
And once he gave Kai a couple to try, Kai started catching fish too. And when Henning arrived, same thing: Rüdigers fly did the trick.

Fish on
Kai Nolting

Opportunistic fish

We mostly say that when sea run trout are around, it's only a question of getting the fly out there, and then they will take. And it's true. In a far majority of the situations where we encounter feeding fish, they will take basically anything. Finding them and presenting the fly right is the key. Matching the hatch is secondary.
Well, not so here.
The fish were quite obviously many, they were active, visible in the water, skipping the surface and hunting. But they weren't going to take any odd fly. Rüdiger's small, neutral fly was it.
"Effective fly - easy to tie" as he says.

Sea trout duo for the pan
Sea trout duo for the pan
Rüdiger Höhn
Tryggelev Terror
Pattern type: 
Cold saltwater fly
Originator: 
Rüdiger Höhn

A small and discrete sea trout fly, which has shown its ability to catch in the autumn.

Materials: 
Hook
Gamakatsu F314, size 6 - 10
Thread
Ultra Thread 140 chartreuse
Tail
Mallard feather, only a few fibers
Weight
Lead wire or substitute, .015, 12 turns
Rib
Copper wire, thin
Dubbing
Saltwater dubbing blend (Wapsi SLF Saltwater Dubbing), color: smokey olive (green version) or root beer (brown version)
Hackle
Soft hackle, grizzly natural (only the first 3 cm of the tip)
Head
Tying thread
Skill level/difficulty: 
Easy
Instruction: 
  1. Cover the hook shank with tying thread
  2. Tie in a few mallard fibers as a tail
  3. Add 10-12 wraps of weight to the front of the hook shank
  4. Cover the weight with tying thread
  5. Tie in cobber wire for the rib pointing to the rear
  6. Cover the shank with a generous amount of dubbing
  7. Tie in a soft hackle tip in the front, stem first, curved side forward
  8. Wrap the hackle to the rear in 3-4 open turns
  9. Counterwrap with the copper wire to secure hackle
  10. Tie down, trim rib surplus and hackle tip
  11. Form a fairly large head, whip finish and cut off thread
  12. Varnish the head
  13. When dry, brush the fly thoroughly with Velcro to tease out the dubbing and fuse it with the hackle

Rüdiger ties the fly in two versions: an olive green one and a brown one. The difference lies in the color of the dubbing. You can of course experiment with more colors.

Step 1 - start thread

Step 2 - mallard

Step 3 - attach weight

Step 4 - weight wrapped

Step 5 - copper wire

Step 6 - dubbing

Step 7 - hackle

Step 8 - ribbing

Step 9 - finished

Rüdiger in the sundown
Kai Nolting
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