The Gothenburger

The Gothenburger is an all-round pattern for the river Vindelälven.

As the name suggests this is the fly I tied as my own standard fly for the Ammarnäs trout. It was the first fly to be created in the Ammarnäs series and in its design it is complete with all details and proportions that signify these big brown trout flies.

This pattern is an excellent match to fish the Ammarnäs trout when the water often is slightly humus coloured at the upper parts of the river Vindelälven. If I had to choose only one fly to fish Vindelälven it would without hesitation be this pattern. The size is suitable for one handed rods with lines classed #8 and two handed rods with lines classed #6-7.

Material in the order it is tied in
 

1. Start by cutting a tube 23 mm long and place it in the vise. You press the tube slightly together when you put it in the vise and a length of 22 mm of a fixed tube is good. At the bottom of the picture below you see a fixed tube pressed together.

2. Attach the tying thread 5 mm from the tube’s right end (if you tie using your right hand) and wrap close turns over 3 mm of the tube. Wrap with wider turns to a point 4 mm from the tube’s left end and wrap close turns forward (to the right). Wrap the tying thread back and forth a few times over the rest of the tube so that the material will attach well later on. Now we have indicated the fly’s size on the tube, left 4 mm of the tube unwrapped for the silicone tube and prepared the foundation.

3. Fold a yellow hackle and tie it in just off the top of the tube with the stem pointing away from you and the hackle fibres pointing to the rear. Secure the hackle properly and trim off excess.

4. Wrap the tying thread to a point 1 mm in front of the hackle’s tying-in point. Wrap the body by dubbing it with Ice Dubbing. The body should be 7 mm long. Leave the tying thread just in front of where the body ends as in the picture below.

5. Wrap the body hackle by first making a turn by the rear end of the dubbing. When the first and straight turn is in place you start an even mounting over the body with four turns, as you make sure that all fibres end up pointing towards the rear end. Wrap an additional turn just in front of the body, secure the hackle, cut and tie down surplus. The whole rear body, including the hackle, is now approximately 8 mm long.

6. If the measures are correct tying thread should now cover 4 mm of the tube, where we will tie in the remaining parts of the fly. Start by tying in the lower wing, 18-21 mm long, directly in front of the body hackle. Secure the wing with 6-7 firm turns and trim off excess.

7. Continue with the middle wing, which should be 30-35 mm long.

8. In the middle four to six strands of Angel Hair are tied in with a couple of turns. The strands should now follow the middle wing nicely backwards. Fold the remaining Angel Hair strands backwards and secure them. Cut the strands so that they will stick out a bit further than where the end of the top wing later will be. Even out the foundation if it has become rugged and leave the tying thread hanging in front of the middle wing.

9. Fold the front hackle and secure it at the point of the hackle where the fibres are as long as the front fibres of the body hackle.

Move forward with the tying thread and then follow with the front hackle with six or seven turns. Not more than about a millimetre should now be left to the bare tube. Secure the hackle and trim off excess. Wrap the tying thread over the most forward turn of the front hackle to press it slightly backwards. This will simultaneously form a 2 mm long space to tie in the top wing and the sides of the fly.

10. Prepare the top wing and make sure that there is not too much excess wool by the wing’s root. It is important that the top wing does not build up too high above the tube, since the cone might then not cover all the materials properly. Measure the length of the top wing, 45-50 mm. Tie it in pointing forward as in the picture, with five to six firm turns and leave the tying thread by the rear tie-in point.

Fold the wing backwards and secure it in its position. The top wing should now smoothly follow the fly straight over the other two wings. Fixate the wing properly with yet a few turns of tying thread. Possibly adjust the Angel Hair strands finely so that they will fit the rest of the wing’s proportions.

11. Now tie in the sides of jungle cock. It is easiest to start with the feather towards you. You tie it in with three or four turns so that it aligns with the middle wing. Then tie in the further side. Trim off jungle cock excess and finish off with some firm whip finish knots.

12. Remove the fly from the vise and attach the silicone tube, which will work as a hook holder. The tube should cover the fly’s tube all the way to the most rear turn of the body hackle.

13. Slide the cone over the tube and press it down over the fly’s head. Cut the tube a millimetre in front of the cone and melt the tube with a lighter to fixate the cone. If you want to be assured that the cone is tightly attached to the fly, you may put some varnish or glue on the head of the fly before sliding on the cone. In the picture you can see how the tube has been cut to a proper length to melt the cone onto the fly.

14. To finish off we use a dubbing needle and open up the tube’s front hole so that we later on may insert the leader through the fly.