31 October 2025

I should probably explain why Friday Flies once again dropped on a Saturday. Instead, I’ll just repeat what my grandpa used to say: “Better out than in!” Pretty sure that was it.

LEN: Pike Lunch

Double bunnies are deadly on pike! These are tied on  Ahrex Bob Clouser Signature hooks.

PLATON: Gnarly Head Popper

I’ve always wanted to tie pike flies, even if we don’t have pike in SA. Tied this one anyway as part of a collection of flies incorporating Arno Laubscher’s Gnarly Headz.

DRÉ: Nile Perch Bulkheads

David Taylor dropped some intel on the main elements these flies would need:

Some UV reactivity and contrast in colours

Flash ( More than I would typically use for Geets )

Flies are generally fished quite slowly at night, so wanted something with presence and a lot of movement – the ostrich, bucktail and skinny hackles take care of that.

Ideally neutral/slightly positive buoyancy – the Bulkhead helps that, along with pushing a lot of water and causing turbulence over the back end of the fly for movement. Next couple flies will have a bit of foam incorporated in them for a bit of additional flotation.

JAZZ: Kicking bass and taking names

Jazz is being a complete doos legend in that instead of tying, he’s catching. First, some bass on the brown/yellow clouser (see Friday Flies 10 October) the two of us have come to trust. And, an epic reward for the hours behind the vice, filling a tasty box of inshore candy: bonito!! Bueno, bru. Muy bueno.

EWAN: Van Der Kloof

Prepping a box for Van Der Kloof. Obviously, we’re mostly after largemouth yellowfish, which is what these nuggets are for.

Also tying some hoppers for surface-cruising smallies.

LEROY: Boobie Dragon

My long-time fascination with creating lifelike flies with the minimum materials, refers. To be clear and fair, lifelike and realistic are not the same thing, and I’m far from done tweaking this pattern. Rabbit strip tail, deer hair wing, some legs and foam eyes. That’s it. Mostly. I’ve been using splitshots to create versatile weighting tabs. It came about when looking for a clean way to weight and keel crab patterns, but I’ve now used it in shrimps, prawns, baitfish and even trout flies. Depending on how you tie it in, you can get a keel and weed-guard in one simple piece. I tried that on this dragon, and will toss it in some running water soon, to see how it goes. I very rarely fish stillwaters, but if I did, I’d carry an unweighted version as well.