BAIT RUNNER

davy Wotton says new tackle and fly-tying techniques will help revive an interest in fishing fry imatations oN UK WATERS, particularly when larger fish are the quarry.

Those of you who have fished for some 15 years or more are probably well aware of the big, grown-on trout that were regularly caught from our larger reservoirs like Grafham. In those days we concentrated on the aggresive and predatory nature of trout, using big, powerful rods and Gladding Aqua Sink fly lines in conjunction with big single or tandem appetisers and large white marabou muddlers. Provided you fished at the right place and with the correct method you could have some great sport.

The last 15 years has seen anglers move towards top-of-the-water loch style competition fishing, centring largely on insect imitation, and today very few anglers practice the 'Northampton styles' pioneered by the likes of Bob Church, Dick Shrive and Frank Cutler.

Fly fishing has moved on: new rod designs, many new configurations of fly lines and also greater inventiveness with baitfish imitations have transformed the approach to fry fishing since those early days. No longer is it a method that calls for power rods and heavy fast-sinking lines. Many of the new styles of baitfish pattern have come about due to the interest in saltwater fishing in Central and Northern America. Here, and also around the Scandinavian coastline, saltwater fly-fishing is as commonplace as trout fishing a reservoir is in Great Britain. If you lived near the Danish coast then in all probability you'd be a saltwater sea-trout fisherman. The coast of Denmark has particularly good fishing - as both Oliver Edwards and I can testify having experienced a terrific weekend's fishing there. At places like these, conventional, modern lightweight tackle (by our reservoir standards) is used in conjunction with lightweight baitfish patterns to provide easy casting and superb sport - and the pattern described here has its roots firmly planted in Denmark.

The hook on which it is dressed (the J.S. Streamer hook) has strong ties with Jens Staal, manager of the Go Fishing tackle shop in Odense, a fly fishing state which comes with my personal recommendation.

Jens is a first-rate fly fisherman and in collaboration with Alan Bramley at Partridge the J.S. Streamer hook evolved. The sea trout off the coast of Denmark feed mostly on shrimp and small fish. This hook suits dressings for both.

Obviously, here in the UK the hook's use will be biased towards baitfish patterns as opposed to Shrimp, but don't be fooled into thinking that it is of limited use. Naturally, it has applications on both stillwater and rivers for salmonids, and as a bait streamer for species such as bass and sea trout in the sea. Likewise, it would easily suit more voracious fish predators, such as pike.

Essentially a good baitfish imitation should not be dressed too heavily with material; if it is, it will lack the flow of material mobility and streamlined proportion assumed when it is fished.

This pattern is designed to fish in an undulating way, so if you pause on the retrieve the fly will head downward, and when pulled it will naturally rise upwards - just as if the fish was injured. If the retrieve is more of a continuous draw then this will represent a fish moving in a more straight line, just as a healthy fish does.

Don't be deceived by this fly's appearance when it is dry. When wet, it will pulse with life, the Mylar will gleam and flash, and the translucency of the body materials enable the red inner gill area to show through at the head of the fly - exactly as a fry appears when in its element.

How do I know this? At home, I keep fish - tropical fish, coldwater fish, you name it - well, a man has to relax after a hard day's fishing! Whilst many recommend the therapeutic values of a gurgling fish tank combined with the calm and serene behaviour of the fish within, I can thoroughly recommend a large fish tank for its value as a fly field-testing station. Many of my flies are tested in the tanks I have at home, and none more so than the Bait Runner which, I think, has just about all the qualities and characteristics a fly tyer could hope for as the pattern swims underwater.The combination of life, colour, flash, shape, translucency and essential trigger points all come together in a fly dressing symphony. It's a truly marvellous fly and an inspiring sight in the water. I guarantee if you tested the Bait Runner in this way, you'd fish it with the utmost confidence.

Realism

O.K., I'll admit that there are a few additions which are more of personal preference rather than essential triggers - in practical terms the fish-tail hackle may well be an additional option and have no bearing on its overall effectiveness, but it lends the pattern that final touch and extra element of realism.

If you want to develop this fly for your own fishing needs, you can easily alter the materials used in my original to suit the species of bait fish you are aiming to imitate: the inclusion of silver or gold holographic tinsel, different coloured eyes, or a different shade of the back material will all help to create the subtle characteristics of the many different types of prey fish. These finer points of detail are up to you, provided you bear one thing in mind - remember to construct the head well.

You may also use the addition of epoxy at the head area, by all means, but bear in mind that this does add weight and accordingly your rod and line weight must match up to it, or you will find you are having to cast the equivalent of a Dog Nobbler on a 4-weight line.

Dressed as I've detailed here, this fly is a good representation of small roach, bream, dace and the like. So would suit most situations in stillwater where small fish were on the menu, and it would also suffice in the sea as a small baitfish generalisation.

Bait fish target

It's worth bearing in mind that most of the larger specimens of the fish we pursue - rainbows, browns, sea trout, bass, pollack etc - all have highly developed predatory instincts (a fry-eating trout is not at all unusual) and predatory species will recognise and target bait fish as a food form, more so than you may realise.

Perhaps now, with the development of rods, lines and lightweight flies, we should yet again turn to Baitfish patterns - fished in a more conventional style than in the Grafham style of old. Trout won't have changed at all, remember.

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Dressing the Bait Runner (see April 1998 issue for detailed diagram)

1. For the tail: Cut a four-inch length of silver mylar piping (small size). Remove inner core.

2. Select a pair of large hen hackles of a grey - light or dark dun shade, or grizzle hen. Strip fibre back to a point where the fibres exhibit the correct width for the tail.

3. Cut the Mylar perfectly square. Place the hen hackles back to back so as they are perfectly aligned (concave side inwards).

4. Push hackle stems into the Mylar so the hackle fibre just touches the end of the Mylar.

5. At this junction apply some waterproof Crazy glue, this will set the tail in place and also prevent the end of the Mylar tube from fraying. When dry, cut out the hackle tip halfway up the protruding stem with sharp scissors to create a fish-tail effect.

6. Wrap a white or grey thread base along the hook shank to a position just before the bend. At position A, wrap the Mylar on top of hook shank with about six turns, then lift up the Mylar and take the thread along the shank to B and again wrap the Mylar down with another six turns at this point. Repeat process again at C, cut off surplus Mylar 1/4 in. back from eye.

7. At a position above and below the end of the Mylar underbody, tie 15 to 20 strands of Crystal Hair. Make sure the Crystal Hair does not extend past point A (i.e. the tail). Reversing the hook in vice will enable the lower Crystal hair to be tied in so that it is central and lies to both left and right of the hook bend.

8. Take thread back to a position halfway down the hook shank. Make certain Crystal hair remains above and below the shank. At this point dub on No 44 SLF and build a neat even, not-too-tight red section. Finish at end of silver Mylar.

9. Now select your white Arctic fox. The overal length of the fly is - excluding the tail and hook eye - 2 inches. So, you will need hair of at least 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inches in length. Cut out a section about the same diameter of a biro pen. Using a fine tooth-comb, comb out all the short fibre. Do this by holding your hair midway up the clump and comb towards the cut ends. You need to tie in one section of hair above the shank and one below. Again, reverse the hook to attend to the underneath of the fly. Aim to have the fibres just long enough to just about touch the tail. Your thread should now be at a position just behind the eye.

10. Now cut square the fox extending past the hook eye to a length of half an inch or slightly less. Carefully draw it rearwards, over the body of the fly. Reverse the thread to secure in this position. Do the same for the fox hair below the hook shank at B. Now you should have achieved a fish-shaped profile, with a little more bulk at the head. If needed carefully trim the fox that has been reversed so that it blends and conforms with the body shape.

11. Now select a pair of well marked grizzle or blue dun hackles, no more than 1/4 in. in width. These are prepared so that, from the tying-in point (A), the hackle tip touches the tail and flanks the body centrally as my example, one on the left side, one on the right.

12. Cut out a small amount of SLF hank fibre no 22. Comb out loose and/or short fibre. Offer this centrally over the back of the fly, to lie over the length of the body. Secure at position B.Cut off neatly now all excess hackle stem and SLF hank. Form a neat head and remove thread after whip finish.

13. Apply a small amount of the superglue at the eye position, placing the eye before the glue sets. Do likewise for both sides. When this is dry, hold your baitfish about midway down the body. Draw all body fibres rearward under a little tension. Now carefully use the glue to set the fibres around the eyes, top of head, between the eyes, below the eyes and the tying thread at the eye position. Your Baitrunner is now ready to entice the biggest trout in the water.

Davy Wotton's Bait Runner

Hook:	Partridge CS 11/3 J.S. Streamer, size 4.
Thread:	White or grey.
Tail:	Veniard silver Mylar (small diameter) with a pair of grey, dun, or grizzle hackles shaped, stripped and inserted.
Gills:	Partridge SLF Fluorescent red (No.44) dubbing.
Wing & body:	Veniard Crystal Hair (pearl or smolt blue) with white arctic fox.
Back:	Partridge No.22 Kingfisher Blue hank fibre.
Flanks:	A pair of cock grizzle hackles, or blue-grey dun.
Eyes:	Veniard silver/black Epoxy eyes, size 5 mm or 9mm.
Glue:	Superglue, Crazy Glue (water resistant).

Article appeared in April 1998 issue and is the fly to tie in the International Fly Tying Competition (full details in that issue).