Far Eastern Flies 2

Lenkovka could be tied on the hooks from #16 to #1. These skaters are good for different fish species, especially in the mountainous rivers.

The light-color Lenkovka is called Verkhovka. This is one of the best surface flies for the Amur River predators — skygazer, yellow-cheek, redfin...

This hybrid of a wobbler and popper I have called Whopper. On the surface this fly will chomp and gurgle, and when submerged it is wobbling its tail. It is an effective fly when the predators are looking up, but need a strong stimulus for an attack.

This fly is called the Mink Fur Mouse; it was first shown me by Igor Tyapkin. We were using it in Kamchatka for trout and grayling, but it is also catching taimen and lenok. I have added a bigger size foam lip which prevents the fly from sinking on choppy water or in strong current.

Drowning Mouse imitates a swimming rodent. Remember how the terrestrial mammals look in the river: only part of the head and back of the swimming mouse is out of the water, so the too buoyant flies could look unnatural for the fish. This one has the rear part tied of rabbit fur, and the lightweight head is spun out of moose fur. The Octopus hook is set in a loop of a pike tippet material. This makes it possible to avoid using long shank hooks which do not hold well when fighting a fish.