Fly Tying: The Ostrich

Fly Tying:

The Ostrich

Flatwings are popular flies for seatrout and other predatory fish. They’re big, lively, and capable of attracting the attention of the biggest fish out there. Danish fly tyer, Morten Hansen, has developed his own take on a flatwing - with a mixture of synthetics and natural materials. And he’s got the mix just right...

By MORTEN (COASTFLY) HANSEN

The Ostrich is a pattern developed for seatrout - but I imagine it will do equally well for seabass, mackerel, bonito and other inshore species that have developed an acute taste for baitfish. The fly imitates anything from a sandeel to a sprattus or small herring, and it has all the “flesh” needed to lure even the biggest of predatory fish. The weight of the UV-glue-enforced head makes the fly swim with a jiggy action that really makes the body materials pulsate and shimmer.

Seatrout are opportunistic predators preoccupied with building body mass, and while seatrout eat lots of small prey such as gammarus, mysis, shrimp and other crustaceans, big seatrout tend to focus more and more on baitfish - especially those found along drop offs and in tidal currents. A big baitfish imitation is more likely to make one of these fish react than a small prey item that offers very little in terms of nutrients.

Ultimately, it’s the natural algorithm coded into the seatrout’s genes that makes it favour certain prey items. Prey that represent rewards that are bigger than both the risks and efforts involved, will be favoured.

It all boils down to whether or not the potential amount of energy gained from hunting and eating a certain prey will exceed the amount of energy used during the hunt. At the same time, it provides and explanation to why big flies are way better big-fish attractors than smaller flies. Yes, a small fly will catch a big seatrout if put right in front of it, but a big fish isn’t likely to chase a small fly over a long distance or zoom in on it from a distance. (Furthermore, a small fly is trickier to see from a distance).

The Ostrich is a fly for those who dream of catching a big seatrout but - rest assured - even smaller seatrout will hit it with reckless abandon. Especially during Spring and the warmer summer months. Seatrout are capable of eating surprisingly big prey, and it isn’t unlikely to catch small and medium-sized seatrout with sandeel and herring sticking half-way out of their mouths.

Try the Ostrich on an intermediate line, and don’t be afraid to speed up the retrieve. The fly can be seen from afar, and because it has just the right silhouette, size, and appearance it is bound to attract some attention.

Material List//

Hook: Ahrex SA280 #4

Thread: Veevus 30D White

Tail: White ostrich herl

Body: STF dubbing White

Sides: Mirage Flash, opal

Head: UV resin clear and Fluorescent orange

Eyes: Pro Flexi Eyes 6mm

Start by placing the hook in your vise. In this case a SA280 #4 from Ahrex Hooks.

Make a base layer of tying thread

small bundle of White Bucktail on the top of the hook – just before the hook bend.

Tie in a few strands (3-5) of white ostrich herls on the top half of the hook.

Tie in a bundle of aligned white STF Dubbing. Tie in the middle part of the bundle so you have an equal amount of dubbing pointing for- and backwards.

Flip the forward pointing fibers back over on themselves and tie down. This will help distribute the dubbing all the way around the hook. Like a collar of dubbing.

Tie in a few (3-5) white ostrich herls on the top half of the hook, a bit longer than the previous ones.

Tie in a bundle of white stf dubbing the same way as before. Only this time use a little more dubbing. This will help you build op the correct taper.

Tie in two strands of mirage opal flash on each side of the hook. Cut them so they are in different lengths and a bit longer than the ostrich herls.

Tie in a few strands (4-6) of ostrich herls in olive. Again, you want them a tiny bit longer than the previous ones.

Clean up the front of the hook with some wraps of tying thread and make a whip finish.

Apply a very thin coat of UV resin and let it soak into the materials a bit. This way you can determine the shape of the fly before curing it with you UV lamp. Cure when you are happy with the shape.

Apply a drop of UV resin on each side of the fly and place an eye directly on the drop. Then cure the resin with your lamp. This will allow you to get the eyes under control before covering the head.

Apply a drop of fluorescent orange UV resin on the belly of the fly as shown.

Distribute it with your dubbing needle.

Cure the Fluorescent orange resin on the belly.

Coat the head of the fly with a thin layer of clear UV resin.

The best way to get a round and perfect UV resin head on any fly is to keep it moving in the vise. Keep spinning your vise after you’ve covered the head.

Cure the resin while spinning the fly in your vise.

The fly is done. Step 20