The Booby Damsel: Autumn on the Trout Lake

The Booby Damsel: Autumn on the Trout Lake

Damsels are widespread in most stillwater- and commercial fisheries. Here, the energetic insects are high on the menu card of the resident rainbow trout. In the following, the experienced Swedish fly tyer Håkan Karsnäser explains how to use the effective Booby Fly to imitate damsels and lure big trout.

By Peter Lyngby // Photos by Morten Valeur

Newly stocked rainbow trout in artificial- or natural lakes and streams are usually not on a particular diet, and they have a reputation for biting on almost anything that they come across. Experienced put and take fly fishermen, however, know that this unnaturally big appetite will rapidly diminish and that even stocked trout sometimes become extremely picky. It happens, gradually, as they become accustomed to their new environment’s natural food availability. Among the rainbow trout’s favorite dishes, damsel nymphs rank high, perhaps because these hardy insects aren’t overly demanding when it comes to water quality and since, as a result, they are present in prolific quantities in almost all types of put and take waters.

One of the experts when it comes to fly fishing and tying for stocked trout lakes is Swedish Håkan Karsnäser, who has regularly demonstrated his skills at many European fairs. We met Håkan to talk about his longtime experience with rainbow trout and not least his poisonous fly pattern: The Booby Damsel.

3.000 flies a year

Håkan Karsnäser is happy to admit that fly tying is at least as important to him as fishing itself. Håkan has been tying flies for more than thirty years, and - already at an early age - he started tying flies for local shops. Today, Håkan uses fly tying as a relaxing element in everyday life, and he ties flies for almost all forms of fly fishing, as well as a lot of classic salmon flies, which are mostly for fun and for practicing advanced techniques.

- Fly tying has had an almost therapeutic effect on me, Håkan explains. I started with the flies when I was quite young, and I had tied for quite some time before I even started fishing with them on a fly rod. I tie flies daily and

I love my home waters in Hökensås, and I usually do at least a hundred shorter or longer fishing trips a year there.

it usually runs up to 2-3.000 flies a year. I like to tie all types of flies, from very technical and time-consuming salmon flies, to simpler fishing flies like the Booby Damsel that we’re going to tie today.

During my time as a fly shop supplier, I often tied several hundreds of the same fly, and this has given me great insights into the technical elements of fly tying and maximum utilization of fly-tying materials. A fly like the Booby Damsel only consists of three materials, and - with a bit of practice - it is lightning fast to tie. Lots of Damsel variations have been made over time, but few are simpler than this one, he says.

Hökensås

Despite the many hours behind the vice, Håkan Karsnäser is also quite an active fly fisherman, and the rainbow trout in his local waters in the Hökensås area are never safe.

- I love my home waters in Hökensås, and I usually do at least a hundred shorter or longer fishing trips a year there. I also fish a lot of pike and seatrout on the coast, but there is something extremely rewarding about fishing locally. In addition to the obvious practicality of the short distance, fishing the same water often provides accumulating experience and great discernments.

- When you fish the same water frequently all year round, you learn a lot about how the fish behave and how they react to different flies and fishing techniques. I would recommend this to anyone, rather than wandering around and constantly looking for new hotspots. That said, I can’t help but recommend the Hökensås area to European fly fishermen, says Kåkan.

Hökensås offers a lot of fishing opportunities in a number of lakes, and the flowing water Baltak is not far away either. Hökensås has its own fish farm, and the rainbow trout here are healthy and in great condition. They are good fighters, and it is extremely rare that you encounter a fin-damaged fish. Furthermore, the area has plenty of accommodation options including camping and cabins.

The Booby techniques

Håkan Karsnäser’s Booby Damsel fly, as the name clearly indicates, is based on the Booby fly tying style developed for trout flies. The manic characteristic of this type of fly, which was originally developed by British reservoir fishermen in the 1980s, is the large foam eyes in the front – eyes that make the fly float or hover. The Booby Fly quickly proved to be extremely effective for rainbows all over Europe, and Håkan eventually came across the pattern and applied his own twist to it.

I retrieve the fly with sharp jerks so the fly imitates the erratic darting movement of the nymphs.

Håkan explains his way of fishing the Booby Damsel.

- The special thing about the Booby Fly is that you fish it on sinking line. However, I would like to add that you can actually be very successful with this fly with a floating line too - when the damsel nymphs hatch earlier in the year. That way, you have two flies in one. With that said, I usually fish my Booby Damsel near the bottom, where the nymphs stay most of the year.

Håkan always carries two rods loaded with different line setups to better be able to adapt to the conditions.

- I usually have two fly rods rigged up when I go to the trout lake – both rigged up with sinking lines, but with different sink rates: Usually an intermediate line and a

sinking line. That way, I can quickly adapt my fishing technique to changing bottom conditions. I especially like to seek out small bays or parts of the lake that aren’t too deep and preferably areas where I know there is some sort of vegetation on the bottom. The nymphs stay there, and of course the rainbows know that, Håkan says and continues:

- I like to retrieve the fly with small sharp jerks, so the fly imitates the erratic darting movement of the nymphs, but I want to point out that variation in the retrieve is oftentimes the way to succeed. Be careful not to doze into autopilot-mode

Håkan usually looks for the trout near weedbeds and structure - and he typically uses sinking lines to get to the right depth.

when standing on the bank of the lake. Instead, imagine how the floating fly responds to your retrieve and how it swims or moves across the bottom at an appetizing pace. The trout tend to follow the fly curiously, so I would recommend retrieving it almost all the way to the tip of the rod.

To keep the fly down and present it most elegantly, I usually use a sinking poly tip, followed by a short piece of fluorocarbon of about seventy centimeters. You will experience a little contact with the bottom from time to time when fishing the Booby Damsel efficiently, and therefore it is advisable to use a 0.20-0.23mm tippet, Håkan says.

Tying tips

Despite the Booby Damsel’s simple construction, Håkan has a few good tips for those who want to tie the fly themselves.

- Many people just tie the Booby eyes in on top of the hook, but I think they fit significantly better and are more durable if

you stick the hook through the middle of the foam cylinder before you secure the eyes tightly with the tying thread. You may want to make a hole in the foam with your dubbing needle first. Otherwise, this is a pretty simple fly, but remember to save the hairs you cut from the zonker strip, because you can use them for the body instead of cutting more. I also make a sand-colored version of the Booby Damsel Fly and one in a very dark olive tone, Håkan Karsnäser concludes.

Håkan fishes hard all year round, but autumn is one of his favourite times to target the local rainbow trout.

HOW TO TIE THE BOOBY DAMSEL

Hook: Ahrex FW 510 # 14 // Thread: Black UNI 8/0 // Tail: Light olive squirrel zonker strip // Body: Light olive squirrel hair // Hackle: Olive partridge // Eyes: Black Booby Eyes, 4 mm

1. Insert the hook into the vise and fasten the tying thread. Punch a hole in the foam and slide the Booby eyes onto the hook. Secure with a small drop of Loctite glue first.

2. Secure the eyes thoroughly with the thread and a small drop of Loctite glue. Leave the tying thread at the back of the hook.

3. Cut the hairs off a piece of squirrel strip so that there is only approx. 1 mm of hair left. Tie in the zonker strip so there is only hair protruding from the end of the tail.

4. Mix the clipped squirrel hairs a little with your fingers and dub them onto the thread. Dub a short and full body on the hook but leave a little space behind the eyes.

5. Tie in the tip of the partridge just behind the eyes. Make two to three turns with the hackle right up to the eyes and cut off the stem.

6. Finish the fly and brush the body and hackle with your dubbing brush. The fly is now done.