Mikael Frödin Fly Designs - Hook, Line and Sinker - Guelph's #1 Tackle Store Mikael Frödin Fly Designs

“A great fly should look like it will bite the leader and swim off by itself ”

Since being a teenager eagerly reading every possible article on salmon fishing, flies and salmon fly tying I have had an obsession for salmon flies. The most beautiful classics, the magic colour combinations, secret materials and more and more as the years went by the way they swim and their capability to catch fish, not any fish but the Atlantic salmon, Salmo Salar. The fly is all they see, the fly is the key, the fly is what should make the fish leave their lie and eagerly grab it. The way you fish them of course, but the fly is central in my fishing strategy. My experimenting at the vise started more than 40 years ago, new techniques, new combinations of materials and new deadly patterns were born each night. I believe I must have tied tens of thousands of variations, some good, some not so god and some definitely not good at all.

We brag about our flies being the best commercially tied flies in the world, they are truly fantastic. I started training the tiers many years ago, teaching them not only to tie salmon flies, but to tie flies the way I wanted them to be tied. To get the right profile, tapering and appearance in the water. Every turn of thread is counted, and all materials very carefully selected. All our fly designs come from thousands of fishing days experience and thousands of salmon caught. The flies are tied on our FITS system with our unique balancing FITS tungsten cones and flexy and extremely durable tubing. Different cones to give the fly different profile. We use first class hair and hackles and also our own SSS Salar Synthetic Series for that little translucent extra catchy sparkle. Here we present our seven series of flies. Different series with different appearance for different conditions. All in all, we think they pretty much cover everything from the smallest sparse sunshine fly to the biggest meanest night fly.

Frodin Fly Designs – Mikael Frödin Biography:

Mikael Frödin was born in September 1961 and is presently living by the lake Valloxen in Knivsta, Sweden. He shares his life with his two sons Gustaf and Jakob born in ‘94 and ‘97. The boys have both been on fishing trips since before they could walk and have both since long experienced the thrill of landing their first Atlantic salmon.

Mikael started tying his own flies at the age of thirteen and shortly thereafter his creations started giving him his first sought after sea trout. Since the age of 18 he has lived as a professional fly tyer and salmon angler. Much of his time behind the vise has been devoted to the hunt for “The perfect tube fly”. Mikael early stated that a great fly should look like it will bite the leader and swim off by itself.

A Pioneer:

Since the beginning of the 80’s Mikael has been an active participant in the development of salmon flies and tackle and is today one of the most important actors behind the “Scandinavian Style”. Among the most popular and pioneering products is the SALAR series of hooks, fly tying materials, fly boxes and wallets, SSS synthetic materials as well as FITS tube system and cones that have revolutionized tube fly tying all over the world. He started his career as an innovative fly tier early on and a lot of the standard techniques and thoughts on salmon flies and fishing of today descend from his fly tying vise. Here you can read more about Frödin Designs … MORE …

Frödin Fly Designs:

When I was 13 years old my parents gave me a fly tying set. This changed my whole life. In the beginning my tying was solely a copying of Red Tags, Peacock Nymphs and a variety of traditional trout flies, just like it should be. Dalälven and Älvkarleby being so close as well as my growing interest of salmon books, pretty fast lead to my fly tying slipping over to salmon and sea trout creations. Älvkarleby soon became my home ground and I started testing all kinds of crazy creations.

Today the little fly factory with a dozen tiers tying only for us is in Thailand. I have trained this people the way that they today after more than 15 years do what I think is by far the best commercially tied flies in the world. They make a good living with good salaries under very good conditions. I am amazed by how good they are, even when I tied most, I would have had problems tying so many flies with so extremely high standards. Of course, I have tried to influence as much as possible, the thread, the amount of turns, selecting good materials in the right colours, tapering and profile. Since we only let our materials be on our flies there are not really any other commercial flies that can compare. I must say that every time I see those flies, I am actually very proud of what we have succeeded doing.

Today I divide my fly designs into a few small families. Families with different profile and appearance. All patterns can be tied differently, can be members of different series but some belong better in one, some combinations make better fishing flies tied one way than the other … MORE …

Classic Series:

This is our largest fly series. We call them Classics because of the way they are tied. A wing dividing the front hackles and with the balancing 1/2 turbo cone as head. To tie with the 1/2 turbo demands a few tricks. Most of the wing ready before the last hackle and then ending with the last few strands of wing. Most of our flies originates from this family, the complex fly with all ingredients. To us these are the most fun to both tie and fish – they are the Classics of our time.

See here for examples …

Samurai Series:

The long slim fly was first born with Collie Dog and Sunray Shadow. They were early discovered to be extremely effective and have since been the favourite of many experienced salmon fisherman. We never liked to fish others idea’s, we like the drop formed fly and the Samurai turned out to be superb. The Samurai is tied in a special way. The small turbo in combination with the long straight wing gives a long-elongated drop form. This is the slimmest profile of all Frödin Designs. A sparse translucent fly designed to be fished fast. The longer we fish for salmon the faster we fish our flies. A fast, slim Samurai can fool the biggest and trickiest of salmon. Dare you fish them fast enough?

See here for examples …

TNT Nobody Series:

This is the new nobody family. With a bit of weight now tied on our new FITS Tungsten Turbo Tube TTT. The TTT is the easy, effective and durable solution. It will both give a bit of weight and open up the fly and give a great broad nicely swimming profile. The fly is fished loose on the leader in front of a short tube that fixes the hook. We suggest that you fish a medium FITS tubing as hook holder and body. vary the length and the colour of the tubing and you get a flexible and easy way to fish a modern, translucent and extremely effective fly.

See here for examples …

Micro Series:

The small fly needs to be simpler. It needs to be tied carefully to swim and fish effectively despite its tiny size. With a good taper and soft hair even the small fly will look extremely lively. The micro-tube outfishes the hooked fly any time. lighter and livelier with the chance to change hook size and colour it’s just the best design. We love our micros. Summer fishing, floating line, a micro and there is not any a better way to catch those fish. They are fished with a loose hook of your choice with just a small fixing tube. We suggest the FITS small tubing.

See here for examples …

Sea Trout Series:

Ever since we first wound a heron hackle we fell in love with the graceful Spey fly. The movement of the fibres and the translucent appearance gave the fly life. We are lucky enough to have caught salmon on Akroyds, lady Carolines and Grey Herons. Classic flies that have a special magic to them. The new Sea Trout Spey Series are simpler but even more effective. Ever since we first saw a white heron hackle we wanted that Thunder Spey. now 20 years later it has given us so many memorable fish. On part of this series we use the TTT to help open the material and create a nice drop shape. This series also have two zonkers. Cut with the right tapering and pimped with a lovely sweeping heron hackle they are truly irresistible. The last little fly is our shrimp. This little shrimp has proven effective both on the coast and for salmon and sea trout in our clear rivers.

See here for examples …

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