The King of Skøelva is the first fly pattern that I developed, and is probably the fly I hold dearest to my heart. The idea behind it was sort of based on the two patterns The Usual and Blue Charm, but made only with natural colors. Throughout the years this fly has landed me many salmons and quite a few seatrouts, and is a brilliant fly mid- to late season and on low water.
*Video at the bottom of the article*
The materials needed for tying the King of Skøelva.
King of Skøelva
Hook: Double salmon, 4 - 10
Thread: Black for the body, red for the head
Tail: The yellow rump feather of a Golden Pheasant
Ribbing: Silver wire
Body: Peacock herl
Throat: Blue neck peacock feather
Wing: 3 red breast feathers of a Golden Pheasant
Step 1: The Thread
Lay down a layer of thread all along the shank of the hook.
Step 2: The Tail
Tie in a yellow Golden Pheasant rump feather for the tail. To get a nice tail, slightly roll the fibers together between your fingers before you tie it in. The tail should be just short of a body-length long.
Step 3: The Ribbing
Tie in a silver wire or oval tinsel for the ribbing. I prefer wire for durability and to also protect the peacock herl in the body.
Step 4: Tie in the Herl
Tie in three long peacock herls.
Step 5: Make the Body
Wrap the peacock herl counter-clockwise (opposite of the thread and ribbing). For extra security one can add some superglue to the underbody before wrapping the herl.
Step 6: Make the Ribbing
Wrap the wire ribbing in five equal turns clockwise up the body. I tend to lay an extra turn at the joint between the body and the head area to make it easier to secure the wire, so it won't slip out, then tie in in on the underside of the hook-shank.
Step 7: Secure the Wire
Fold the wire backward.
Step 8: The red thread
Tie in the red thread and at the same time tie off the black thread and continue the red thread over the bare wire.
Step 9: Trim off the waste ends
First trim off the waste end of the red thread and the black thread, then wiggle the wire until it breaks off.
Step 10a: The Throat
Take the blue neck peacock feather and slightly twist it between your fingertips before tying it in.
Step 10b: The Throat
From the underside the throat should look something like this.
Step 10c: The Throat
Neatly trim off the waste-ends of the blue neck peacock feather.
Step 11a: The Wing
Slightly roll the red Golden Pheasant breast feather between your fingers to bunch up the fibers a little bit.
Step 11b: The Wing
Thread the stem of the feather through the eye of the hook, and tie in just over the bare feather-stem, make sure the feather is laying flat on top of the hook-shank. Two turns of thread is sufficient to hold down the feather at this step.
Step 11c: The Wing
Pull the feather until you reach the desired length. For this fly I like to have the wing to reach between 2/3 to 3/4 of the tail-length.
Step 11d: The Wing
Repeat step 11a to 11c for the second and third feather as well. Make sure they lay flat on top of the hook-shank, and two turns of thread will at this point be sufficient for each feather.
Step 11e: The Wing
One all three feathers are in place, make a few more tight wraps of thread to make sure they stay in place.
Step 11f: The Wing
Carefully trim off the waste ends.
Step 12a: The Head
Before continuing building up a nice head, add a drop of water-resistant superglue to the head and allow it to soak in, but form the rest of the head before the superglue sets. the Golden Pheasant breast feathers are very smooth, and without the glue they will slip out eventually.
Step 12b: The Head
Secure the thread with a few turns of whip-finish and cut the thread before adding a few coats of varnish. Tight lines!
A King of Skøelva tied on a Mustad 3582BR size 8 just retired after living up to its name for four seasons, and after several salmons and seatrouts. Fighting a 10 lbs salmon in a rapid stretch of Skøelva got the best off the hook unfortunately.
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All photos are taken by me and shall not be used without permission.