Danica Dun
December 8, 2024
Tying Guide: How to tie Michael Olesen’s Danica Dun Hook: Maruto d21 size 10 Thread: Classic Waxed 12/0 from Semperfli, primrose for the abdomen and
On the road, heading towards Jutland, the stream is already on my mind. Is there shelter behind the trees? Should I try upstream? And what about the sun? For how long will it stay light today, and where do I want to be when the fishing peaks around sunset?
On the road, heading towards Jutland, the stream is already on my mind. Is there any shelter behind the trees? Should I try upstream? And what about the sun? For how long will it stay light today, and where do I want to be when the fishing peaks around sunset? The thoughts keep swirling, with many questions and few immediate answers. Yet, I sometimes convince myself that I’m becoming a little wiser about my small stream, its red-spotted trout, the beautiful grayling, and the vast variety of insects living here.
It feels like summer, even though the calendar says it’s September 20th. It’s Saturday, and it`s quiet by the stream, all though I can faintly hear music from a garden party in the distance. If I listen carefully, I can make out bits of Østkyst Hostlers and Den Knaldrøde Gummibåd by Birthe Kjær. It’s actually quite pleasant, but it also reminds me that I’m not exactly following the norm by walking along the stream with my fly rod on a Saturday evening.
Excitement and anticipation is building up as I spot the teeming insect life in the grass. Especially there is a lot of caddisflies, which is typical for September. The Limnephilidae family is at its peak right now, with species like Large Cinnamon Sedge, Caperer, and Brown Sedge— as to use their common fly fishing names.
I don’t expect to see fish rising in the late afternoon, especially with the sun blazing down from a cloudless sky, but today is different. And I know why—September brings more daytime fishing. Suddenly, there’s a loud splash just a few meters behind my back. I instinctively duck, but slowly, so as not to scare the fish with a sudden move. Risking a sore back, I bend over awkwardly, sneaking downstream to get a glimpse of the spot where I think the fish might be.
I was holding my breath, staring intently at the surface of the stream. I barely have time to remind myself to relax my shoulders before I get the confirmation I was hoping for. The fish is still “on its fins”, making another loud splash. It’s definitely feeding on caddis pupae, I think to myself, as I place my cast with a size 14 Fratnik, close enough to match the hatch. It’s already tied to my leader anyway. My fly is taken rather quick by the eager fish, but unfortunately, I fail to set the hook properly. My rubber-arm don’t quite cooperate. I take a deep breath, retreat a bit, and dry my fly with a few false casts. There I stand, in the damp meadow grass, talking to myself, “You’ve got 10 minutes,” I hear myself say. Then I add, “If you’re not back in the surface in 10 minutes, I’m out of here.” It might be a bit odd to talk to a fish, but of course it needs to know that I have a 10-minute rule. And who knows, maybe it works? The surface breaks again, and this time, even more energetically. I cast my fly over the spot, and—got it! The fish is hooked. We battle for a bit, upstream and downstream, before it manages to unhook itself. I get a glimpse of it a couple of times before it escapes. It’s a beautiful grayling, about 45 cm, I’d guess. Losing a good fish is always a little disappointing, but that’s not what sticks in my mind. It’s the thrill of encountering such a fine fish—an unexpected surprise in the middle of the day, adding excitement, distraction, and presence, with the sun warming me up and distant party music in the background.
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The caddisflies of the Limnephilidae family include many species that peak in late summer and autumn. They tend to hatch in large numbers, often resulting in excellent dry fly fishing. The right approach is typically using various floating or emerging pupae patterns, or a Spider fly like Partridge & Orange during a hatch. Sometimes, however, a dry fly works too, as in the fishing story above. Sedge hatch in many different ways and it`s not possible to know everything about them all. What makes sense though, is knowing a bit about riseforms og the fish, that quite often reveal a thing or two about the best choice of fly. I’ve had the best success with caddisfly fishing on warm, calm evenings, with a minimum temperature of 15 degrees Celsius at sunset. Below are a few of the most common species that are typically abundant and reliable in September and October in Denmark.
One of the largest caddisflies in Denmark, with a body length of about 2 cm. The body color is orange-brown, and the thorax is dark brown. The wings are slightly longer than the body and they are light brown with a yellowish tinge.
Flies I use: Partridge & Orange in size 10, sometimes with extra body material, such as orange-brown dubbing. For dry fly fishing, I often use a reasonably accurate imitation, tied on a long-shank size 8 hook, with orange kapok dubbing and brown hare’s ear dubbing for the body. The wings are a mix of natural gray CDC and light brown deer hair, with additional deer hair for the legs and thorax.
![IMG_9557[1]](https://hatchingfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_95571-scaled.jpg "IMG_9557[1]")
Another large caddisfly, with a body length of 16-18 mm. The body color is orange-brown, and the thorax is dark brown. The wings, like those of the Caperer, are light brown with a yellowish tint, though the markings are more subdued.
Flies I use: Same as for the Caperer.
A medium-sized caddisfly, with a body length of 12-15 mm. The body is dark brown, and the wings are brown.
Flies I use: Fratnik in sizes 12-14, with peacock herl for the body and brown CDC for the wings. Also, Partridge & Orange in size 12.
![IMG_9553[1]](https://hatchingfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_95531-scaled.jpg "IMG_9553[1]")
Partridge & Orange in size 12.
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