In all of the Patagonian rivers in Argentina and Chile, catfish are more abundant than we think. The “Bagre Torrente” of Trichomycteridae family especially, can often be seen if you look closely around the banks, under the flat stones or in the evening using a flashlight to light up the water. T View more...In all of the Patagonian rivers in Argentina and Chile, catfish are more abundant than we think. The “Bagre Torrente” of Trichomycteridae family especially, can often be seen if you look closely around the banks, under the flat stones or in the evening using a flashlight to light up the water. These catfish are a wholesome food source for many trout in some areas of Patagonia and large trout are often found gorging on these fish. It is very common to see in a trout’s stomach many catfish that have recently been eaten. These catfish are extremely agile, thin with an elongated body and have excellent camouflage in waters of the south. Many of the Sculpin patterns used in the northern hemisphere have been tried in Patagonia however often imitated something completely different as they were too bulky. The Bagre Torrente are very thin and flexible, therefore different materials must be used to get the right action on the fly. The infamous Wooly Bugger’s thin, long and dark coloured body are hard to beat but us fly tiers are always trying to innovate patterns to find the “Holy Grail” for certain places. As well as this it is very difficult to beat Intruder or articulated patterns to achieve better flexibility, sink rate and movement in the water. Finding the right materials can often be hard to get the right balance between movement, profile, castability and sink rate.
The Swinging Catfish is not a fly that looks very impressive when dry however once the fly is wet the silhouette changes and other imitations within the fly become more prominent like the red gills in the head of the fly. The Rabbit fur and ostrich fibers have a particularly attractive movement in the water. Combined with a good technique and proper equipment this fly has given me very good results in multiple rivers of Argentina and Chile’s Patagonia.
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List of materials
Hook for Body: Streamer type hook with a straight eye like the DAIICHI 1750 #2 Loop Back 7X7.
Line for the Trailing Hook: 26lb American Fishing Wire or 50lb Braid.
Trailing Hook: DAIICHI 2553 Red Octopus No. 2.
Thread: White 6/0 Thread and red Unicord.
Body: Hareline pale olive dubbing.
Ribbing: Brassie Chartreuse wire.
Weight: Red beadhead and fluorescent orange conehead.
Gills: Red saddle hackle.
Top: Barred Zonker Strip peacock/black.
Head: Cross cut rabbit olive View more...Hook for Body: Streamer type hook with a straight eye like the DAIICHI 1750 #2 Loop Back 7X7.
Line for the Trailing Hook: 26lb American Fishing Wire or 50lb Braid.
Trailing Hook: DAIICHI 2553 Red Octopus No. 2.
Thread: White 6/0 Thread and red Unicord.
Body: Hareline pale olive dubbing.
Ribbing: Brassie Chartreuse wire.
Weight: Red beadhead and fluorescent orange conehead.
Gills: Red saddle hackle.
Top: Barred Zonker Strip peacock/black.
Head: Cross cut rabbit olive/black.
Steps
Step 1
Take the streamer hook and add the conehead first followed by the beadhead.
Step 2
Leaving a space behind, make a base with white thread and add some cyanoacrylate to bind the steel wire or braid loop making sure that the loop is perfectly horizontal to the shank.
Step 3
We then tie in a loop of chartreuse copper wire.
Step 4
Fold the surplus steel wire or braid back and covered it with thread in order to prevent any possibility that the loop comes undone. Then cement solid with cyanoacrylate.
Step 5
Add the dubbing in creating a tapered body.
Step 6
Wrap the wire up the body twisting the chartreuse wire loop. This makes it much stronger so the trout’s teeth wont brake it.
Step 7
Rough up the dubbing to give the body more character, movement and transparency.
Step 8
Tie in a few turns of the red rooster hackle to create the gills. Try to use the softer fibers of the hackle to get more movement.
Step 9
Using the Unicord create a loop and insert the barred ostrich fibers making sure they are around 5cm long to reach the trailer hook. Make sure they are evenly distributed.
Step 10
Wrap the ostrich fibers round the shank pulling the fibers back each time.
Step 11
Tie in the Zonker strip of rabbit fur on top facing backwards.
Step 12
Make another loop with the Unicord and insert olive rabbit fur distributing it evenly throughout.
Step 13
Wrap the loop around the shank pulling the fibers back to create the head. Complete with a whip finish.
