Fabrizio Gajardoni
Step by Step

Gaja’s Winged Fishing Beetle

This is one of my favorite flies for fishing trout and grayling on the rivers of northern Italy and Austria. I started to tie this beetle in 2000 and over the years I kept improving it, changing its materials and shape. The first model was made of foam and broom hair covered by epoxy, the belly was View more...This is one of my favorite flies for fishing trout and grayling on the rivers of northern Italy and Austria. I started to tie this beetle in 2000 and over the years I kept improving it, changing its materials and shape. The first model was made of foam and broom hair covered by epoxy, the belly was made with epoxy 5 minutes covering both the legs and foam. Belly was usually black or brown but after some tests I started to tie them with hot orange seal fur, this was a great improvement since the fish prefer this over darker colors. Usually I paint the foam with acrylic iridescent colors and then I cover it with Bug Bond UV resin (instead of epoxy 5 minutes). Both are good but with UV resin is faster. Another variation I had done was changing the legs that were too thin; plastic tube is perfect. After some test I still add the metallic green and red sheet as wing, in this way the beetle is much more visible for the fisherman. Fishing with this fly is very easy; there’s no need to use silicone floatant, although a little drop on the seal fur will help the fly to float better after catching some fish.I still remember my first day fishing with this fly…Mur river (Austria), end of June 2001. I was for fishing on this beautiful river and in particular I was in a nice beat with current on the right side of the river. On left side there is an amazing deep water beat; trout were taking dry flies on the surface by softly opening their mouths. It was spectacular seeing this but not easy catch them; I had no success after trying a lot of dry flies so I decided to try my beetle. Well, there was at least 15 big trout seeping flies, I caught each one of them in two hours of fishing with my beetle.I even caught a huge grayling fishing on the right side of the beat, the fish moved one meter in the river current to take the beetle. This was a great day, like many others I had in other rivers. I gave a lot of beetles to my friends and customers and they had great success in all the rivers they fished. My friend Edoardo Scapin, the best bamboo rod maker in Italy, and one of the best in Europe, caught lots of very big marble trout on the Piave river in Italy with this beetle tied on big # 6 hook.Tying them is fairly easy; I suggest having a box full of them when you fish fast rivers on summer, they even work very well on slow water, especially close to the banks and roots or grass. Large sizes are also good for black bass. Try them and you will not regret it.GOOD LUCK!!!

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List of materials

Finished fly image

Steps

Step 1

Fix the hook to the vice, use a Tiemco 2302 or similar, # 12

Step 2

This brass plier was hand made by myself but you build one and shape it to your preference.

Step 3

Place a piece of 3 mm foam inside the brass plier.

Step 4

Cut the excess foam with a scissor.

Step 5

Burn the foam around the plier.

Step 6

A view of the shaped foam.

Step 7

Tie the foam.

Step 8

Take a piece of black plastic tube.

Step 9

Tie it on the hook shank.

Step 10

Tie the other two pieces.

Step 11

Put a little drop of Bug Bond on each leg and foam.

Step 12

Fix it using a UV lamp.

Step 13

Create a loop and put the hot orange seal fur inside them. This is my favourite color body for beetles.

Step 14

Twist the loop.

Step 15

Turn the dubbing around the hook shank, create a bump around the legs, stop dubbing before the last pair of legs.

Step 16

Fold back the black foam and fix it with a few turns.

Step 17

Term the body, cut off the excess.

Step 18

Take a piece of very thin plastic broom hair, I use brush hair from the sides of mosquito nets.

Step 19

Tie the antennae.

Step 20

Fold again the black foam and tie it strongly.

Step 21

Tie the final knot to the fly.

Step 22

Cut the foam excess.

Step 23

Trim the orange seal fur excess.

Step 24

Final body.

Step 25

Press the legs with a round plier.

Step 26

Fold back the legs and give a little touch with a cauterizer, the legs will remain in the right position. Do the same for all legs.

Step 27

Cut the the legs and antennae.

Step 28

Final legs.

Step 29

Burn the needle and put it on the middle of the body, just a little touch to give it the right shape.

Step 30

Right shape.

Step 31

Put on a piece of plastic or glass a little drop of Bug Bond and mix with a very little drop of black paint, I use black Cellire. With a needle make the black drops on the antennae.

Step 32

Fix with UV lamp. The Fishing Beetle is ready to fish on, if you like to change colors you can paint it with acrylic iridescent colors and cover it with Bug Bond, or epoxy 5 min.