See below for the recipes from Lachy (our tying lead for the night) for; Olive Flash Perdigon, Sunken Ant and Euro Nymphing Leaders.
Keyword wetfly
Olive Flash (or Gasolina) Perdigon
- Hook – Size 14 or 16 jig hook – eg. Hanak 450/460/470, Dohiku HDJ
- Bead – Tungsten 3.0mm (for sz 16) or 3.5mm (for sz 14) in copper colour
- Thread – Black 70 Denier thread or nano silk 50-100 Denier
- Tail – Coq de Leon dark or medium pardo (use what you have)
- Body – Hends 233 Krystal Flash Dark Brown (has a green shine)
- Resin – Thin and clear UV resin (eg Solarez Bone Dry)
- Wing case – Black UV resin / nail polish / sharpie (optional)
Sunken Ant
- Hook – Size 16 or 14 scud caddis pupa hook – eg Dohiku 644, Hanak 300 series eg 333.
- Bead – Tungsten black nickel (2.0mm-3.0mm)
- Thread – Black UTC 70 and Rusty Brown Uni 8/0
- CDC – Brown or Dark Brown
- Resin – Thin and clear UV resin (eg Solarez Bone Dry)
Euro Nymphing Leaders
- Butt Section – Can vary significantly. Usually VERY long ~ 9-10m. A large variety of mono lines gives ample opportunity to experiment. Some options include: Maxima Fibre Glow / Chameleon / Ultragreen, Pierre Sempe Mono line (avail from FLyFinz), Sunline Hi-Vis – Orange mono, Soldarini Camou Line (Boss is getting some in), Adams Euro Nymph Mono line (from US – Tactical Fly Fisher)
- Sighter/Indicator – Many options with makes and colour. Good to start with Rio Two-Tone Indicator in hi-viz pink and yellow. Can also use Sakura Indicator Markers available from Officeworks (on order). You can also tie on a ‘backing barrel’ which is a uni knot tied with fluro backing of your choice and you leave on a longish tag/s. This is to help with sighting your line.
- Tippet Ring – Normally go for 2.0mm tippet ring
- Knots – Use either blood knots or double uni knots for joining the butt section to sighter. I use either a 16-20 knot or double Davey knot to tie the butt section to the fly line and when tying to the tippet ring – most often the 16-20 knot with thinner lines.
- Hint – When starting, go for a thicker butt section until your technique and confidence builds, then go thinner.
Leader Recipes
- Beginner/Standard – 9m 15-20lb Maxima – 1m 3X (7lb) Indicator (can also add a backing barrel [uni knot] if desired) – Tippet ring – fluro tippet, start with1.5m of 5X to a single weighted nymph
- Thin – 9m 6-8lb Maxima/Sunline – 1m 4X (6lb) Indicator – Tippet ring – 5X to 6X fluro tippet about 1.5 times max water depth
- Micro – 9-10m <0.20mm mono eg Pierre Sempe/Soldarini/Adams – use Sakura paint marker for indicator – Tippet Ring – 6X to 7X about 1.5 times max water depth
Here is a diagram of the leader setup and a material that Lachy found at Boss that is ideal for the Perdigon.


