Chinese White

A white and yellow tube fly with a Chinese hat on. What else could it be called?

By Martin Joergensen

This salmon fly is tied in the Scandinavian tradition by Danish fly tier Ken Bonde Larsen. It's tied on a tube, which makes it light and easy to cast, still voluminous and good looking. And tying it on a tube makes it quite easy to get the wing both wide and good looking.

Tubes are a perfect foundation for hair wing flies, and making the with look good on a tube is mainly a question of tying it in in sections and making sure that it spreads over the upper half of the tube - in a controlled manner of course.

Many Scandinavian tube flies are tied with cone heads. This both finishes the fly in a harmonic and easy way, and at the same time adds a bit of weight, which can be crucial to the seducing movement of the fly. The metal cones are banned in some water - referred to as "weighted flies" - and for use in such water you will have to tie the fly with a traditional head or use the rubber or plastic cones, which are available. The "Chinese hat" cones seen here will spread the water over the wing and add turbulence, which again will make the wing move more.

This fly may seem bright, but in clear, greenish waters it will blend in, and not apprear nearly as luminescent as it looks on these pictures shot against a dark background.

About The Chinese White

Type	Tube fly
Originator	Ken Bonde Larsen
Year of origin	2008
Difficulty	Medium
Target species	Atlantic salmon (sea run) Steelhead (sea run)

Materials

Tube	1 inch green plastic with inner tube (FITS-system)
Thread	White
Tail	Yellow Antron
Tag	Bright chartreuse Antron
Rib	Medium silver
Body	White pearlescent Angel Hair
Body hackle	One badger and one chartreuse
Flash	Yellow Twinkle
Wing	White Arctic fox - two sections separated by a little Angel Hair
Front hackle	Yellow ostrich
Cone	Flat metal or rubber cone - chartreuse

Tying instructions
See picture series below