Hollow Helt

Countless predatory fish love bucktail flies, and the classic material is therefore praised by fly tyers and fly fishermen all over the world. The hair from American deertails has completely unique properties when it comes to imitations of larger prey fish. Bucktail is one of the world's most well-known fly-tying materials, and the American deertails have become so widespread over the decades that no one could dream of referring to them as anything other than... yes, bucktail. Flies such as the Clouser Minnow and Mickey Finn are the epitome of classic American bucktail flies, but in the last twenty years the trend has shifted towards imitations of larger baitfish. Bucktail has become fashionable again, as the hair of the tail is a completely unique material for the construction of large, airy baitfish imitations. Various new types of flies based on bucktail have greatly contributed to the success of fly fishermen in the search for new and larger species of fish.

The fly we tie this time, Hollow Helt, is one of Morten Valeur's own go-to pike flies. ”The fly should be considered an example of a type of bucktail fly, and not so much a specific pattern. The pike fly is called Hollow Helt because it is tied in the Hollow style, where the bucktail ends up sticking out from the hook as an airy and hollow collar. Not because the deer hairs are hollow. When this tying technique is repeated along the hook shaft, you can create a teardrop shape that gives the illusion of a fish. Hollow flies are one type of bucktail flies, but there are others. If the Hollow fly is extended beyond the length of the hook, typically with a strong monofilament, you enter into the Beast genre. Here there is almost no maximum limit on the size of the flies, and I have seen Beasts of almost forty centimeters. However, the unique thing about the bucktail is precisely that the flies weigh almost nothing and therefore they can be cast - within reason, of course. Other bucktail fly types include Bulkheads and Bucktail Deceivers, but there are even more categories to be found if you dive deeper into the different styles of predator-flies. In fact, books can be written about it, which bucktail legend Bob Popovic did almost ten years ago in the book Fleye Design. Bob Popovic unfortunately passed away, but his flies are alive and well and have over time been further developed and varied by many other skilled fly tyers. There is plenty of inspiration and tips to be found online” Morten explains.

Hook: Ahrex TP612 Trout Predator Short #4/0
Thread: White 100D or Danville .006 Mono Fine
Tail (1st section): White bucktail and grizzly saddle hackle
2nd section: White bucktail, white saddle hackle and grizzly saddle hackle
3rd section: White bucktail
4th section: White bucktail and grizzly saddle hackle
Section 5: White Bucktail and Grizzly Saddle Hackle
Back: Golden Olive bucktail

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