DAVID KLEYN’S TOP SIX RIVER PATTERNS
I put a lot of store by what David says. He’s fished in many interesting places outside South Africa and currently lives in Japan where he has found some of the most beautiful small streams I have ever seen. See http://www.tomsutcliffe.co.za/pete-briggs/188-david-kleyns-fishing-and-images
David on a small stream In Japan
He is also a great fan of the Canadian Yukon where he fishes for arctic grayling and lake trout in the Kathleen River.
Sockeye salmon
1. Orange & Gold Comet - A fly specifically tied for, and particularly effective on, Pacific sockeye salmon. I have had a lot of success fishing this pattern for sockeye salmon on a sinking line in South East Alaska in a beautiful deep, strong and clear run called "Clear Creek". The sockeye has a very soft take, so good contact with the fly is essential.
2. The RAB - What more can be said about this legendary fly? It has been very productive almost everywhere I have used it – from Chilean Patagonia for wild rainbows and browns, Canadian Yukon for arctic grayling, Eastern Transvaal for rainbows, Hokkaido, Japan for wild rainbows and native yamame. My pick, by far, for an all round dry pattern.
3. Black Woolly Worm - I first used this with great success in the still waters in the Eastern Transvaal. Since then it has produced almost everywhere in the world I have fished.
4. Flashback Nymph - Usually my first choice as a dead-drift nymph in clear running water. It was worked everywhere from Patagonia, to Canadian Yukon to Akita, Japan.
5. Actually, I have no idea what this fly is officially called. I have just labelled it the "Yukon Rainbow Special". It was given to me by a very good (and extremely likable) Austrian-German fly fisherman at a lodge in The Yukon. This pattern was lethal on a population of wild and protected rainbows in the Kathleen River system. To this day, I have yet to come across a stronger fish (pound-for-pound) than those Kathleen River rainbows.
