Mikael Frödin’s Kraken Classic
The following is an excerpt from Flies for Atlantic Salmon & Steelhead (2023) by Trey Combs.
Mikael Frödin’s “Classic Series” of salmon flies pays homage to Hakan Norling, his close friend and the man he calls “Mr. Temple Dog.” Mikael refined these flies in ways useful and clever. The wing is tied in with ever-longer materials so that the finished wing will taper upward to the dorsal run, the longest part of the fly. During the final tying steps, hackle is wound around the head. Then a small bunch of winging material is tied in so that it splits the hackle. This prepares the fly for the Half-Turbo Cone that covers the hackle and honors the split, i.e. the current running through the dorsal opening in the cone, and producing greater turbulence on the ventral side to animate the hackle.
This refinement distinguishes Mikael’s Classic Series. Each of the series that follow—the Samurai, Nobody, Micro, Spey Fly and Surface Fly—have similar elements in their construction that makes them unique.
Mikael groups his flies by purpose, much as steelhead fly fishers do, to best fish the river whatever conditions encountered, from high and discolored, to low and gin-clear. But he also chooses a fly to fish with the water low and clear under a cloud cover, and the same river in sunshine. He’ll pick a fly for the hour or two of dusk, and a fly for “night,” hour of half-light on the rivers above the Arctic Circle. He also strips a Samurai on the swing to increase the speed of fly across the currents, or fishes far and fine with a micro fly to entice picky salmon. Even the parts of a run might demand a different fly for a different approach. Mikael Frödin describes the flies each in terms of characteristics in salmon flies. “If you fish a pool with just one fly the only thing you can be certain about is that you fished most of the pool with the wrong fly!” Mikael says. “The fly they see is everything!”
Kraken Classic:
Frödin: “Big and bad, this is our number one fly for the dark. With phosphorescent tubing, come, flash, and rubber legs, this is the fly for the trickiest salmon. The phosphorescent will shine up the night and some fish just love it. The darker it gets the better it is. With these materials, you don’t need to load materials with a flashlight—they will find enough light to shine.”
Even if the Kraken is tied with non-phosphorescing materials, it would be a fine all-season steelhead fly. The color scheme lends itself to a Waddington-shank tying platform. Note again that Frodin calls the fly “big and bad,” the big Has part typical of all his large flies for a large silhouette in low midnight light, night fishing during Scandinavian summers.
Dressing Notes:
Tube: Glow Medium and fluorescent magenta XS FITS tubing. Tying thread: Black. Body: Quarter bare tubing, quarter Mirage tinsel, quarter Mikkeli blue SSS Holo Braid, quarter Charcoal Black SSS Glitz Dubbing. Body hackle: Black cock hackle. Ribbing: Twisted Sealice Silver SSS Holo Braid. Front hackle: Two pairs of glow rubber legs, black ostrich hackle, magenta-dyed ostrich hackle, small black mini marabou hackle. Wing: Evil Magenta SSS Angel Hair, black soft hair, and repeat again. Sides: Jungle cock. Cone: Glow FITS Tungsten Half Turbo.
Flies for Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead by Trey Combs is available in two formats: a limited edition, oversized hardcover first edition (restricted to 1,500 copies), and a digital print replica version designed for use at the fly bench. Both editions are available directly from the author.
Limited Edition Hardcover — $119.00 (Amazon)
Digital Edition — $24.99 (Amazon - Kindle)