Rotoiti Smelt
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Freshwater Fishing
Forum Name: Fly Tying
Forum Description: Swap tips and techniques for Fresh and Saltwater fly patterns
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=117298
Printed Date: 03 Feb 2026 at 12:11am
Topic: Rotoiti Smelt
Posted By: Rainbow
Subject: Rotoiti Smelt
Date Posted: 27 Apr 2016 at 9:24pm
 When you look at these smelts really none of the traditional smelt flies comes close. Back to the drawing board for some new samples.Need to get more appropriate SLF stuff from the US. Rainbow  |
Replies:
Posted By: Pro Fish
Date Posted: 27 Apr 2016 at 9:47pm
baby catfish pattern might start working in that pond  |
Posted By: Jaapie
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2016 at 11:47am
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That would be an easy fly to make Rainbow. Basic little salt fly pattern baitfish. There's nothing to indicate size, but I'm guessing - what.......6cm? Look at SF blend (possibly anchovy) with a hint of mullet blended in and a smattering of flash and that's it. Prismatic eyes and go fish it. Drop me a PM if you need help mate. ------------- "Only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught,will we realize that we cannot eat money" - 19th Century Indian Creed |
Posted By: Redfinger
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2016 at 9:28pm
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The thing is - how the fish looks above the water is not how it appears in say 20m under the water in quite low light conditions I would think. Would be very interesting to see these fish on camera at depth but then again you would need artificial light/flash to get the photo and that would probably change the real colour of smelt in natural light. Still, cant say how Ive caught most on a small grey ghost fly that when the smelt here seem brown tinged. Maybe the grey ghost resembles the middle "flashy" silver part of lateral line on that smelt?
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Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 30 Apr 2016 at 10:08pm
 They are definitely darker on top when looked from above and light or silver when looked from below. This is the typical camouflage against predators from above and from below. I am trying darker tan or olive for the top wing instead of grey. Need to find a smart way to build in the silver streak all the way to the tail. We need to bear in mind that jigging flies move differently to a smelt streamer fished from fly tackle. They may need to be constructed differently to hold a desired shape but still retain some intrinsic movement. The joy of fly tying is to investigate the subject more deeply and try to come up with something that comes closer to one's ideas of a solution. Just buying a set of proven flies deprives one of the mental stimulation that only grows bigger with repeated failure.Rainbow
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Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 05 May 2016 at 3:03pm
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Good to have these photos of the real thing. Still waiting for the right wing material but looking at these smelts I would use pearl flash body, short tan or light olive tail, white underwing with some fine flash strands mixed in and finish with a darker olive over wing. Would probably use pearl glass bead for the head and paint silver base and black dot eye on Seal in with UV epoxy. BM D size 10 hook. This is a fine gauge hook with a good gape. I have used it on the Tongariro for years , both nymphing and down stream fishing and have not lost a fish due to it straighten out. No problem taking big lake fish with it. Rainbow
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Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 05 May 2016 at 5:52pm
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Redfinger, I have a large glass vessel filled with water and look at my flies when submerged: how they move, how they hold shape and how they sink. I also want to know how the colour changes and how translucent some materials become when wet. Rotoiti is really an opaque nutrient soup where visibility at 25m would be quite low. Uv, flash, Fluoro maybe even a touch of lumo might add a bit of attraction to a smelt fly when fished in these conditions? Has anybody fished with a lumo smelt fly (and I don't mean a doll fly) during the day? Here I am thinking of a normal smelt fly with thin lumo body. Daylight would be enough to give it a bit of a glow. There is definitely plenty of room for innovation. Rainbow |
Posted By: Redfinger
Date Posted: 05 May 2016 at 9:55pm
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Landed another 6-7 today - all but one on the same fly. The same fly that landed my fish the previous trip. Size 10 grey ghost pattern tied with epoxy head, a few strands of flash and appears to give a faint "greeny yellow glow" I am trying to find out if this is a commercial pattern (i think it is), but is subtly different than standard grey ghosts .
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Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 05 May 2016 at 10:25pm
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My original smelt flies were tied with fluoro chartreuse thread which shows through the pearl Mylar body. However, when exposed to a UV torch it glows. Hard to say if UV makes a difference at 25m in murky water. Have just managed to find a way to pay for the US order and expect the assorted fibres in about 2 weeks. Plenty of time to ply around over winter. Today got a request from the Trout Centre to hold another Roll Casting Clinic this winter. Probably in August. Rainbow  |
Posted By: Redfinger
Date Posted: 08 May 2016 at 2:08pm
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Hi Rainbow - those flies look good. Im looking for Umpqua fly distributor - specifically Grey Ghost sleek tied fleuro yellow , a bit of flachabou, size 10. If anyone has any smelt flies size 10 in fleuro would be keen to look at and possibly buy from you.
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