Urban Gardini
aka: Estel Thingol
Sweden
I was born in 1970 here in Skellefteå, Västerbotten, Sweden and here's the place
that I want to be for the rest of my days.
I started with fly tying in '83 and began fly fishing in '84. It went wrong from the very beginning. I didn't have a teacher who could tell me everything that I needed and correct all my faults. To make things worse, the first fly that I tried to tie wasn't a Red Tag or anything else simple. No... It was a Muddler Minnow. Need I say that I avoided deer hair for almost ten years after that. Now, deer hair is one of my favorite materials, I like to tie flies with Deer hair and I love to fish with 'em.
I must say that all the beginners today have it a lot easier with widespread access to information sources like the Internet and a great range of good books to learn from. In '83 there weren't so many books in Swedish. So I tried for some years and then sort of lost my interest in fly tying around '88.
Around '92 you can say that my tying took off for a second time. Older, wiser and more patient, I learned quickly what I'd forgotten and a lot more. I was soon to be reckoned as a good fly tier amongst my friends and since then my skill has only risen.
I still learn new things at the vice. It's good to know that one can't learn everything even if you live for 100 years. It means that you are always hungry for more skills and information.
Select One of Urban's Flies:
The Fly
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Tier: Urban Gardini
Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Note:
Diptera is a great all around midge fly. It fishes as good as a Jassid
but it's more durable. You could use a black hackle instead of
grizzly. But the lighter colour tends to be quite a bit more
visible. Especially for me that has bad eyesight in the dark. I
guess it has to do with age! For every day that passes I'm one day closer
to be a R.O.F. (Retired Old Fart). Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Urban Gardini
Note: This fly isn't only beautiful to watch but it's as good as
dynamite for Brownies and Graylings in any stream. Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Notes:
If
I don’t weight the fly I use the coffee colored thread, normal weight then I
use black thread, yellow to heavy flies and red to extra heavy flies.
It’s an easy way to keep order in the fly box, just look at the head on the
fly. The
Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear
is my favorite fly amongst a lot of other flies. It's usually the first
fly I try at a new water and the fly that I use mostly during the whole
season. The fly doesn’t really need an explanation, I think that you all
are very familiar with it. I like the Brittish variant better than the
American due to it’s simplicity, you don’t need tail, thorax and thorax
cover, it works better without it.
Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Note:
This fly is a member of the Diptera family even if it's a bit larger
than a Diptera. Sometimes it's a killer for Trout & Grayling.
Just drag it quick over the surface and bang, there's a fish on. But the
drawback is that the grayling tend to prefer Caddis & Mayfly's if there's an
equal amount of these on the water. But it's still a nice fly to fish
with. Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Note:
The name comes from the fact that the Cat that has been brushed to get the under
fur is called Max! Otherwise the Cat under fur is one of the best natural
dubbing that I’ve been trying so far! Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Note: The
Muddler Minnow is a great fly to use on large Trout and Char in lakes where the main diet
is small fish instead of insects. Many tiers have a problem with the Deer hair
and tend to avoid all patterns that include it. I say that it's a big mistake.
I
doesn't matter if the fly look like a road kill! It catches fish. Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Weight: Split
shot (size to fit the hook). I've been fishing with a lot of different patterns that imitates
a cased caddis and I must say that this pattern is a real killer in the stream.
It looks like it's difficult to tie but after a couple flies is it just like driving on the motorway in a powerful car, you're flying at the vice.
One drawback though in the larger sizes is that you consume a lot of dubbing material and it's essential that you use a very strong thread or else it will snap
when you set the dubbing whirl spinning. Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction. (Phryganea
grandis)
Tier: Urban Gardini
Note 1:
Trim the hair flat on the bottom and the sides at angles to form a triangle. Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Thread:
UNI-Thread 8/0 black. Body:
2 Peacock herls. Wings:
Light dun swiss straw (in delta fashion). Thorax:
Fly-Rite #2. Hackle/Legs:
Fibres from black CDC and cock (in a dubbing loop). Thorax
Cover: 2 Peacock herls. Head:
Black. Head
Cement: Loon water cement. Note:
The thorax isn't visible due to the fact that I wind the hackle
all over it. The thorax is more for adding some bulk in the area.
And the wings are tied in between the body and thorax. Select
One of Urban's Flies: Return to Urban's
Introduction. Originated by: Oliver Edwards
Head Cement:
Loon water cement.
This
is a colour variation that has been productive for me. But as with the
rest of the flies we tie and use, we may adapt the colour to our home
waters. Other colour variations that has worked for me is, dark grey all
over; olive body with a grey or brown wing and olive dyed grizzly hackle; dark
brown body and hackle, and light grey body with a beige wing and a Barred Light
Ginger Hackle.
Take heed and be careful with strong floatants since they will destroy the wing!
If the floatability isn’t enough, just add a under wing of CdC or use
powder or Aquel/Gink.
Tying
Tips I’ve
experimented with different waxes for this fly but the best wax to use is some
kind of high tacky liquid wax. Just apply it on the dubbing loop with your
dubbing needle. Then put the Deer hair clippings in the loop and let the
dubbing whirl spin. Tie
in the wing flat over the body and continue with the hackle. I ordinary
use two hackles since I still mostly use Metz hackle. Tie down the hackle
stems forward and leave them as antennae. Then it’s just the hackle
left, wind it on and finish the fly. But remember to leave room for a
head. Finish the fly with a half hitch or a whip finish and varnish the
head.
Select
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Introduction. Be
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for your tying needs.
Hook:
Tiemco TMC 9300 #10.
Weight: Five wraps of fine lead under the gold bead.
Thread: Brown 6/0.
Tail: Light cheek hair from a hare's mask.
Rib: Gold wire.
Body: Hare's ear (mostly the guard hairs).
Head: Gold bead 4mm (5/32").
Note: A variant of my favorite fly. It sure goes deep and works well.
Hook:
Mustad M80000BR #12-22.
Thread: Black UNI 8/0.
Body: Fly-Rite #2.
Wing: Sandy dun hackle, reversed and coated with Fly-Tite.
Hackle: Grizzly cock.
Head Cement: Loon water cement.
Hook:
Tiemco TMC 3761 #10.
Weight: Five wraps of fine lead under the gold bead.
Thread: Brown 6/0.
Tag: Fluo green Flexi-body.
Rear Hackle: Partridge.
Rib: Gold wire.
Body: Hare's ear.
Front Hackle: Partridge.
Head: Gold bead 4mm (5/32").
Hook:
Mustad M80000BR #12.
Thread: Coffee 6/0.
Tail & Rear Body: Badger cock (reversed and fixed with
Fly-Tite).
Front Body: Fly-Rite #30.
Wings: Brown speckled hen saddle (burned to shape 18mm
- 3/4").
Hackle: Cree or ginger variant cock.
Note: This fly imitates the second largest Mayfly in Scandinavia and Sweden.
Only the Ephemera Danica is bigger. The differences is that the Vulgata is
seen around lakes and the Danica hatches in streams. Where I live in
northern Sweden the hatch usually occurs around week 24-25 in June.
When the hatch is on, and you don't have a couple of them in your box, bummer,
all you can do then is to pack your things and return home. 
Hook:
Mustad M3906B #8-18.
Weight: Optional.
Thread: 6/0 (coffee, black, yellow, read).
Rib: Gold wire.
Body: Hare’s ear (mostly
the guard hairs).
Hook:
Mustad M80000BR #12
Thread: Tan UNI 8/0
Body: Nylon braid sleeve, burned in one end and coloured
with Pantone markers.
Wings: Light dun Swiss Straw tied in delta style.
Legs: 6 fibres from golden pheasant center tail feather.
Hackle: Tan CDC in a dubbing loop.
Head Cement: Loon water cement.
Hook:
Mustad M80000BR #12-18.
Thread: Grey 6/0.
Tail: Light barred ginger.
Body: Grey under fur from a semi longhaired cat.
Wing: White calf body.
Hackle: Light barred ginger tied parachute.
Head Cement: Loon (water
based).
Hook:
Mustad M80400BLN #4-12.
Thread: 6/0 to the body and wing. Roman Moser’s
Dyneema Power Silk to the ruff.
Tail: Oak speckled turkey.
Body: Gold holographic mylar tinsel.
Underwing: Natural grey squirrel.
Wing: Oak speckled turkey.
Ruff & Head: Natural deer hair.
Head Cement: Loon water cement.
Hook:
Kamasan
B800 or Mustad M79580 #8-14.
Thread: Roman Moser's Dyneema Power Silk.
Case: Hareline fur dubbing in mixed colours with #4 as the
major colour, spin it tight in a dubbing loop and cut it to shape.
Legs: Brown partridge.
Body & Head: White antron colored with Pantone #583-T and
burned at the end.
Notes: In the beginning I only used Hareline fur dubbing #4,
but now I use it as a base and mix in other colours to get a more natural look
on the case. The colours that I mix in is Brown, Beige/Tan, Olive and
Grey.
Hook:
#8 Mustad M94840 or Tiemco TMC100.
Thread: Black 3/0.
Body: Fly-Rite #20.
Wing: Natural deer hair (cut to shape).
Note 2: This large caddis is a dream to fish with. The fish will rise to it
and suck it in without wasting any time. It floats well so that you can drag it over the water or let the line drag in the current so it looks
like the fly runs over the water. You can tie it on a lighter dry fly hook but I strongly
advise against it. The Trout are really explosive in their attack on the fly, and never use a lighter leader than
0,18-0, 20mm (8-10 Lbs). 
Hook:
Mustad M94833 BR or Tiemco TMC5230 #12.
Tier: Urban Gardini
Hook:
Mustad M94831 #8-14.
Thread: Danville’s
Flymaster light brown 6/0.
Body and Legs: Muddler trimmings of deer hair in a dubbing loop.
Wing: Brown Mustad Fantastic Wing (cut to shape).
Hackle: Genetic cree cock.
Antennae: Hackle stems (optional).
Notes: I haven't gotten around to follow
the original pattern in Oliver Edwards "Flytyers Masterclass." One
reason is that I haven't laid my hands on cellulose dope yet so I can make a real
Voljc-wing. Instead I use Mustad's Fantastic Wing with a good result.
It's a good material that holds together even after some heavy abuse, and it is also easy to work with.
The same advice from Streaking Caddis applies here to. Don't use too thin
of leaders.
for your tying needs.