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Arvid Haugen
Still mountain lake at first light with a small boat

Fly angler

A weekly report from the lakes and rivers of Voss

I’m Arvid. Every week I fish a mountain lake or a river near Voss and write up the trip, and I sell the fly recipes I tie from.

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The fly box

The ten flies I carry to every lake and river, and the trips each one has caught fish on.

Pick a piece to see what uses it

Pheasant Tail Nymph A slim mayfly nymph, the fly that fishes in nearly every pool in 6 outings. Recipe card

Hare’s Ear A shaggy general nymph that passes for most things in the water in 4 outings. Recipe card

Klinkhåmer A hanging emerger, the body under the film and the wing above in 3 outings. Recipe card

Elk Hair Caddis A bushy dry fly for sedge hatches at dusk in 2 outings. Recipe card

Black Midge Pupa A slim black pupa fished slowly under the surface of a mountain lake in 2 outings. Recipe card

Red Tag A bright-tailed dry fly that floats well on a rippled lake in 2 outings. Recipe card

Black Gnat A small dark fly for the days the fish are on terrestrials in 5 outings.

Partridge and Orange A soft hackle fished in the surface film, old and still good in 2 outings.

Copper John A heavy beaded nymph to get down in a deep winter pool in 2 outings.

Woolly Bugger A slow dark streamer for coloured water after rain in 1 outing.

The outings

Every report is made from two to four flies from the box.

  1. Wet hands holding a brown trout above clear river water

    6 min

    Report: grayling below the lake after the first frost

    Cold water, small nymphs and the long glide below the outlet: twelve grayling in all and a very cold hand.

    • Pheasant Tail Nymph
    • Copper John
    • Hare’s Ear
  2. Hands holding an open fly box on a boat bench

    5 min

    What goes in my fly box for the winter

    Six flies for the months when the streams are closed and I tie at the bench instead.

    • Partridge and Orange
    • Pheasant Tail Nymph
    • Hare’s Ear
  3. Hands tying a small fly in a vise at a workbench

    7 min

    Tying the black midge pupa: one fly, ten minutes

    Three materials and a steady hand: how I tie the fly that caught most of my fish on the mountain lakes.

    • Black Midge Pupa
    • Black Gnat
  4. Still mountain lake at first light with a small boat

    7 min

    Report: the mountain lake above the hut, a late midge hatch

    A cold, bright afternoon and a hatch that came on at two. Seven trout, mostly on a small pupa.

    • Black Midge Pupa
    • Black Gnat
    • Pheasant Tail Nymph
  5. Brown trout in a landing net in clear shallow water

    6 min

    Report: a wet day on the river with a Klinkhåmer

    Rain all morning, a rising river and one fly that floated through all of it.

    • Klinkhåmer
    • Partridge and Orange
    • Hare’s Ear
  6. Man steering a small boat across a misty lake at dawn

    5 min

    October: the last fortnight on the mountain lakes

    What I fish in the final two weeks before the ice, and why I leave the smallest flies at home.

    • Klinkhåmer
    • Red Tag
    • Pheasant Tail Nymph
  7. Arvid walking a fjord path with a rod tube and landing net

    6 min

    Report: sedge at dusk on the fjord path

    An hour of rising fish after the sun went behind the ridge, and the fly that I could still see.

    • Elk Hair Caddis
    • Black Gnat
    • Klinkhåmer
  8. Hands tying a small fly in a vise at a workbench

    8 min

    Tying a Pheasant Tail Nymph with a copper rib

    The fly I tie most. Pheasant tail, copper wire and a bead, step by step.

    • Pheasant Tail Nymph
    • Copper John
  9. Waders and rods drying on the porch of a red timber hut

    6 min

    Report: two nights at the red hut, and a Woolly Bugger day

    A coloured river after rain, a heavy fly and a long walk between the good pools.

    • Woolly Bugger
    • Pheasant Tail Nymph
    • Black Gnat
  10. Printed hatch chart with small flies and a tablet on a table

    5 min

    September: when the evenings turn to sedge

    How the hatches change as the nights draw in, and what I put on at each light.

    • Elk Hair Caddis
    • Black Gnat
    • Red Tag
    • Hare’s Ear

Newsletter

Latest reports

One trip a week to the lakes and rivers near home, and the flies that worked.

Online course

My course

  • Tablet showing a fly-tying lesson at a tying bench
    Tablet showing a fly-tying lesson at a tying bench

    Video course · 6 lessons

    Tie Your First Ten Flies

    A video course that takes you from a bare hook to ten flies you can fish with.

    • 01Your vice and your tools10 min
    • 02Thread, wire and the first wraps12 min
    • 03Tying a nymph14 min
    • 04Tying a dry fly15 min
    • 05Hackles and wings13 min
    • 06Your first ten flies16 min
    $49Start the course: Tie Your First Ten Flies

Downloads, a course and merch

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Arvid casting a fly line in a mountain river

About

About me

I’m Arvid. I live in Voss and have fished the mountain lakes, rivers and fjord paths of western Norway for forty years, and most weeks I write up where I went and what the fish took.

My report is free. I sell the fly recipe cards I tie from, the fly box with all of them and a sheet of what hatches when. I draw each recipe the way I learned it, one step at a time.

Questions

Which recipe should I start with?

The Pheasant Tail Nymph. It is the fly I tie most, and it catches fish on every water in the box.

How do I get my download?

Every recipe card arrives by email as soon as you pay, and any change I make is free to download again.

How does merch shipping work?

Merch is printed to order and shipped by Printful. You’ll see the cost and delivery time at checkout.

Do I need to be an experienced angler?

No. The recipes name every material, and the first course starts with a bare hook and a vice.