FLIES OF THE WORLD
Six fascinating flies from the vice of Finland's Juha Näppä
RUNNING AN EYE OVER A map of Finland, what first hits you is the sheer number of lakes and rivers scattered the length and breadth of the country. A quick online check reveals that there are nearly 188,000 of them in the country’s Lake District, making it the most extensive area of this kind in Europe. Add 647 rivers and close to 700 miles of Baltic coastline and Finland provides an incredible resource for anglers.
Juha Näppä has been an angler since childhood and a keen fly-fisher, particularly for trout and grayling. His hometown of Oulu is the largest city in northern Finland. It sits at the mouth of the Oulujoki — Oulu river — which flows into the east side of the Bay of Bothnia on Finland’s west coast. Juha, a member of Oulu Region Fly-Fishers Club, is fortunate to have good fishing almost on his doorstep. “You can catch salmon, trout and grayling with a fly right in the middle of Oulu, in the Oulujoki estuary. You can also find salmon, trout, whitefish and grayling in the sea area, although grayling is a protected species in the brackish Baltic due to declining numbers. And yes, there are grayling that spawn in the Baltic.”
Perhaps the most famous of all Finnish flies is the Nalle Puh, considered by many, including Juha, to be Finland’s national fly. It’s a big buoyant pattern designed for fast-flowing water and was developed in the 1960s by Simo Lumme, author of Perhonsidonta (Fly-tying). He tied the Nalle Puh along with two variants: The Black Puh and the Honey Puh. He also created a range of wet-flies in the same series, designed specifically for Finnish conditions.
Nalle Puh is actually the Finnish name for the toy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, the beloved creation of writer AA Milne and illustrator EH Shepard. Nalle Puh translates into English as “Teddy Pooh”, which is perhaps more descriptive than Winnie, which came from a Canadian black bear cub donated to London Zoo during the First World War.
The pattern is heavily hackled while the substantial body and thorax comprise a specific blend of furs: 50% orange seal fur, 25% yellow seal fur and 25% hare’s ear hair, which combine to create a mottled rusty brown. The wings of the Nalle Puh were originally tied with the underfur of a Finnish brown bear, hence the humorous association with Winnie-the-Pooh, but today, substitutes are used, such as Wapsi polypropylene floating yarn in medium brown.
The pattern has translucent wings and is designed to imitate an adult caddis. Tied
