Huopana
This is an interesting pattern from a Finnish perspective as it was designed in Great Britain based on insect samples from Huopanankoski (Huopana rapids), Finland in the early 1900’s. It is one of those early places in our fly fishing history where fly fishing and sport fishing in general started to play a major role. Known for the massive brown trout that come to feed and spawn from the nearby lakes to the short piece of river. The flies used then had a selection of general salmon flies of the period including Jock Scotts, Silver Doctors etc. but there was a growing interest for imitating the hatches from anglers such as the famous author Juhani Aho who fished a lot in Huopana. Although closer to typical salmon flies from todays perspective this was a step towards modern fly tying in Finland.
Although the place has gone through major changes from the times of Juhani Aho and lost much of its former glory it’s still an interesting place to fish and can be really good when you pick the right day. I added couple photos from my trip there in 2013 which was the last time I visited Huopana. Maybe next summer I’ll have to stop by again.
The pattern is pretty simple but on the fly I photographed I changed the rib to gold as I’ve seen some old variations with a golden rib and liked the look.
Huopana
Tail: Golden Pheasant crest.
Rib: Oval silver tinsel.
Body: Brown wool.
Hackle: Natural brown.
Wing: Bronze Mallard.
