How To Tie The Fritz Lure

The Fritz lure is probably the most effective British lure in use at the moment, it is pretty much guaranteed to catch you fish on still water if fished correctly and it takes very little time for the fly tying beginner to master. If you want to catch a fish or are getting to the end of the day without catching, use this fly.

Lures have evolved over the last 15 years and the amount of materials available to tie these lures is huge. Specifically the body material now has its own product, which has evolved to have a UV reflective material which fish find irresistible. The tail of a Fritz has always been marabou as it has a very ‘fish tail’ like movement that gives a fantastic action in the water, although, when I was young I remember pulling the feathers out of my pillow and using them for the tail, and I still caught fish (might just try that again for old times’ sake!).

Then we move on to the head, the head is now a shiny gold, silver or opaque colour bead and gives you the flexibility to be able to fish at all depths due to its weight. Cast a floating line and begin retrieval immediately and you will be fishing at 0 to 3 feet depending on your speed of retrieval and length of leader, cast and leave your line out for up to 30 seconds and you will be fishing at 6-12 feet, again depending on your retrieval speed and length of leader. Cast an intermediate or sinking line and you can fish as low as you want to, again dependants on your leader length and speed of retrieval.

The Fritz works fantastically when fished using various rates of retrieval as the lure can be fished as imitation fry, wounded fish (slow jerky movements) or fit fish escaping danger (quick long pulls). The real beauty of this lure is that it can be tied in all manner of colours and the only limitation is your imagination.

So have a go at tying this fly even if you are a complete novice, you can’t really make a mistake and the chances are very high of you catching a fish with your own fly. The basic materials are very cheap and you could probably tie 50 lures for £10/$15. The list of materials required is as follows

1 bag of white marabou

1 bag of gold bead (with a hole right through them)

Hooks (use size 14 as the smallest, I recommend size 8 for beginners)

1 packet of Fritz body material

Let me know how you get on!

Good Hunting