| The
Copper Clouser…… where the whole is greater than the
sum of parts Keith Clover - www.tourettefishing.com
Zambia is undoubtedly home to some of Africa's finest
tiger fishing waters. From the Barotse Flood plains
in the west to the Lower Zambezi in the east, and everything
in between, the Zambezi River and her tributaries afford
the adventurous fly angler a myriad of tiger fishing
opportunities. Fly anglers from all over the world travel
to her wild rivers in a quest to temporarily remove
these toothy critters from their homes; In doing so
they contribute to the Zambian economy by supporting
the tourism industry and associated services. Rumour
has it that copper mining also contributes to the Zambian
economy. Like any functioning symbiotic relationship,
the two industries are linked and support each other.
Maybe not to any significant level, but the link is
there none the less. The link being a fly we have found
to be our bread and butter over the past three seasons.
Enter the Copper Clouser - the mainstay of many a Zambian
copper mine (possibly, but more likely Eskom cable theft)
and catalyst to landing trophy tigers, backing burns
and big smiles (definitely!). Copper is nothing new
to tiger flies. The Copper Tigger style of fly (in numerous
colour combinations) compliments Bill Hansford-Steele
has been a stalwart in many a tiger fisherman's fly
box for many years. Copper is included in this pattern
for weight and durability. Like any good fly, the copper
clouser lends components from the Tigger, and a host
of other flies, in an attempt to produce a fly in which
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A Gestalt
fly so to speak. Many productive flies, no matter which
species you are targeting, have a handful of features
in common. The copper clouser is not different. It combines
a balanced mix of imitative and attractor features.
It is a relatively easy tie, has a good action in the
water, displays a good profile when wet, can be tied
in different weights, and is fairly durable as far as
tiger flies go. In describing the copper clouser below
I will outline how these components contribute to the
characteristics of a productive fly. The Parts: Primarily
the copper clouser is a simple clouser tie. Most fly
fisherman will be left in no doubt as to the pedigree
of this style of fly. If this "clouser-fly-gibberish"
means nothing to you search "clouser fly" on Google
immediately before continuing reading this or any other
fly fishing article for that matter. Not only is the
clouser style of fly easy to tie, the weight of the
fly is easily changed with different dumbbell eyes (brass,
lead, tungsten etc) and addition of weight wrapped on
the shank. The clouser style used contributes to the
overall success of the copper clouser in the following
departments - weight, action in the water, fly profile,
and ease of tie. I prefer to wrap the shank of all clousers
I tie for tiger flies. Tinsel in various shapes, forms
and colours are the norm for this. This wrap of tinsel
around the shank, no matter how much varnish, super
glue, or UV knot sense is applied, is invariably destroyed
after the first couple of strikes, leaving a the underlying
thread over lead base exposed. Here a copper wire wrapped
shank as body out does any tinsel. Applied correctly
over a layer of varnish, covering all tying thread and
finished with a layer of varnish on top will last the
life time of the fly. The copper wire shank aids in
this flies effectiveness by adding weight, improving
durability and matching the colour of the natural bait
fish which tigers commonly feed on (more on this to
follow). Before going into wing details it is important
to discuss a common bait fish that tigerfish feed on.
Although tigerfish feed on a wide variety of bait fish,
including robbers, barbs, and minnows, it is the bulldog
that I feel this fly imitates most closely. The bulldog,
Marcusenius macroleditus is found in most river systems
from the Nile down to the Pongola River. They breed
around submerged vegetation in the summer months, the
flood plains of the Zambezi and Okavango rivers providing
a perfect area in which to do so. Over the dry winter
months, the flood waters recede off the flood plains
and immature bulldogs are forced from shelter of the
flood plain vegetation into the main channel. These
fish are poor swimmers and small specimens are swept
down stream in the strong currents of the main channel.
Once swept off the flood plains they find shelter in
eddies off the main current, rocky bands that traverse
the Zambezi River, as well as in the various rapid systems
that one finds on the Zambezi. They congregate in these
areas where they find isolated shelter from the relentless
current in the main channels. The copper clouser is
equally deadly in all of these environments. Bulldogs
are light golden brown to coppery dark mottled brown
in colour. When out of the water they appear a mottled
brown, but in the water they display a lovely light
coppery sheen. It is these colours that the copper clouser
does so well in imitating. As with all bait fish, the
under belly is lighter than their dorsal side. Thus,
when tying the wing it is imperative to work from light
to darker, keeping in mind the overall copper colour.
The copper clousers wing comprises four layers. The
proportions of these layers are important to consider
when tying the copper clouser. The first colour added
is orange kinky fibre. I like to select a bunch of kinky
fibre, (use the entire length, do not cut short), pull
on one end to give a tapered appearance and then double
the selection over before tying it in. This gives a
good tapered profile, rather than a square finish to
the wing, as well as saves on material. On top of this
I add a thin layer of red buck tail. On top of the red
buck tail I tie in black buck tail. The wing is finish
with peacock hearl on top, which looks great, but does
not last long. Flash is optional, but one strand of
root beer crystal flash on each flank (running along
the lateral line) is all that is needed. The proportions
of the wing colours can be seen in the picture insert.
Basically I follow a 3:1:2 ratio (orange: red: black
and peacock). I prefer 3/0 tying thread in red, hot
orange or black and change the three colours depending
on how heavily I weight the flies. As I mentioned -
this colour combination, in my opinion, is highly productive
on the upper Zambezi system due to the fact that it
closely resembles the colours of small bulldogs. Orange
and red are however widely accepted as trigger colours,
evoking an aggressive response from fish. This triggered
response may well come in to play when fishing the copper
clouser. tigerfish are highly predatory and will not
hesitate to attack one of their own. Small tigerfish
(8 - 20cm) show very vivid colouration, their tail displaying
distinct orange to red to black colours. Big tigerfish
may well therefore lock on to this combination of colours
when feeding; another argument for the success of this
fly. Fishing the Copper Clouser: Due to the fact that
bulldogs are by no means great swimmers this fly is
best fished in area's one can expect to find bulldogs
and in a manner one would expect bulldogs to behave.
They are not fast fish, and do not dash around in the
main channel. One must therefore concentrate on fishing
this fly with a medium strip retrieve in the appropriate
areas. On the main channel of the Zambezi river this
fly is best fished in the eddies and on any distinct
change of current line found close to vegetation and
structure. By tying or anchoring above the eddy or current
line I like to cast this fly out into the fast water,
let the fly sink and swing through into the eddy or
through the current line. One will often get a hit on
the swing as the fly enters the slow waters where the
tigers are waiting in ambush for hapless fish being
carried down in the current. Once through the swing,
best results are had by retrieving the fly with slow
to medium strips up the current line or up tight against
the bank side vegetation. When fishing the copper clouser
over the rocky bands, as are found in Western Zambia,
typical down and across wet fly techniques are employed.
When fishing the rapids as found on the upper Zambezi
area (below the Caprivi) this fly must be swung through
all fishy looking lies. tigerfish hold in lies typical
to trout so all eddies, deep pools off the main currents,
change of current lines, and any other good looking
lies must be prospected. Again across and down wet fly
tactics work best, followed by a steady strip back before
commencing another cast. Fishing the fly in the above
manners will result in strikes from a wide range of
species. Nembwe and other large mouth bream species
attack the copper clouser with gusto. And as with tiger
fish, over the past three season, the copper clouser
has accounted for an above average number of trophy
size predatory bream. The Whole: It is the combination
of parts that make up this fly, that in my experience,
make it one of our most successful tiger flies on the
Zambezi River System. In the copper clouser one has
an excellent example of how incorporating a variety
of features - attractor, imitative and trigger - within
a tried and tested style of fly (clouser), then adapting
it to suite your local requirements, and finally fishing
it correctly all contribute towards a highly successful
pattern. I have been tempted by clients and fishing
mates to name the fly Clover's Copper Clouser, the "CCC",
but I am extremely averse to naming fly's after one
self. Not only would the long term failure of the fly
leave my name in the tattered heap of past egotistical
fly tying wanna be's, but the fly needs to be tested
for may years to come to evaluate just how productive
it really is. So, at the loss of a great alliteration,
let's keep it at Copper Clouser. Tie some up, fish them
and hopefully catch some good fish. If the fish don't
co-operate at least you will be one step closer to the
model fly fishing philanthropist (all even on alliteration
front now) by keeping a cable thief warm this winter.
Tying Materials: Hook: #2 Gamakatsu B10S Thread: 3/0
black, red or hot orange Eyes: 4 mm dumbbell eyes Body:
Copper wire Under wing: Orange kinky fibre Mid Wing:
Red Bucktail Top wing: Black bucktail topped with peacock
hearl (layers in the ratio of 3:1:2 - orange:red:black/peacock
hearl) Flash: One stand of root beer crystal flash per
side Extra Weight: Extra copper wire, tungsten dumbbell
eyes |
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