Riffling Hitch

It would be naïve to accredit the success of particular flies or fishing methods like riffling hitch to insect life as we see it today – Hunting skills and levels of curiosity with various species of fish could very well have been formed 10´s of millions of years ago when rivers and insect life might have looked different from now.

Photo: A small caddisfly locked in time and space in this piece of amber from the Eocene epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago – The caddisfly insect is found fossilized in rock dating even further back  – to The Triassic about 250 to 200 million years ago – It could be neat to believe that the success with the Riffling Hitch techniques was linked with the life and behaviour of the caddisfly.

Riffling Hitch as a fishing technique arose during almost a century of fly fishing traditions. Allegedly the method was developed as a coincidence by Newfoundland anglers who at the beginning of the 20th century, would have recycled damaged gut-eye flies discarded by English visitors …

Flies were recycled by tying them directly to the leaders using a series of hitches… That would have made the flies trail on the surface – creating that all-important V-shaped wake.

Victorian salmon fly The Beauly Snow fly – with an eye of twisted gut. Allegedly the Riffling Hitch method was developed as a coincidence when anglers from Portland Creek in Newfoundland started re-using discarded gut-eye flies

Flies were recycled by tying them directly to the leaders using a series of hitches… Evidently, that would have made the flies trail in the surface

During the 1940s Lee Wulff saw local salmon anglers at the Portland Creek in Newfoundland using the Riffling Hitch technique or riveling hitch as it also is called by the Portland Creekers.  As an outdoor journalist, he popularized the Riffling Hitch sport. Still today it is a favoured sport on many Canadian salmon rivers and accounts for thousands of fish being caught yearly.

Fly tied to the tippet the traditional Portland way – Here done on one of our special Riffling Hitch Blue Charm flies – Fly is attached with a normal grinner knot…then a double hitch is tied to the head of the fly…When tying flies for riffling hitch fishing, remember to make enough room in front of the head of the fly to make the double hitch.

This box set of 4 single hook flies is a true example of Lee´s ingenuity and a deep interest in riffling hitch fishing. This box-set was initially one of two available sets of experimental flies that Lee Wulff designed with a moulded body of nylon – a form of body design he also incorporated in his famed Surface Stonefly patterns.

Also, the UK and Scandinavian anglers enjoy the fruit of the Canadian coincidence, but where anglers in Canada will work the Riffling Hitch the traditional Portland way with hitched knots and flies tied on single or double hooks – Scandinavian and UK anglers will use a small tube fly with a hole in the body. The hole or holes will either be on the side or as on our V-FLY:  in the centre of the belly.

Read more about Riffling Hitch Know How.

Right: A batch of  Fishmadman V-FLY a super Riffling Hitch fly 

It is probably in an issue of the UK fishing magazine Trout & Salmon from May 1976 that the angling society learns about the very first riffling hitch fly tied on a tube.

Mr. Derek Knowles was one of the first anglers who deliberately used plastic tubing to tie hitch flies on – Derek Knowles both used his tiny tube flies – waking across the river… but also fished his flies at deaddrift

In a chapter in Hugh Falkus’s book: Salmon Fishing from 1984 and later in the book; Salmon on a Dry Fly from 1987 by Mr Knowles, European anglers learn a new approach to salmon fishing, with tiny floating flies fish across the surface.

Right: The Yellow Dolly fly from the 1980s – From the hands Mr Knowles. one of the grandfathers of the riffling hitch tube flies European anglers use today.

English salmon guide and author Mr. Crawford Little who in his book: Success with Salmon from 1988, was one of the first anglers to published an example of the special tube that would pull to the surface – A tube that would have the leader inserted through the side or belly of the tube as opposed to the conventional way where the tube was inserted through the front of the tube.

Crawford Little used the analogy between the technique of ottering a rowing boat in a river and the way one could build a tube fly that would pull to the surface

In the book Success with Salmon, Mr Crawford explains the hitch tube flies. Mr Crawford Little used the analogy between the technique of ottering a rowing boat in a river and the way one could build a tube fly that would pull to the surface. Ottering is best described as how one can force an object to cut away from you by pulling from the side of the object. Here it is trolling anglers using a so-called: Sideplaner or planer board to pull plugs and bait away from the boat.

Here is the popular Munroe Killer on a tiny Riffling Hitch tube. This fly is made with holes in both sides. This version can be used from the left and right banks of the river  – using either a left or right side hole on the fly.

Hole in the side or in the belly of the riffling hitch tube fly?

We have a highly technical page explaining some of the aquadynamic aspects of building the ultimate hitch tube flies …Take me to this nerdy page.

Salmon flies are not equally good to use as Riffling Hitch flies  ! There will be fly patterns that work better than other

Use thin hair! We have, through the years, noticed how Riffling Hitch flies tied with squirrel’s fur have a particular alluring ability… The best hair is found on tails from small or young squirrels; therefore, we recommend you hand-pick the tails for your fly tying – or buy them from us.

If you tie your Riffling Hitch patterns on a single or double hook, you should leave enough room in front of the hook so you will be able to fit in the hitch knots.

Riffling Hitch in high & brown river

Fishing a tiny fly on the surface during a rising river going muddy – might not be the first thing that springs to mind… never the less… Riffling Hitch can be an extremely efficient technique under such circumstances. Fish will travel close to the bank and surface… keep the fly on a short line – work yourself downstream with short casts and a rod held high. Be ready for a pounding heart when Mr. Salmon comes hammering out of the surface. In case you hook up on such a short line – strike immediately

The Riffling hitch fly will fish well in many of the same places you usually would want to fish with a sub-fly – But a small hitched fly will also fish slow water, which could be otherwise very difficult to fish.  Broken water like this small run is, in my book, the best kind of hitch water – the take can be almost invisible to cascades of water as the salmon hit the fly.

Shallow rivers is normally prime rivers for the riffling hitch technique – but the depth of water is not a bar for the riffling hitch technique and big fish will readily rise from the depth to intercept a micro riffling hitch fly

Longwing version of the Riffling Hitch V-FLY ™ with a shiny body…It may look like nothing on a turbulent river – but it will be seen by salmon that will pluck it out of the surface in much the same way as a salmon hitting a fast-fished plug. Generally, riffling hitch flies are small, lightly dressed flies equal to # 10 – 12 wet flies – and bigger hitch flies move into the form of fly fishing where we would use bigger sunrays fished across at 90 degrees..retrieving them fast …Read more about this here

See our long-wing version in the shop.

The late Riffling Hitch angler, Author and Chairman of NASF (National Atlantic Salmon Fund) Mr. Orri Vigfússon also tied his Riffling Hitch flies on small pieces of tube here a tiny black and blue version from Orri´s fly box

If you consider going to Island, remember to bring small riffling hitch tubes – dressed sparsely like this one – seen to the right.

To see two of the magnificent rivers Orri fished, go to Angling Club Strengur

If you consider going to Island, remember to bring small riffling hitch tubes – dressed sparsely like this one – seen to the right

– See this favoured riffling hitch tube fly in our shop

See the large selection of Riffling Hitch flies we have in our online-shop