The Historical Roots of the Złotogłówki

THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF ZŁOTOGŁÓWKI

Today, gold-headed flies are among the most popular and effective artificial flies in the world. As far as I recall, they became widespread in Poland after 1990, that is, following a roughly ten-year period during which nymph fishing with braided lines dominated. The history of gold-head nymphs, however, is little known. So I decided to present here the information provided by the Austrian angler Roman Moser in his online article on the history of gold-head nymphs, titled “Gold Head Nymphs” (http://globalflyfisher.com/staff/moser/goldheads.html)

The origins of gold-headed lures lie in northern Italy. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, anglers in the provinces of Piedmont, Bergamo, Brescia, and Friuli were fishing with such lures. The lure was mounted on a hook with a blade (without an eye). A silk leader was attached to the hook, whose shank was made of multicolored silk, tied with thin gold, silver, or black wire. When wet, the silk became slightly translucent. At first, a small glass bead was strung onto the fly and secured with paint. During that period, anglers fished with a spinning rig called the Tiroler-Hölzel, or Tyrolean stick. The rod, about 10 cm long, was made from a piece of wood that tapered slightly. It had a ring at one end and a piece of lead at the other. Four or five flies were attached to the leader. The rig was cast upstream, and it would then drift downstream. The angler reeled in the line onto the reel, and when a bite was felt, he set the hook. This fishing method, called Rieseln (a term meaning “slow drift along the bottom”), was also widely used in Switzerland (Tessin/Ticino, Graubünden, and Montafon), as well as in the upper basin of the Inn River in Austria. These lures were used exclusively for fishing in the murkiest rivers carrying glacial meltwater.

They were never used for classic fly fishing. They were an effective lure for grayling. Initially, the glass beads were gold or silver. The beads were made at well-known art glass workshops on the island of Murano in Venice. Later on, plastic beads from toy manufacturers were used. In 1978, Moser received several such beads from his friends in Tyrol, along with the suggestion that he might try using them to tie flies. For Tyrolean anglers, they were simply too light. So Moser made his first gold-head flies with a lead-wire base, a dark brown silk body, a gold wrap, and a brown hackle. He found that the flies were effective for grayling in the Traun River. He caught one fish after another. In the clear water, he could clearly see the grayling swimming several meters behind the fly and taking it. He used a 5-meter leader. Local anglers believed that the secret to his success was the use of white worms, because nothing else could catch so many fish at that time. The next step in the development of gold-headed flies was the creation of heavy flies. It seemed logical to use brass heads. He found some in a Cabela’s catalog. They were bodies for spinners. However, the smallest ones weren’t suitable. And so, the fly he christened „Złotogłówka” was born. He had a saying back then: "Smart anglers fish with Złotogłówki." At first, he made „Złotogłówka” flies using dubbing that was a mixture of gray and pink, along with a brass head. However, no one paid any attention to him until he published an article in the German magazine *Fliegenfischer* (1985, January–March issue, p. 58), dedicated to the construction of this fly. The article was titled „New Methods for Fishing with Caddis Fly Imitations,” as he noted that the fly is most effective during caddis fly hatches. The gold head likely resembled an air sac on the insect’s thorax. A little earlier, as early as 1981, he developed micro-jigs on #8-16 hooks, using gold heads. Around 1991, when he was invited to the Chatsworth Angling Fair in the United Kingdom, he presented his “Gold Heads.” They attracted a great deal of interest and were subsequently used by his friends, including Oliver Edwards, Charles Jardine, Malcolm Greenhalgh, Alan Bramley, and Taff Price. Numerous articles were also published about them, and within a short time, the flies became popular throughout the British Isles. Around 1994, Orvis purchased and distributed his video in the U.S., titled “New Ways of Fishing the Caddis,” in which he demonstrated how to tie the Golden-headed Caddis. The fly was subsequently popularized in the U.S. through Orvis catalogs. It should also be noted that in 1972, in the U.S., Ed Sisty described a fly with a bead head in his book *Ed Sisty’s New Professional Methods in Tying the Nymph*. He named the fly “The Beaded Nymph.”.

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