Fly Pattern Name: Pink Apprentice

Fly Pattern Creator: Graham D.

Origin: Cluxewe, Port McNeill, BC

Year Created: 1984

Target Species: Pink Salmon

Official Website Launch Date: August 13, 2022

Fly Tying Difficulty: Easy

Fly Materials Required: pink yarn, pink wool, pink body material, gold tinsel, bead head, krystal flash, red hackle feathers, red thread, streamer style hook

The best fly pattern for pink salmon?

The only pink salmon fly you will ever need?

Those sure are bold statements. But are they true?

With the vast selection of pink salmon flies, what makes this one so special? Glad you asked!

Some might say it’s easy to catch a pink salmon. Just toss something pink out there and you will catch. While it’s true pink salmon have a reputation for being easy to catch, they are not always on the take.

When the bite is off, a Pink Apprentice will produce fish. When the bite is on, a Pink Apprentice will be catching you the most fish. It will simply out perform all other pink salmon flies.

Pink flies are plentiful. There are plenty of so-called advacements when it comes to fly tying. Modern pink salmon flies look fancy! But are the new and flashy materials going to catch you more fish? The fly shop or tackle store will certainly sell you on that idea. But if it looks good to us humans does that mean it will catch pink salmon? A Pink Apprentice is certainly not a difficult fly to tie. No modern flashy materials used in this pink salmon fly pattern.

Sure, most modern pink salmon flies will catch fish. Any of those modern day flies that you can buy online or at your local fishing store will work. Like anything, some things work better than others. You might catch a fish here and there but what if there was a guy fishing down the beach who seemed to be catching a pink salmon on every cast? The point being, every fly has varying degrees of success. For some catching 2 fish in a day is a great day. But if you caught 2 fish and I told you that you could have caught 20 fish instead, would you be all ears?

So when you see a Pink Apprentice you may not think much of it. Where is the mystique in that fly pattern? Looks kind of drab. Boring. That thing catches more pink salmon that any other pink salmon fly? It's so plain looking. Unassuming. Uncomplicated.

I bet if I lined up the so-called top 10 best pink salmon flies and put a Pink Apprentice in amongst those flies, most people would choose the Pink Apprentice last. To the human eye and brain, there is no particular reason why it's special. It's not a standout. But what really matters is how the pink salmon react. They clearly think differently than us humans.

Up until now this pink salmon fly pattern has remained a secret. If you look at the year when Pink Apprentice originates, a lot of years have passed since it graced the waters off Cluxewe near Port McNeill.

Fisherman are funny though. Whether it's a great fishing hole or a special fly pattern, most fisherman like to keep their secrets. I am no different. However, over the years I realized this fly pattern deserves greater exposure.

In reality, the Pink Apprentice should be the most popular pink salmon fly in waters of BC and the Pacific Northwest. This should be the go-to fly pattern. The best kept secret doesn't have to remain that way. It's important to tell the story of the Pink Apprentice fly pattern and how it came to be.

Being the person beholden to the Pink Apprentice, I can tell you how badly I wanted this fly to remain a secret. So much so, that I would rather keep my fish in the water rather than land it and risk showing the fly to any fisherman who were curious why I was catching so many pink salmon.

There is only one time that I showed the fly to a curious fisherman. It's like I talked about earlier--the pink salmon that day weren't biting. The fish were around, but nobody was catching. That is, nobody except for me and my family thanks to the magic of the Pink Apprentice. When you are catching and nobody else is, it always raises suspicion and curiosity in other fisherman. But in this instance, I let my guard down. The person looked innocent enough I felt they weren't going to take a photo of the fly or copy the design for their fly bench. So I showed him. But the response from the guy was hilarious. He said, "oh, it's an old one". I smiled inside knowing that he was rather dismissive about what I just showed him.

I've had many years to reflect on this fly pattern and what to do with it. Why keep it a secret? I feel it's such a treasure that it shouldn't be excludive to me and my family. The fly should live on and this is the only way that it can. Publicize it and show it off in all its glory. Maybe other fisherman will enjoy it as much as I have over the years.

I want to tell the Pink Apprentice story so that it can remain forever. Perhaps one day it will be considered the quintessential pink salmon fly pattern for the waters of BC and the Pacific Northwest. I know the magic that a Pink Apprentice can provide but being one voice, it makes such claims just folklore.

The Pink Apprentice will certainly give you bragging rights on any beach that you show up to. Nothing will out perform it. That much I can guarantee.