Martyn White | Thursday, 11 June 2026
Something a bit different this week and possibly not so well known in the English speaking world, or even outside of the Baltic and Scandinavian coasts. The Vaskebjørn or raccoon/washbear if the Norwegian is too much of a reach for you.
This is a great little shrimpy job designed for coastal seatrout that I’ve put to good use here in Japan for sea run char and other non-salmonid species. It’s more suggestive than a true shrimp imitation and will work for fish that are on small baitfish just as well as shrimp feeders. Which is handy. That said it does have a fair bit of fidelity with a real fleeing shrimp and I think it’s unlikely that it ever won’t be close enough. I first saw this pattern on Eivind Berulfsen’s YouTube channel (excellent if you want some tasty cold water coastal flies) and immediately put some in my box. I’m glad I did.
There’s a lot to like about this fly, and it definitely appeals to my sensibilities. I like rough flies, I like dubbed boddies and soft hackles, I like quick ties, I like durable patterns, most of all I like flies that work, and the Vaskebjørn is all of these. It’s full of life and movement, it catches and transmits the light through the brushed dubbing, it tracks true even on a fast strip and fish bite it. Great stuff
Here’s the pattern:
Hook: Nordic shrimp style like a partridge CS54 or if you want a more compact fly/stronger hook a Gamakatsu B10S.
Thread: Red (I also finish the head with Globrite no 4 for the fluoro effect)
Weight: black or silver bead chain
Hackle: Grizzly -use something long fibered and a bit webby like a Whiting American or Keough saltwater
Rear body: Fluo red seal fur or sub
Front Body: Natural cream seal fur or sub (tied in 2 or three sections with a turn or 2 of hackle between them)
Flash: You can add a bit of crystal flash in the tail if you like. Totally optional and not really needed IMHO.
Size wise my feeling is 2 & 6 will cover you for most situations.
You can mess around with colours to your heart’s content; a shocking pink rear section can be nice when it’s freezing cold. Similarly, a grizzly olive hackle instead of the natural works well. All cream can be great on its day too, especially if teamed with a more attractory dropper like a hot orange crystal shrimp. But don’t let these be the limit, mess around with colour schemes you like and you won’t go far wrong.
I made a video in English a while ago, have a look here.