Barbless Blobs
The eye-catching blobs in bright colours attract even the laziest fish to the hook
BLOBS or blob flies are quite compact, bushy and voluminous flies that are mainly designed to attract the attention of passing fish. With this type of fly, the imitation of a real prey animal takes a back seat, as it was primarily designed as an attraction pattern.
As an attractor fly, it is tied in bright, sometimes several, signal colours on a short shank wide gape hook. The tail, if present at all, is very sparse and consists of a few fibres of tinsel or similar materials. A small bead head adds an extra attraction.
BLOBS are a dangerous combination of extreme catchability and ease of handling, so that even beginners to the world of stillwater fly fishing will very quickly have their first successes with this fly pattern.
BLOBS can also be fished alone, but they are most effective when offered as a lure fly in combination with other flies in more discreet and natural patterns such as buzzers or nymphs. The blob is usually offered on the top side arm so that it attracts the fish's attention, and they follow it curiously. When the fish turn away from the blob, they often take one of the natural patterns on the middle sidearm or at the tip of the rig. However, blobs can also be fished at the tip, providing a very slow, steady and natural sinking of buzzers and nymphs, which are often taken by fish at this stage.
BLOBS are suitable for a static presentation, for example suspended under a strike indicator, but also for a slow retrieve that is varied with retrieve stops and short, fast pulls.
Basically, blobs are offered on the floating fly line. However, if deeper water layers are to be fished effectively, an intermediate or sinking line is a very good choice. In combination with boobies or floating variants of the blobs, for example the FABs, blobs can also be offered floating above the bottom.