The Pin-Ki (Pink Killer):

pattern originated by Günter Feuerstein
 

There was a lot of talk about this pattern. I developed the Pin-Ki in 1990 for fishing for large rainbow trout migrating from Lake Constance into some of the tributaries at the start of the fishing season. The special color combination of the Pin-Ki makes the trout go crazy. Within a time of eight years it was only given to special friends, but was not published. It was not till 1998 that this pattern  was made known.

Meanwhile not only trout but also fly fishers go like crazy for it, too, shops sell it and lots of stories have been told about it. (article about Pin-Ki in "Beet")

It is fishing absolutely excellent for rainbow trout (especially migrating ones for which it was developed) and occasionally grayling in fast flowing alpine rivers in Europe and the Steelhead pattern has become an insider pattern in B.C. and Alaska for steelhead as well as for other pacific salmon species. The Pin-Ki is known for having not only caught numberous fish, but also really large ones. Sometimes it still catches fish when all other patterns are not worth a try.

When to fish the Pin-Ki:

The Pin-Ki fishes best, when the light conditions are not the best or when the sun goes down. From one minute to the next it may start to catch fish like hell. Fish it when the sky is coverd with heavy clouds or when the water is some sort of coloured. Because it is tied in an "aggressive color" the trout like this pattern best before and after spawning . I usually don't fish it during the rest of the year except in coloured water. Before you fish this pattern, please always think of one thing:

It is sometimes really difficult to catch fish, but it is always very easy to kill them.
Please limit your kill or release them.

Of course the Pin-Ki fishes best in waters supplying not that much food, but you will get fish in completely different situations as well. Sometimes it is perhaps because the trout have just never seen such a nymph. Here is an example:

A Pin-Ki story:

I  fished Slough Creek in Yellowstone Park on a wonderful warm and sunny day with Bas Verschoor in 1995. After having caught a few nice fish with small flashback pheasant tails, suddenly a huge cutthroat was catching my interest. It was a 5-6 pound fish laying in a 6 ft deep, slow turning pocket water, having been seen by hundreds of fisherman during that season and quite a lot of them had fished for it on this particular day. This fish didn't even move after having seen me. It seemed to be really self assured. Bas told me, that he had already tried to get a take with some of his specials, but, as all the others, he wasn't successful. I thought I might have perhaps got a tastier pattern with me and gave it a try, too. I tried several nymphs always with the same result - no reaction- after half an hour I thought to have seen the trout glimpsing with her eye every single time my fly passed her in order to tell me: "Forget it, greenhorn!"

Suddenly I had the idea to tie on a Pin-Ki on and told it to Bas. Up to that moment he was fishing very concentrated, but one of a sudden he started to laugh. "You are not in Austria", he said, "we are fishing for some of the best taught fish in the States, having seen thousands of different patterns in their lives". No chance for Bas to blow up my idea. I tied on my Pin-Ki , made one false cast and the nymph was sinking to the ground about one feet in front of the trout. A short pull and what happend next was unbelievable. This obviously "sleeping" fish started one of the fastest attacks I have ever seen. It was so quick and unexpected that I really stroke far too hard especially with a fish of this size and a 6X tippet! The line broke, the huge fish swam slowly into the current, shook its head and gave my Pin-Ki back to the wonderful water of Slough Creek in Yellowstone Park in Wyoming.

Give it a try!

The Pin-Ki is recorded in the archieve of fly patterns in the Virtual Fly Shop(VFS).    See Pin-Ki

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