The Arctic Black Ghost Fly fishes well in the Connecticut Lakes region of New Hampshire and various watersheds in Maine.

Gerry Crow owns New Hampshire Rivers Guide Service (nhriversguide.com). The Arctic Black Ghost is his favorite early- and late-season pattern for trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon. He invented it 20 years ago, so it’s old enough to vote in most states. But, I digress, again.

Gerry notes that the Arctic Black Ghost is especially good in April and May when landlocks chase spawning smelt out of the lakes into the rivers, and again during the fall spawning run.

He said, “I have fished this pattern successfully in the Connecticut Lakes region of New Hampshire and various watersheds in Maine, from Rangeley to Moosehead Lake to the West Branch of the Penobscot. It was also a good producer in the rivers of Labrador for big brook trout and lake trout.”

Because the classic Black Ghost has always been a great fly, Gerry developed the Arctic pattern looking for a way to get his fly deeper without switching to a sinking line. Traditional feather-wing streamers, such as those developed by Carry Stevens and Herb Welch, look beautiful but often don’t get deep enough to be effective in high water-flow conditions. To meet his needs, Gerry added dumbbell eyes for weight and a hair wing for durability. He likes using an underwing of bucktail to give the fly a good profile and an overwing of Arctic fox fur to impart motion.

Gerry said the following about the Arctic Black Ghost’s effectiveness. “One of the first times I used this fly was on the Magalloway River in Rangeley, Maine. It was two days after hurricane Floyd came through. The rivers had flooded, trees were down, and part of Route 16 was washed out. I knew that if I could get upstream of one of the big lakes, larger salmon and brook trout would be running.

“A few friends and I wound our way over gravel logging roads to the Magalloway River, above Aziscohos Lake, in the mountains of western Maine. We hiked a moose trail through the trees down to the lake’s inlet and then spread out to see if the salmon were running. They were.

“I picked out a spot where a couple boulders were partially submerged, marking the head of a pool a few hundred yards upstream from the lake. I tied on my Arctic Black Ghost, cast over the top of the boulders, gave two upstream mends to let the fly sink, and when the line came tight, I stripped twice and – wham! Fish on! A silvery salmon exploded out of the water and proceeded to take drag. It was the first fish on the Arctic.

In the years since, it has been my secret weapon, especially during high water conditions. It’s now my go-to streamer pattern wherever I fish.”

And, here’s an extra tip from Gerry: Always fish a soft-hackle dropper tied on off the bend of the hook because just as many fish hit the dropper as the streamer. But don’t tell Gerry I told you that. I hear he has some wolves in his backyard and will drive them wherever necessary to protect his secrets.

Materials 

Hook: Daiichi 2220 Streamer Hook, Size 8, 4x-long

Thread: Black Uni-Thread, Size 8

Eyes: Yellow Dumbbell Eyes

Tail & Throat: Yellow Marabou

Body: Black Floss

Rib: Silver Tinsel

Underwing: Sparse White Bucktail

Overwing: White Arctic Fox Fur