Jules Rindlisbacher -
Swiss fisherman, fishing tackle dealer and author

Jules Rindlisbacher (1927-1990)

The Bernese thoroughbred fisherman

Jules Rindlisbacher has been fishing since childhood.

Thanks to his talent and exceptional powers of observation, he has become arguably the best all-round angler in Switzerland. He did not have an easy childhood and initially worked at the slaughterhouse in the city of Bern.

But he spent every free minute at his beloved fishing spot.

In 1974, he took over a fishing tackle shop in Bern, which he ran successfully until his death in 1990.

My copy of ‘Der praktische Fliegenfischer’ (The Practical Fly Fisher) – techniques and tactics of fly fishing in words and pictures

(Albert Müller Verlag, 1970)

It's well-thumbed – because I've read it so often over the years!

Jules Rindlisbacher as a successful author

His informative articles on fishing techniques were immediately well received by readers of the fishing magazine Petri-Heil. Publisher Walter M. Graf then brought him into the editorial team in the mid-1960s.

His two books, ‘Der praktische Fliegenfischer’ (The Practical Fly Fisher) and ‘Erfolg an Fluss und See’ (Success on Rivers and Lakes), both published in German by Albert Müller Verlag, made Jules Rindlisbacher famous far beyond the country's borders.

The book ‘Der praktische Fliegenfischer’ was my actual textbook when I started fly fishing. Everything that is important for success in fly fishing (behaviour of fish, natural insects on the water, equipment, fly selection, casting technique, drilling and landing) is explained in a practical way.

The work is richly illustrated with 124 drawings by the author, a colour fly chart and 27 black-and-white photographs.

Jules Rindlisbacher fishing the Sense river

(© Albert Müller Verlag, 1970)

Black and white drawing by Jules Rindlisbacher: Sedge drift

(©Albert Müller Verlag, 1970)

Rindlisbacher's fly selection
– pragmatic and effective

((c) Albert Müller Verlag, 1970)

Rindlisbacher's pragmatic fly selection

Like almost all good fly fishermen, Jules Rindlisbacher limited himself to a few successful patterns.

The book ‘Der praktische Fliegenfischer’ (The Practical Fly Fisher) illustrates and describes 47 patterns.

However, he considered only a few fly types to be truly necessary.

These included the brown and white Bivisible (1), which he mentions first and foremost as a fly for imitating March browns and as a good summer and evening fly.

These include streamers (2), Tups (3), duck hackle flies (4), universal hackle flies (5; e.g. universal – see below), sedge (6), wet flies (7), spent flies (8), weighted and light nymphs (9), and, if necessary, whitish hackle flies for grayling (10) in your fly box.

The Light Cahill is recommended for poor light conditions.

Universal
- Swiss trout fly by J. Rindlisbacher (1970)

Description of Universal- Swiss trout fly by J. Rindlisbacher (german; 1970)

Rindlisbacher's Universal

This fly is a real Swiss bestseller, since many years- first described by Jules Rindlisbacher in his famous book "Praktisches Fliegenfischen" (1970). Can be used everywhere anytime- a successful classic pattern.

SFr. 3.50/pcs

Grösse/ hameçon/ size

14

Tying instructions for Rindlisbacher’s Universal

Based on the description by Jules Rindlisbacher, Bern, in the book “Practical Fly Fishing” (1970)

Materials:

Hook: Standard dry fly hook sizes 12–16

Tying thread: black, e.g. UNI Professional 6/0 or 8/0.

Tail: Hackle fibres, brown or, as a very attractive alternative: Coq de Léon, Pardo rubion

Body: red raffia SwissR

Ribbing: tying wire, gold-coloured, fine UNI French SM or XS

Wings: 2 rounded hackle tips from a domestic cock, white or cream

Hackle: domestic cock, brown

You can see how it’s done in Stefan Wenger’s video tying tutorial: