Three must-have seasonal flies
I have been
rather scornful about the many anglers who attach too much importance to the choice
of artificial fly to use and not enough to things that are often more important
such as not scaring the fish and choosing the right fly line to use whether it
be a floater or a line that sinks at a particular speed.
There are, however, times of the year when flies of a certain kind are super abundant
and the fish become preoccupied with feeding on them, so it is wise to have some
appropriate artificial flies in your box for those occasions. I’m thinking
now of stillwaters and dry flies.
It seems strange to fish dry fly on stillwaters in early spring when wet flies
or lures are many anglers choice, but in April given the right conditions with
mild weather and a light ripple, small dry flies can be a deadly choice.
These are the so-called duck flies. They are dark flies and they are tiny but
present in vast numbers.
Almost any tiny black dry fly will bring you takes. Size 16 flies of various patterns
including my favourite Williams Favourite for instance.
Then the highlight of many anglers year the mayfly season. On rivers for choice
but also good on those stillwaters that have the mayfly.
Of the many different artificial mayflies I found the need for only two patterns.
Lun’s spent gnat for the spent flies after they have laid their eggs, and
those Wulff patterns with an upright wing of squirrel tail hair tied sloping forward.
Tie big ones, and do not make the all too common mistake of splaying the wings
apart. Mayflies keep their wings pressed together at this stage of their development
so the inventor of the pattern insisted on a single post of wing hair.
Finally in late summer and early autumn the crane flies.
Use single fibres of herl and put more than normal complement of eight legs on
to allow for losing some through wear and tear.
Trying two knots in each feather fibre to make lifelike legs is a tricky process
but suppliers of fly tying materials now sell whole centre tail feathers with
each herl ready tied.
Above all make the body of the artificial of bright green fluorescent material.