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How many flies should we fish at the same time? There is no set answer to this question since there are numerous variables that must be considered before making an answer. In some cases the choice is already made. Several fly fishing clubs that I belo...

Remembering Dick Walker’s philosophy of caricaturing the natural organism being imitated and using some sort of bright target spot, I had decided to tie up some weighty, bright red buzzers, hoping they would quickly sink to the correct depth and wou...

The use of metal beads is now standard practice when tying heavy sub-surface flies. Gold Head or Pearl Head flies incorporating glass beads were used over 100 years ago in Northern Italy. Roman Moser tells how in 1978 he was given some Pearl Head fl...

 Let’s first consider casting skills for the dry fly angler. Whilst on many still waters much of the time all that is needed is the ability to perform a conventional Overhead Cast with when necessary accuracy, the river fly fisher needs to have a la...

Fly tying is an art, with some folks like Oliver Edwards & Steve Thornton producing unbelievably realistic imitative patterns; however I’m one of those tiers that seek to produce the simplest pattern that will fool the fish. Fish have tiny brain...

The fish was actively feeding but my offering was studiously ignored. Shrimps in a range of hues from subtle tan to garish pink received the same disinterested response, as did Peeping Caddis, Black-bead Pheasant Tail Nymph and several other pattern...

Water levels were very low & for optimum success I had to fish with 1 weight or zero weight Sunray Jeremy Lucas, delicate presentation lines & 12 to 14’ leaders ending in 8x tippet & a size 26 to 30 CdC IOBO Humpy. Even with such super-l...

Sight-fishing with nymphs is particularly skillful as it requires the ability to determine the precise location & depth of the fish, calculating the effects of refraction which makes a subsurface fish appear to be further away than it is & n...

Over the winter I’d usually have been sight fishing with tiny Buzzer Pupae (size 24 to 30) or Micro CdC Midges, but this winter I have had to be very versatile. During the periods of heavily coloured water I’ve mainly fished with black or dark colou...

 Now, over 20 years later & with many thousands of trout, grayling & char, plus numerous coarse fish caught on fly gear I have mellowed & what I want out of my fly fishing has changed significantly. Whilst I still enjoy the days when I c...