Playing fish on light gear - The myth and the solution
I have long been an advocate of light lines (1 up to 3 weight) teamed up with light, soft actioned rods, often teamed up with tiny flies & light tippet. Some folks believe that such tackle is u...
What flies and tactics throughout the seasons?
Late April & early May marks the arrival of the hawthorn flies & black gnats, although their numbers can vary dramatically from year to year. These two terrestrial insects are most active d...
Tiny dries and light lines paid off in 2019
January & February saw most of my fish falling to tiny dry flies since both the rainbows at my local small still water & the grayling the industrial Yorkshire Rivers (which were low & s...
How to fly cast, roll cast, belgium cast, dump cast, snake roll
Article by David Southall It constantly amazes me how many fly fishers will spend vast amounts of money on top end fly rods & the latest fly lines, both of which are reputed to dramaticall...
River Enhancement & Rewilding Our Rivers
Sadly many of our once pristine rivers are in steady decline due to abstraction, siltation, pollution & dredging (from sewage, agriculture, fish farms, cress beds & numerous other sources)....
Fly Fishing for Educated Wild Trout & Grayling in UK
Very low flows, gin-clear water, no significant fly hatches & fishing for wild, educated fish resulted in some potentially frustrating fishing. A stealthy approach was again paramount & my ...
My best Tenkara flies & spiders for Autumn & Winter
I have done some fishing with the reverse-hackled Sakasa Kebari flies that many Japanese Tenkara fishers use. These are very similar to our traditional North Country Spiders but with the soft hackl...
Grayling flies | Aphids, what pattern and how to fish them.
Trout and grayling can become totally preoccupied on any super-abundant tiny food source to the exclusion of all else. These include Caenis spinners, Chironomid Midges (particularly adults and pupa...
How to fly fish | Big flies or small flies?
I started fishing with a size 24 short shank CdC IOBO Humpy & for an hour had repeated rejections from the fish. They would often come & inspect my fly only to turn away at the last moment.