The Red Copper Wire Nymph

Materials Required :

* Straight Shank Wet Fly Hook Sizes 12 – 16
*Fine Red Copper Wire
*Clear Varnish

Tying :

1. Place hook in vice and position the wire in the centre of the hook shank with some wire facing towards the bend.  Wind in open turns towards the eye and do two turns close together behind the eye and break the wire off.

2. Take the other wire down and around the bend in open turns and break off and place a light coat of varnish over the wire to prevent it sliding on the hook.

It is usually fished on a floating line and is either left static or retrieved very slowly and bites are generally very positive. Maybe there is just a slight suggestion of bloodworm. If you have the patience it is an extremely effective fly especially on hard fished waters.

We find that by far the best colour is red copper wire and normal copper is nothing like as effective.

The Partridge and Orange Fly Fly

Materials required:

· Wet fly hooks sizes 12 – 16

· Body – Orange tying thread

· Hackle – Partridge brown back

Tying:

1. Catch in the thread behind the eye and take down to opposite the barb in tight touching turns and then back up the shank to just behind the eye.
2. Prepare the Partridge hackle by removing the fluffy flue from the stem . Tie the hackle in behind the eye by its tip. Take great care doing this as the hackles are very delicate and can break easily. It is essential to tie in by the tip as the stem is too thick.

3. Wind the hackle around the shank for a maximum of 2 turns , and stroke back so the hackle lies sloping back and tie off and cut off the stem. Then form A small head, tie off and varnish.
   

This fly is a traditional north country wet fly of the spider type and is deliberately tied sparsely . It is usually fished down and across as part of a team of wet flies and is an excellent fly all season. It could be argued that in the larger size it perhaps represents a small sedge pupa . A good stand by pattern and if you are prospecting with wet flies and not sure what to use make sure there is one of these on your leader.

The fly can also be quite productive on still waters when used as a pulling fly

The F Fly

Materials required:

• Fine wire emerger hook Sizes 14 – 20

• Body – fine olive, black or brown seal`s fur or substitute

• Tying thread – olive 8/0 or colour to match body

• Wing – natural cdc feathers

Tying:

1. Catch in thread behind the eye and take down to opposite barb in close, touching turns.
2. Dub on a very small quantity of seal`s fur and wind back to eye.

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3.Take a couple of natural cdc feather and tie in behind the eye on top of the hook to form a swept back wing and cut off surplus stalk.

4.Form neat head, tie off and varnish the head.

This fly is superb on both rivers and lakes and can be tied in any colour to match the hatch but olive, black and beige tend to be the most popular

The fly can be used when buzzers are hatching and it fishes in the film as an emerger. The cdc feathers being naturally oily hold the fly in the film and the fish will usually sip them in. Fish the fly static and do not attempt to put any floatant on the fly .

The only drawback is that after a fish has been caught the fly must be changed and allowed to dry before using again. When the fish are on it you get through plenty of flies !!

In larger sizes the olive version can be very effective during hatches of olives. The fly can fish very well on mild winter days when there are nearly always some buzzers hatching and locally a black version in size 18 can perform very well in winter for those anglers willing to try the floating line.

On the rivers the fly is a good one to try when fish are rising but you are not certain what exactly they want. Experiment with sizes and colours until you find the right combination. Do not allow to drag or else the fly will become water logged although it can still take fish beneath the surface !

Orange Goldhead Fritz Collar Tadpole

Materials required :

· Round bend long shank hook – Sizes 6 – 10
· Tying thread – orange
· Gold Bead
· Body – Hot Orange chenille
· Tail – Hot orange marabou with a few strands of pearl crystalflash
· Collar – orange fritz

Tying :

1. Thread the gold head bead onto the hook and position behind the eye.

2. Catch in tying thread behind the bead and lock bead in position with a small build up of tying thread

   

3. Take thread down hook in touching turns ready to tie in tail opposite the barb. Take a large plume of marabou about one to one and a half times the length of the hook shank and tie in on top of the shank. Take 2 or 3 strands of crystalflash and tie in either side of the marabou

   

4. Trim waste marabou and then tie in the chenille. Take the thread
   up to the gold head. Wind the chenille in close touching turns almost up to the gold head and tie it off leaving space to tie in the collar behind the gold head. Tie in the fritz using one to one and a half turns.

   

5. Tie off and add a touch of varnish to the thread.

   

This fly is superb all year but it really comes into its own on those hot  summer days when there is a lot of algae and /or daphnia present in the water and the trout just will not appear to feed. It can be fished on
floating or sinking lines and retrieved either in fast strips or slow figure of eight retrieves depending very much on the mood of the fish.

The same fly tied without the gold head is a real winner when used with
an intermediate line with a very quick, short jerky retrieve especially
when new fish are in the water but they have wised up to the usual lures and fast , long strip presentation.

Pheasant Tail Nymph

Materials required:

• Round bend down eye hook – Sizes 10 – 16
• Body – Cock pheasant tail fibres
• Tying thread fine black or brown
• Rib – fine copper wire
• Thorax – Fine copper wire
• Wing case – Cock pheasant tail fibres
• Tail – Cock pheasant tail fibres
• Head – build up neat head of tying thread

Tying:

1. Tie in the fine copper wire behind the eye and form a copper wire ball for the thorax. Tie in tying thread behind copper wire ball and take down to bend in touching turns. Tie in a few tips of cock pheasant tail fibres to form tail. (the rest of the fibres are used for the body)

2. Tie in length of fine copper wire. Take tying thread back up to behind the copper wire ball. Wind cock pheasant fibres up body in touching turns to the ball and secure with the thread and leave remainder of fibres on top of hook to form thorax cover. Follow with the copper wire in open turns to form the rib as far as the ball and tie off copper wire. Tie in addition cock pheasant fibres and wind around the copper ball and tie off behind the eye.

3. Take the cock pheasant fibres that are on top of hook and pull over thorax to form cover and tie off behind the eye, form a neat head, tie off and varnish the head.

This nymph does not represent a specific aquatic nymph but is used as a general nymph/bug pattern and is very effective as its features are found on many nymphs. It can also be tied on short or long shank hooks and can even be tied with a lead under belly .

The thorax can also be seals fur of different colours and of course dyed cock pheasant fibres can be used to form a whole series of different pheasant tail nymphs.

This nymph can be used all season in both rivers and lakes and on floating or sinking lines. A good retrieve is a short jerky one and takes can be quite fierce.

SHIPMAN BUZZER

Tying Materials required:

• Fine wire round bend Sizes 12 -18
• Seals Fur
• Fly Tying thread – fine black or colour to match body
• Rib – fine pearl lurex
• Breathers – white multiyarn

Tying:

1. Tie in the thread behind the hook eye and using close touching turns take the thread down the shank to level with the point.

2. Lay a piece of white multiyarn on top of the hook shank and tie in at the point leaving a small amount over hanging.  Then take the tying thread towards the eye binding down the multiyarn on top of the hook.  Continue to the eye and leave a small amount sticking forward past the eye.  Take the thread down to the bend.

3. Catch in a piece of pearl lurex and then dub the seals fur onto the thread and dub up the hook to behind the eye.

4. Take the lurex in open turns up the hook to behind the eye and tie off.

5.  Whip finish the fly behind the eye.

This buzzer is a killer in flat calm or slight ripple conditions when there is a hatch of buzzers coming off and the fish want the buzzer fished slightly higher than you get with a suspender buzzer.  Only gink the breathers and the fly will sit in the surface film. Generally fish the fly static and if a fish is moving near the fly a slight twitch of the fly will often convert slight interest to a solid take.

THE CATS WHISKER

Materials required:

• Long Shank Lure hooks size 10-6
• Black Tying Thread
• Lime Green Chenille
• Silver Wire
• Pair of Silver Bead Chain Eyes
• White Marabou

Tying:

1. Cut a pair of silver eyes from a length of chain and using black tying thread tie in the eyes on top of the shank behind the eye using figure of eight tying method to secure tightly. Continue taking thread down the shank in tight touching turns.

2. Take a large pinch of white marabou and tie in to form a tail.

3. Tie in silver wire at the point where the tail is tied in. Tie in lime green chenille above the wire at this point. Take the thread up the shank to behind the silver bead eyes and wind the chenille up the hook shank in tight touching turns to be tied off behind the eyes with the thread. Follow with the wire using open turns winding the opposite way to the way the chenille was wrapped.

4. Take another large pinch of white marabou and tie in behind the eyes to form a wing.

5. Ensure all the materials are securely tied in behind the eyes and bring the thread in front of the eyes, form a head, tie off and varnish the head.

This fly can be used all year round but excels in late autumn when the trout become active on fry.

It is a sinking pattern, so can be fished at any depth on either floating, intermediate or sinking line using the countdown method with all fly line densities.

The Cats Whisker is very attractive to fish because the materials have plenty of movement and the best retrieves are long erratic pulls giving darting movements to the fly. This can be varied by adding pauses in the retrieve followed by very quick short jerky pulls before reverting to the longer retrieve.