In a conversation I had with Richard Kos, our VFFA fly tying coach, he described his recent experiments with Euro nymphing, nymph fishing in general, and some recent successes with Perdigon nymphs. A couple of his Perdigon nymph ties are shown above.
In a conversation I had with Richard Kos, our VFFA fly tying coach, he described his recent experiments with Euro nymphing, nymph fishing in general, and some recent successes with Perdigon nymphs. A couple of his Perdigon nymph ties are shown above.
In September issue of Fly Lines Jim Blakeslee gives a fascinating insight into the fishing at that wonderful place called Kiritimati, which is more popularly known as Christmas Island. The island is raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, and is part of the Republic of Kiribati.
In September issue of Fly Lines Jim Blakeslee gives a fascinating insight into the fishing at that wonderful place called Kiritimati, which is more popularly known as Christmas Island. The island is raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, and is part of the Republic of Kiribati.
The August Fly Lines issue carries a great article by Philip Bailey on Euro Nymphing. In the exchange of emails that I had with Phil he quite out of the blue sent me a photo taken with his iPhone of a nymph that he uses. He called it “something for you to try”. So it wasn’t even given a name. The photo above is my attempt at tying Phil’s nymph, and I used a bright red bead because I didn’t have an orange bead like the one he used in the photo he emailed to me.
Scientists say that contrast and movement are the primary factors which influence the ability of trout to locate prey. The Fur and Feather Streamer utilises palmered rabbit fur plus marabou and chickabou feathers in three separate dubbing loops to create maximum movement.
I was looking for something for this month’s fly when Hubert arrived, bringing with him four samples of a nymph that he had recently discovered in the New Zealand Fish & Game magazine (issue 98), written up by their regular fly tying contributor and well-known guide Peter Carty. Carty describe this fly as a ‘cracking little nymph’, and Hubert agrees enthusiastically with this verdict.
Here’s an oldie but a goody. The Mrs. Simpson has already been written up as our Fly of the Month, but that was in the July 2001 newsletter. So it’s certainly worth another look. We are coming into the winter months, so a good wet fly for fishing our lakes and reservoirs is certainly an appropriate choice.
The Bag Fly Revisited
It must be twenty years or more when the late Lindsay Haslem and I were fishing the Goulburn River near Alexandra. The day was fine, the river was low, and the fishing was lousy – well, until we met this elderly angler bait casting his way up the river using a minnow and sporting a couple of nice fish in his bag. We talked together, and this old guy swore by some preserved minnows that had recently come on to the market. “Those flies of yours don’t work here. You need to get some of these minnows to use on your fly gear,” he said, as he walked on his way.
The (Bloody) Mary
Years ago I purchased a copy of Rodger Hungerford’s Guide To Trout Angling, and came across an article by David Scholes extolling the virtues of the ‘Bloody Mary – Champion All-Purpose Fly’. Well, if David Scholes recommended a fly, then it had to be good. So I tied a few. In 1981 I spent the year working in New Zealand, near Hamilton in the North island. There were heaps of gorgeous little trout streams in the area, and most were well populated with lively rainbows that were quite keen to sample my roughly-tied Marys. So for me the pattern worked – at least on those willing North Island trout.