Wet Flies - Your Recommendations

[raf1870]

Hi

New to the sport of fly fishing and looking for people's recommendations on their favourite wet flies for Brown & Rainbow Trout.

I have been having some success on the Kate McLaren but am overwhelmed by the amount of flies available on the market so wanting to narrow my options down on my next purchase of some new flies..

Hoping that fellow forum members could recommend a few more flies for me to try out over the coming weeks.

Cheers

 

[S-Kippy]

What sort of waters are you fishing ie loch,reservoir,stocked stillwater,river etc ?

 

[stu_the_blank]

Yes raf, the type of water makes an enormous difference. Where do you fish?

 

[Wobbly Face (As Per Ed)]

raf1870, traditional wet flies include Kate Mclaren, Butcher and Bloody Butcher, Black Phennel, Mallard & Claret, Peter Ross, Williams and Bloody Williams, Invicta, Whickhams Fancy, Green Peter, Dunkeild, Zulu, Teal Blue and Silver (good seatrout fly).

 

[raf1870]

I have started to fly fish in my local loch which has brown trout.

Hoping to go after rainbows and brown on other lochs and reservoirs in the near future.

These other venues will hold a mixture of wild brownies and stocked rainbows.

 

[S-Kippy]

Wild browns in waters that dont have a lot of natural food cant really afford to miss out on a meal so anything dark & "buggy" ought to work. To the list above I'd add Bibio & Silver Invicta & possibly a beetle pattern like a Coch-Y-Bondhu or a Black & Peacock Spider. Personally I dont like winged wets and would always opt for a hackled version. Snatchers can be good too as can a shrimp pattern.

And I never go anywhere without a Gold Head Gold Ribbed Hares Ear and a Diawl Bach [red holo rib or red head].Those I'd back to get you a fish wherever you are.

Always have something predominantly black on your cast somewhere & dont fish too big.Size 12's and 14's unless its really ugly.Stocked rainbows are a different proposition to wild browns.They will have anything they've a mind too on any given day but I wouldn't target them with wet flies...lures & nymphs are generally more productive in my experience and I'd add buzzers,damsels and cats whiskers in white/green or black/green.

Traditional wet flies in my experience are not the most productive patterns.They still produce but most are old,traditional patterns and there are many more modern patterns about now that will outfish a wet fly.

 

[Alan Tyler]

Sedge (caddis) time soon, isn't it? Do the standard (Stick fly, amber nymph, Invicta, Wickham's) have form up there? If so start tying a few; also surface patterns like the G&H sedge,.
Then wait; it takes a while for trout to lock on to caddis pupae and adults as food, but once you see fluttery critters trying to scutter across the top to the bank and getting chomped, it's time to tie them on. Only a pike hitting a buzzbait beats a trout engulfing a fast-moving surface pattern. Oh, red palmers, too.

Just re-read and realised some of those aren't exactly wet flies, sorry about that, but as long as they're not banned, try 'em!

 

[stu_the_blank]

Great advice from Skip and Alan, I'd just add Bead head daddy's,don't know why but they have a knack of winkling the odd trout, have something absurd and orange as a back up when all else fails and if you know how to fish it, a booby, again when all else fails!

Agree that hackles seem to work better than wings, esp in stillwater. If you're fishing scots streams, a black stoats tail has killed a few in the evenings.

Stu

 

[S-Kippy]

Great advice from Skip and Alan, I'd just add Bead head daddy's,don't know why but they have a knack of winkling the odd trout, have something absurd and orange as a back up when all else fails

Stu

Yep...second that,Stu.The Gold Head Daddy has saved me a blank more than once for no reason that I've ever been able to fathom. The other blank saver for me [when sedges are about] is an Invicta in pearl or silver stripped through the surface when sedge pupae and dry sedge patterns are being ignored.That's about the only winged wet pattern I ever use and as Alan says they can hit these hard.

 

[raf1870]

Thanks for the recommendations so far.

So ignore wet flies for rainbows and stick with lures and nymphs as a starting point?

If anyone wishes to add anymore types of flies that are not wet flies that they can recommend for brown and rainbows please let me know as only been fly fishing for about 2 weeks so my knowledge is limited.

Cheers

 

[S-Kippy]

Raf

Its hard to be specific without knowing what sort of waters you're fishing & the stocking density/levels. The more naturalised the fish are [like in a big reservoir] then the more likely they will be feeding naturally and then I would say yes...nymphs and nymphy type lures [like tadpoles] will outfish wets. I am speaking here of rainbows not browns and rainbows will often be in a mood to chase & that's when lures will work. I dont like fishing lures so I never do...but they do work.

If its a smaller "put & take" type water then lures will probably work well but if fish are rising or showing & feeding on naturals flies/nymphs then nymphs or dry flies are the way to go. Again I'm speaking of rainbows here.

After lugging boxes & boxes of flies around when I first started I rarely use more than 7-8 patterns now and I catch a fair few trout. This is what would be in my box

Nymphs

Black buzzer : Olive Buzzer : Bloodworm/Red buzzer : Red Daiwl Bach : Cruncher : Gold Ribbed Hares Ear : Damsel : Pheasant Tail

Lures

Black/Green tadpole : Black/Green Cats Whisker ; White/Green Cats Whisker : Olive tadpole : Something Orange : Natural/Brown Minky [for fry feeders]

Odds & Sods

Gold Head Daddy : Montana : Pearl Invicta :Black Pennel/Black Spider : Bibio

Damsels,Tadpoles & GRHE would be both with & without gold bead heads.Buzzers would be unweighted & epoxy [for when you need to get them down deep]

You could add Blobs & Boobies if you want. Orange or Black/Green again. Rainbows like those colours.

If I could see fish showing my standard 3 fly cast would be Black buzzer [point] Cruncher [middle] Red Daiwl Bach [top] . If I couldn't and I'm seraching I'd swap the buzzer for a GH damsel or tadpole. If that didn't work I'd consider a lure...and then carry on fishing nymphs [kidding...that's just me....try a lure].

Wild browns I'd have a PTN or GRHE on the point followed by a Daiwl Bach and Bibio on the top...and keep the flies small.

Those flies & those combinations ought to get you a few pulls at least. Dont fish nymphs too quickly....cast them across the wind and just let them swing round.

Good luck....its a bit daunting at first but it does get easier ! I fish reservoirs almost exclusively and I always start on a black buzzer/cruncher/daiwl bach combi.I might swap positions & sizes but those 3 flies get me 70% of all the trout I catch. The rest come to bloodworm,damsels,GRHE or GH Daddy.

I cant honestly remember the last trout I had on a winged wet fly.

Skippy.

 

[stu_the_blank]

Skip, that is fantastic advice! My strike rate is different on different fly's to yours but it depends on where you are fishing and frankly your temprement!

Raf, get a few dry's as well. Size and colour will depend on what hatches on the waters you are fishing but Adams is a pretty universal pattern. I think that size is more important than colour. You can either fish them riding high, you will need Gink or similar or fish them in the surface film in the 'gloaming'.

Have you got a local tackle dealer? Usually a good source of information. Get out and enjoy!

Stu

 

[S-Kippy]

Thanks Stu...your advice is sound too. Raf...ask people....they will almost certainly be only too willing to help.

I deliberately avoided mentioning dries because I rarely use them. I ought to but I dont so I dont really feel able to offer advice on something I dont do. Any "rise" at the ressie I usually fish happens late so by the time I realise I ought to have a dry on there's no time to set one up. I ought to set the dry rod up earlier but somehow never do.

When fish are showing on top I usually shorten my leader to about 8 ft and fish two small daiwl bachs right in the surface.The short leader helps keep them "up". It seems to work well enough.

Skippy

 

[cb]

Dont be too quick to ignore winged wet flies. Years ago I had a pal who fished a team of winged Greenwell's Glorys on a very large stillwater all year and virtually out fished everyone of us everytime! And he couldnt cast for toffee either! His fly landed within 10 yards of the shore. It was a real eye opener. But there you are. Funny old game :thumbs:

Colin

 

[raf1870]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

I have only been using the fly rod for about 2 weeks now so my casting is still in that steep learning curve.

Most I can manage at the moment are teams of 2 flies as 3 flies usually end up tangling all over the place .

Will probably stick with just the one fly for now until my casting improves as I have been catching fish on my local loch with the single Kate McLaren on although the last two visits not had a pull but will keep at it.

There is a local competition on Sunday so don't know whether to give it a go or not for a bit of fun but I should be able to garner some advice too I suppose.

I will get some of the flies recommended and let you know how I get on over the coming weeks and whether they have much success with the Brown's.

Hoping to go here in a few weeks to chance my arm for a Rainbow so fingers crossed.

Forth Area Federation of Anglers - Linlithgow Loch

 

[S-Kippy]

Have a go...its all experience. I'd try to fish two flies and based on the latest report I'd have a buzzer or gh damsel on the point & a Daiwl Bach on the dropper on a floating line.

The key difference between a nymph & a wet fly is that the nymph is trying to imitate a food item more closely than the wet which is just suggesting a food item.Generally speaking you need to retrieve wets more quickly than nymphs which [again generally speaking] you cannot fish too slowly.

Cormorants are a sort of half way house.They can be fished slowly like a nymph or pulled like a wet fly. Some people do well on them but I never have...but that's probably because I rarely put one on.

 

[raf1870]

Well a wee update on my fly fishing education.

I have been doing a fair bit of practice at my local club water and the casting is slowly improving but still struggle in really calm days or when attempting to cast into the wind.

At the moment I am experimenting with my own home made tapered leaders in the hope that this will improve my casting which have helped to a certain degree but they still need to be tinkered with to get the balance just right.

I guess practice and a few lessons is what I need so will have to find my personal Yoda.


The fishing has been really off for the last 3 weeks or so with very little fish being caught and even getting a pull is damned difficult.

It seems though that this is not specific to my local loch but pretty much across a lot of Scotland with many fishing reports saying the going is very hard at the moment.

Not too sure if it is the unsettled atmospheric conditions but I have even been to 2 fisheries which are renowned for good catches and have only seen a few fish caught and most people complaining of the lack of fish activity.

Fingers crossed the fishing picks up in the next few weeks

 

[S-Kippy]

Keep at it Raf...but July & August can be difficult & slow anywhere....especially for bank anglers.

 

[raf1870]

Cheers S-Kippy

Off up to loch for a few hours tonight.

Have you ever made yourself tapered leaders to help with fly turnover?

If so, what are your recommendations on leader length and how do you go about making them up?

I'm currently experimenting with a 50% (Butt Section) / 30% (Mid Section) / 20% (Tippet Section) mix leader about the 9 foot in length but just wondering if I am making it up correctly or not.

I have matched the line diameter for butt length to suit my #7 weight line and have bought other line in .5mm drops so that it will gradually drop down in line diameter as the leader is built up.

However, I'm not too sure what is the best way to go about making the leader.

Should I build a butt and mid section leader in 3 or 4 sections ending in a loop so that I can attach the appropriate tippet length, for example:

.60 mm / 0.55mm / 0.50mm / .45mm / Perfection Loop / Tippet

or is it best to make the leader in multiple sections graduating down even further in line diameter until I reach my ideal tippet ?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

 

[grantfraser27]

just realised this is an old thread but loch ordie, blue zulu, silver butcher, grouse and claret, bibio and black spider are crucial.