Hello fishy friends,

I have a little question.

I’ve been flyfishing for a few years now and over the last 8 months or so have really started to fine down my fly choice, the smaller the better, buzzer, hares ear, pheasant tail etc. I haven’t thought about putting a cats whisker or humungus on for ages!!!

It started when I was fishing Walthamstow fishery just before Christmas. It was cold and the rod rings were freezing up. Everyone was fishing sinking line and booby and catching the odd fish. I refused to give in to the booby and persisted with small flys on a floating line and long leader, but nothing. Maybe I’m stubborn.

Is this usual, I don’t want to turn into a purist and find myself only fishing for wild brownies, but rather be comfortable with all aspects of the sport.

Maybe there is a time and a place, for every method of attack and I’m still learning. I really have enjoyed fishing light and as delicate as possible. Anyone else been through this?????

Marvellous.

wozzamozza

You don't say how deep the water was etc. I fish all winter with skinny buzzers and/or gold head nymphs, fished slowly they usually out fish the lures, but the water I fish is only 10 feet at the deepest.

have only used lures occasionally for years and still catch plenty on buzzers etc. I will use a booby sometimes in the winter if all else fails! Usually the biggest fly I use will be a damsel nymph or a dry daddy. If you fish competitions tho, it is a different game altogether - you need to be a good alrounder or an automaton and strip blobs all day -not for me thanks!

I do like fishing buzzers,but if needs be

I prefer fishing imitatively but there are definitely days when only lures will work. In fact there are days when only a certain colour of lure will work so it is dangerous to get too far down one route where you become too stubborn to change over to a lure because you feel it's not the "done thing"

Match the Hatch if they are feeding on fry a size 16 buzzer is not much use; conversely if they are preoccupied with midge then a size 8 Cats whisker may not be the best bet.
Though a few years ago I hammered buzzer feeding Fish at Bewl using a white marabou lure retrieved rolly polly style.

Tony

Can't beat stripping a lure back at break neck spead and watching them bow wave after it then having the rod almost wrenched from your hand. It's one of the greatest sights in trout fishing

Even better with a Muddler

I went up to Walthamstow on Sunday and from the reports no one had been catching for the last few weeks. There were plenty of fish around but nothing taking.

I tried different depths, different retrieves, lures and buzzers. I ended up with 2 trout that fell to a tiny gold head pheasant-tail fished in the weeds and lost 3. it really was a case of, after trying different approaches out in front, observing the fish feeding close in on tiny insects, and going for them.

Marvellous. It’s great when it comes together.

wozzamozza

And it will be even better when they get rid of those damn Cormorants.

I know, I dont think I've ever seen so many on a water before.

Back in the days when Hanningfield trout were free-rising, then during the evening a mate and I used put on a big muddler sedge with a floating line and strip back with the rod tucked under the arm. Watching the bow wave of the follows was almost enough to induce a heart attack!


Hmmmm, those were the days. The H. trout barely ever touch the surface nowadays. Anyone know why??



Scrottocks.

You said it!
The best flies to fish are the ones fish want on any given day! Sounds obvious I know but if you can watch the fish you learn a hell of a lot quickly. If they are smashing into fry fish a lure, if they are sipping buzzers then use buzzers.

The key thing is to put the fly where the fish want it, so on deep waters in very hot or very cold weather you may need a sinking line. You can still fish nymphs on a sunk line though!