2wheels1rod

A Stillwater Lure With No Hook - Stillwater Tube Flies

Sorry to interrupt your Saturday. But if you fish Stillwaters, you're going to want to read this ... Until recently, I’d only ever seen tube flies on salmon rivers. Heavy and 2" Long, slender things, mostly in the hands of people who own better waders than me. It never occurred to me to put one on a stillwater trout leader. Then a good friend pointed out how silly that is when we were talking fishing in our local pub, and I couldn’t argue.

The clocks go back on Sunday (your eyes will thank you)

October always catches me out, every year. You’ve put the dry flies away in your head. The Mayflies & Hawthorns are a distant memory, the evenings are drawing in, and you’re thinking about nymphs and heavier tippet. Then you’re standing in a river on a still, bright day and something sips down a fly off the surface, just upstream of you. Then another one. Autumn is a gift for the dry fly angler who’s still paying attention. Grayling are coming into their own, and on the stillwaters the trout are feeding hard before winter, often with their heads up.

The Bip-Bop Nymph: Grayling can’t seem to resist them

Back in August, when Stan first told me these were called Bip-Bop Nymphs, I assumed he’d been on the Calvados. He hadn’t. Stan Freyheit is a friend and tyer I trust completely, and this is his latest fly design - specifically for Grayling (but unexpectedly works really well for Stillwater Rainbows). The name's daft. The flies are not.

I thought I'd escaped IT after 30 years. Apparently not...

I thought I'd escaped the IT industry... Some of you will know that, before Barbless Flies came along, I spent over 30 years working as a specialist IT consultant. Thirty-odd years of computers, databases, software and trying to explain to people why something that worked perfectly well yesterday had mysteriously stopped working this morning.

Early Knockings - for Grayling

Firstly, I'd like to thank all of you who bought one of our Depth Charge Jig Selections on Tuesday - we sold out of them in just over 4 hours - thank you so much for your continued support, it really means a lot to both Jack and I, especially at this time of year! Secondly, as we are now well into October, today's email concerns two patterns which are really special (and very successful) to tempt your local Grayling.

Depth Charge Jigs - Flies that don’t hang about

When Grayling fishing, I’ve lost more jig flies to the bottom of the river than I’d like to admit. The trouble is, if you’re not losing the odd one, you’re probably not fishing deep enough. You know the type of runs I mean. It’s not the pretty bit at the head of the pool but the stretch below it, where the water picks up speed and goes a shade darker. You’d put money on a fish being there.

'Jeux sans frontières' - Play Your Bosnian Joker

Our man in Bosnia has been on the tools again - this time he's updated the most popular selection of nymphs he's ever tied for us - the last time we had these (4 years ago), they all sold within 2 hours! We've called them The Bosnian Jokers ... because they're virtually guaranteed to catch you a fish, no matter what conditions you are fishing in - i.e. you're playing your Joker.

Even Easier Take Detection with our Tri-Tone Nymphing Line

I'll let you in on something ... for a long time, I wasn't very good at nymphing. I understood the theory: Get the flies down, keep them drifting naturally, feel for the take. It all sounded simple enough. Then I'd stand in my local river, flies somewhere in front of me, staring at a line, with absolutely no idea whether anything had happened or not. Was that a take? A snag? The bottom? A fish that had already spat the fly and gone back to tell its friends?

"Use the force" - On Your Local Water This Weekend

Flies from The Dark Side There are some flies we're not supposed to talk about. Mention their name in certain angling circles, and you'll get the sort of look usually reserved for someone who's just walked into a chalkstream with a box of maggots.

There are no guarantees in fly fishing - until now!

It's confession time. The nymph I use more than any other is a Pheasant Tail Nymph (they just seems to work everywhere and at any time) but I've had more Pheasant Tails fall apart in the late-season than I care to admit (especially when they've been well used throughout the season)! I assume you know the feeling - you finally find the right depth, the right drift, fish start taking an interest, and then the hook gives up or the tying starts to unravel after a few too many fish. It's a different problem than losing one on a snag, but just as annoying - you're back to square one with a fly that you hoped should've had more life left in it.

The Invertebrate ALL Fish Eat ... In The Correct Sizes

The Invertebrate ALL Fish Eat ... Today I want to turn your attention to what I believe is one of the most overlooked fly patterns - the humble shrimp (or Gammarus to give it its correct genus). Everytime you are on the water you are probably disturbing hundreds (if not thousands) of them - if you don't believe me, just turn over a large rock and see what's under it!

They're Back !! The Nested 'Hot-Spot' Jigs

In our office's 'safe storage locker' was a delivery which arrived late on Friday - one we've been eagerly expecting for a while. It contained lots of our late-season Trout & early-season Grayling goodies. Within the depths of the parcel were a few boxes of a really popular nymph selection we've not had in a while - one which you've been emailing me about since we sold out (within 1 hour) at this time back in 2024.

Innovative Scuds

The Bacchus Bug Selection

Barbless. Clothing