Boutique Polish Quills
Boutique Dry Flies
We've teamed up again with our favourite boutique fly shop (Polish Quills) to offer some of their signature flies, namely the Quill Hackle & Quillhammer. These flies are ideal for this time of year - i.e. low summer rivers. I do know there has been loads of rain in the south of the UK, but up here in the 'sunny' North we've hardly had any, and our rivers are still very low.
If you don't know of Polish Quills, they specialise in tying flies which are successful on the San River in Poland. Fishing on the San they often use very sparse flies imitating all kinds of olives, ideally with an abdomen made of stripped peacock quills for segmentation. Polish Quills are masters at tying quill bodied flies, as you will see from the flies below ...
The Quill Hackle is a high floating pattern for very picky trout and grayling, this fly is tied on a size 14 hook and stands high on the water thanks to the sparse, but spiky hackle. The body is made of stripped peacock quill and we are supplying these in 5 colour variations (Natural, Golden Olive, Rusty Brown, Olive & Ginger). Apply a gel floatant only to the hackle of these flies when straight out of the box, then refresh with a powdered floatant once used.
Show me The Polish QuillHammer Pattern
This is the quill bodied version of a Klinkhammer (tied on a size 14 hook), which comes in 5 basic colours (Natural, Orange, Yellow, Pink & Olive) with hi-vis posts. We recommend putting a gel floatant on the polypropylene before use to keep it floating and well visible (once wet, use a powdered floatant). This fly can be fished alone but often is used as an indicator when fishing "duo" or New Zealand style or klink-and-dink, if one prefers. You can find out more about the Klink n Dink method at the end of this email
We are still running our '1 to use, 1 to lose & 1 to give away' promotion on all our flies - buy 3 or more and receive a 10% discount, buy 5 or more and receive a 15% discount.
Each of the above flies (Quill Hackle & Quillhammer) are being sold individually for only £1.75 each (which includes free delivery). Just click on any image or button in this email to view details and buy your flies.
Just One More Thing!
Save these for 'flying ant day' - There’s no exact date every year, but 'flying ant day' usually happens at some point in July/August.
Show Me the Polish Quills Ant Patterns
It is thought to be when a spell of wet weather is followed closely by hot humid weather, and Queen ants take this as their cue to leave their nest - with the males following. We've managed to secure these ant patterns (probably the best you can buy, anywhere) from Polish Quills. You will not want to be without these if there are ever any ants in the air.
Available now for only £1.75 each - all in a size 16 (very limited quantities).
The Klink 'n' Dink/Duo/New Zealand Method
This method is, without doubt, the best way to search water when there are no obvious signs of fish activity - a situation you regularly come across when fishing during the day in the height of summer. Essentially it is a way of fishing a dry fly and a nymph at the same time. You can use the same rod, line and leader as you would when fishing a dry fly. Here's a couple of rigs to get you started:
Typical Leader Setup - Method 1
- Using a 3-turn water knot (or Surgeons knot), tie in a length of tippet which is 1.5 times the depth you want to fish at to your leader, leaving a short dropper of around 3" (the dropper should be the piece which is pointing away from your fly line.
- Tie the dry fly to the dropper.
- Tie your nymph to the end of the tippet.
- Cast upstream and watch the dry fly for any signs of a take on the nymph - it will either bob under or stop.
Typical Leader Setup - Method 2
- To your existing tippet, tie in the dry fly.
- To the eye of the hook in your dry fly, tie in another section of tippet which is roughly 1.5 times the depth at which you want the nymph to fish at.
- Tie your nymph to the end of the tippet.
- Cast upstream and watch the dry fly for any signs of a take on the nymph - it will either bob under or stop.
I usually prefer to opt for Method 2 of the above rigs. It's a little easier to tie, and does not tangle so much, but can be less sensitive. As a rule of thumb (and to keep your dry fly floating) always use a nymph which is at least 2 sizes smaller than the dry fly (if using a tungsten nymph try 4 sizes smaller - i.e. a size 18 nymph with a size 14 dry).