Deer Hair Emerger Selection
stillwaters) across the whole of the UK. Made popular by Bob Wyatt in his
classic book 'Trout Hunting - The Pursuit of Happiness' - do grab a copy if you
ever see one for sale:
the design of the pattern that allows the fly to be picked out among others,
rather than ignored – such as its silhouette or size.
this style of fly is in the rough body and the deer hair used - it has to be hair
from the winter coat of the animal as this is more buoyant due to the increased
amount of air contained within each strand (each strand of deer hair is hollow
and is a great insulator).
The key to fishing this style of pattern is how you treat the fly when dry - just
apply a little floatant to the tips of the deer har. This will cock the fly to sit
correctly in the water, you need the fly to sit so you can only see the tips of the
deer hair on the water surface.
For more tips on fishing emerger style flies, please check out the end of this
email - we've added a section on how to fish this style of fly.
Emerger style patterns. Patterns which I've used with success in the
past. We've curated this Deer Hair Emerger Selection based on the flies which:
1. We've found are the most popular on our site; and
2. Ones which I use myself on my local river
To this end, we have created our Deer Hair Emerger Selection which contains
four variations of the classic pattern - Original, Black, White & March Brown:
patterns - see above, 2 each of sizes 14 & 16). We are supplying all of these for
only £20. All are supplied in our eco-friendly packaging. Just click on any
image or button in this email to view the flies in more detail.
CHARGE to anywhere
Early Season Conditions
Fishing in the early part of the season (March and April) can be very
challenging, depending on which part of the British Isles you are located.
Generally, the further South and West you are the better the fishing will be at
this time of year – the North and Scotland always seem to lag a couple or three
weeks behind the South of the British Isles as far as hatches and river fish
activity go.
Dry Fly Leader Setup for Emergers
Firstly, when setting up your leader for fishing emergers, do not use
fluorocarbon tippet, as this will sink and drag your fly under with it, use a thin
supple mono (there are plenty to choose from such as Stroft & Orvis
SuperStrong Plus etc). When building your leader, take note of the river size, if
you are fishing a small overgrown stream, it's going to be difficult in most
places to cast a 14ft leader, so try cutting back a 9' 6X leader by a few feet, and
replacing what you cut off with your chosen tippet. All it means is you will need
to wade very carefully in order to not spook any fish.
Early Season = Slower Water
When fishing in the early season the fish will not be really active, so target the
deeper slacker water either to the side or below any riffles. As you will be
fishing with an 'emerger style' fly which is not very visible you may struggle to
see it (or it will sink) when in very turbulent water - in this case use the 'double
dry' technique:
The Double Dry
This technique is the same setup as the duo, but instead of using a dry fly and
a nymph - use two dry flies, one larger and more visible; and one small, the
trailing fly should be the smaller one. How to rig:
1. Tie the larger more visible dry fly to the end of your tippet.
2. Tie a separate length of tippet (usually around 2ft long) to the eye of the
larger dry fly.
3. To the end of this tippet, tie in your smaller fly.
Remember: When casting a rig such as this it is better to use a
slow/medium rod and a wide casting arc - a fast rod will cause the loops to be
too tight and will cause you no end of tangles. A slower rod (glass is ideal for
this style) will allow you to cast a heavier dry rig with a wide loop at short
distances.
Tight lines.
