There’s always great excitement with the beginning of the trout season on most UK rivers only a few days away - I've got my eyes on some nice Greggs pasties, my fly lines cleaned, fly boxes organised and AGM's attended, I'm now just waiting for our river to open on the 1st April - it always pays to plan ahead!
I've spent the last few months dreaming of casting a small caddis imitation to a regularly rising fish (and I know the exact fish - let's hope he's still holding station this year).
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Please check out the very end of this email - I have some early-season tips to share with you and a very special Spider Selection I've put together with the help of our Artisan fly tyers - I promise it will be worth your while!
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However, I must not get too excited for the beginning of the season, as it normally starts pretty slowly with most of the action below the surface.
"So what flies do you use?"
I'm glad you asked that ...
Spiders (or Soft Hackle flies, as our friends across the pond refer to them) are my 'go-to' patterns in the first (and last) few weeks of the season. Spiders are some of the most productive flies fished in rivers today. Especially popular at the start of the Brown Trout season (March/April here in the UK). They are a fantastic way to search a river, often fished in a team of two, three or four.
A leader setup correctly with spiders is one of the best ways to search lots of water quickly. It's also one of the most fulfilling ways to fish when the weather is not conducive to using dry flies.
Usually fished in a team of either 2 or 3. They are great patterns to use with any searching technique, especially in the early season when the rivers can be higher than normal and there are no obvious hatches.
This is why we're concentrating on Spider patterns in this week's missive.
I asked our Artisan tyers if they could produce us a set of Spider patterns and they have come up with the goods (again), they suggested that the ideal hook for any spider pattern is the Hanak H130BL, so that's what we've used - always quality over cost!
QUICK SPIDER TIP: You can tell the quality of a spider pattern by looking at the body - it should be very thin, with touching turns of thread running the full length. This is then topped off with a very sparse and supple feather (Partridge or Snipe are usually the go-to materials). Most commercially tied spider patterns are way over-dressed!
We've chosen the six most productive early-season patterns:
- Greenwell's
- Hare's & Partridge
- Little Black
- Partridge & Orange
- Snipe & Purple; and
- Waterhen Bloa
We then asked them to tie the patterns on the fabulous Hanak H130BL, all in a size 14 - the perfect Spider hook and here's the result:
To view any of the above patterns in more detail, just click on the image.
Once we received the samples, we were so impressed that we asked them to tie a similar set, but each including a 2mm silver tungsten bead to the front of the tying, and the Artisan Tungsten Spider was born:
To view any of the above patterns in more detail, just click on the image.
As each of our Artisan Spider patterns are tied on branded Hanak hooks, they aren't the cheapest flies that we sell (these spiders are £1.75 each, with the tungsten variants being £1.95 each - you wouldn't believe how much tungsten has gone up by over the last few months!).
In order to cater for all budgets, we've decided to sell them in a few different ways, either as individuals or as Selections - each selection below includes three of each of the six patterns - making 18 flies in total:
Artisan Spider Selection
£28.00
Artisan Tungsten Spider Selection
£30.00
Get ready for the early season with our Artisan Spider Selections - each containing 18 flies (6 patterns, 3 of each, all tied on size 14 Hanak H130BL barbless hooks). Our Artisan Spider Selection is now available for only £28, with the Artisan Tungsten Spider Selection available for only £30, or alternatively, if only a few of the patterns have caught your eye, you can buy any of them individually by clicking the button below:
If you really want to treat yourself - or a good friend - for the start of the season, take a look at what we've put together:
If you really want to treat yourself - or a good friend - for the start of the season, take a look at what we've put together:
Our Luxury Artisan Spider Selection includes both our regular and tungsten-beaded Artisan Spider Selections (above), all presented in a stunning slimline silicone fly box - perfect for a days fishing trip.
Our Artisan Luxury Spider Selection is now available in limited quantities (we've only 9 available). Each includes a Slimline Silicone fly box along with 36 Artisan Spider patterns (all tied on size 14 Hanak H130BL barbless hooks) all for the price of only £70 - bought individually this whole bundle would be just over £80.
*** We've only a few of these Luxury Selections available, so if you would like one, you will need to be quick! ***
These make great gifts, so why not make someone’s season and present them with an Artisan Luxury Spider Selection?
*** Go on, treat yourself (or a friend) and start the season off in style ***
When there is no evidence of fish rising in the early part of the season, the very best way to search the water is to use a team of spiders. When we say 'searching the water' what we actually mean is the ability to fish multiple fly patterns through all levels of the water column at the same time.
Searching the water can be a necessity when there is more water than normal.
A balanced leader, setup correctly with spiders is one of the best ways to search lots of water quickly. It's also one of the most fulfilling ways to fish when the weather is not conducive for dry flies.
Q. I've always liked the look of spiders/soft-hackles, but I've never fished them before, how do I use them?
A. We're glad you asked:
Spiders (or Soft Hackle flies) are one of the most popular flies used in rivers today and for good reason. They are very easy to fish and a really effective method at the beginning of the trout season!
Usually fished in a team of either 2 or 3, and sometimes even 4. They are a great searching technique, especially in the early season when the rivers can be higher than normal and there are no obvious hatches.
TACKLE SETUP
An ideal tackle setup for spider fishing is:
- Rod: 10’ 4wt with a soft tip is a good starter setup
- Fly Line: Any 4wt fly line will do, but one with a long taper is ideal
- Leader: A 9' to 12' tapered leader (4X or 5X). Make sure it is degreased so it sinks easily.
- Leader Configuration: Typically start with a 2 fly leader which is around 5' long in total. This should consist of 2' to 3' tippet to your first dropper (6 inches long) and then a further 18” to 36” to the point fly, see below.
- Use a small spider on the dropper and a larger spider/bead-head spider as the point fly.
- When fishing at close quarters use a furled leader for better turnover
EXAMPLE SPIDER LEADER SETUPS
Spider patterns are usually fishing in a team of multiple flies. This allows you to cover as much of the water column as possible in a single swing of the flies. If fishing this way in fater water (as is usually the case in the early part of the season) then it pays to use a weighted spider as the point fly:
When fishing spiders with multiple flies, if you can, use a fluorocarbon tippet as this sinks faster than standard nylon and is supposedly less visible to the fish.
LEARNING CENTRE ARTICLE - There's a comprehensive article on our Learning Centre, which goes into detail on Early Season Trout Tactics (including fishing with Spider-style patterns).
You can read it for free by clicking here.
Tight lines and here's to a great season ahead.
