Small(ish) Flies = Summer Success

Now that the Mayfly season is starting to peter out throughout the UK. I wanted to try and get us ready for the more challenging part of the season - lower water and warmer weather = summer fly fishing.

This part of the season usually sees the fish quite languid (especially any stocked fish - full of Mayfly and very lethargic (at least for a few weeks).

In this missive, I'm going to give you what is, hopefully, a pretty good grounding on how to approach these conditions, and that is by using - small(ish) flies, longer leaders and light(ish) fly lines.

Also, I wanted to make you aware of some brand new Bosnian Beauties we will be releasing on Thursday:

Bosnian Beauty Teaser

We've had notification from 'our man in Bosnia' that these size 16 Bosnian Beauties will be with us tomorrow:

We will be releasing these into the wild at 07:30 on Thursday - we've only a few selections available, 30 to be precise, so if you would like one you may need to be up a little earlier than usual!

I've no doubt that we've all seen swarms of midges above the surface of the water - especially when there are sunlit pools:

Low water levels (like we are currently experiencing) and spooky fish means using small flies.

Some waters are not as full of nutrients as others, it’s these which tend to fish better using smaller flies, due in part to the fact the water cannot sustain the natural production of the larger specimens. In these waters trout can still flourish, they just alter the way they feed. Instead of selectively taking insects as and when they please (as insects are in abundance on the more nutrient rich waters), the trout in less rich waters are more opportunistic feeders.

This is where the small fly is king.

In essence:

"small(ish) flies = longer leaders = lighter fly line"

The remainder of this email will take the above and hopefully shed a little light on each.

Small(ish) Flies

When you encounter low water it's time to turn to the smaller flies in your box - when I say small, I am referring to flies which are size 16 and smaller.

It is the one piece of tackle that the fish sees and makes their decision on to eat or not. The most important part of a fly is without doubt the hook, even more so when we are using very small hooks. It is important when choosing small flies to look at the gape of the hook (i.e. the distance between the hook point and the body of the hook), make sure that the tied fly still has plenty of room between the body and the hook point, if there is hardly any room between the body of the fly and the point it will make it very difficult to hook a fish.

Generally, the hooks which are sized at 16 and smaller all are ‘wide gape’ - like these in our Gnat & Midge Lifecycle Selection:

Often, the reason small flies are dismissed by anglers is that they have trouble seeing them, there are a few remedies for this:

• For most dry fly angling it is not a necessity to actually see the fly, generally you will have a rough idea of where the fly is, if you see a rise, just lift into it – 9 times out of 10 it will be to your fly!
• If you do want to know where your fly is, either use a small fly with a hi-vis sighter post, or use the ‘Double Dry’ technique, where you use a visible dry fly and then tie a smaller dry fly from the eye of the hook on a long dropper – just like the klink n dink method, but using 2 dry flies.

Having a selection of small flies (both nymphs and dries) is essential when fishing through July and into early September. We've got you covered with all the smaller flies you will need for the whole summer in our limited run Gnat & Midge Lifecycle Selection:

 

During the summer months it is essential that you start to fish with smaller and more representative flies.

 

 

Our Gnat & Midge Lifecycle Selection is a set of 12 flies (both nymphs and dry flies) which represent all the smaller insects you will find on, and in, the water during the summer - including FREE access to our lifecycle info webpage showing you how to get the best from your selection of flies (see button below), all this for only £20.00 - which includes FREE delivery to anywhere within the UK.

 

*** We only have a limited supply of our Gnat & Midge Lifecycle Selections - 20 to be precise - with no more arriving this year! If you would like a set, you will need to be pretty quick off the mark ***

Light(ish) Fly Lines

A light fly line is like a whisper rather than a shout. When the fish are a little edgy and the river’s running thin, that whisper can make all the difference.

When rivers run low, clear, and calm in summer, trout become incredibly wary. They're extra sensitive to unnatural movements and splashy landings. That’s where specialist light fly lines (like this Thistledown 2 1wt to 4wt) come into their own.

Here’s why:

• Softer Presentations - A 1wt or 2wt line lands far more gently than a standard 4wt or 5wt. It makes barely a ripple when it touches down, which is critical when casting to spooky fish sipping tiny flies in glassy water.
• Less Line = Less Disturbance - Lighter lines have a smaller diameter and displace less air and water. That means less splash, less noise, and fewer fish darting for cover when your line lands.
• Better Control with Longer & Lighter Leaders - When you’re fishing 6X or 7X tippet (as you often are in summer), a light line matches the setup more naturally. Heavy lines can overpower fine leaders and ruin your presentation. With a light line, the whole system turns over gently and accurately.
• More Natural Drift with Small Flies - Summer dry fly fishing often involves size 16's & 18's, or even smaller. These flies have almost no weight, and a lighter line helps keep your cast soft and your drift clean — so the fly behaves more like the real insects the trout are feeding on.
• Better Feel in Tight Spots - On small streams or in close quarters, a 1wt or 2wt line allows for delicate roll casts and bow-and-arrow casts — all with minimal disturbance.

In short - If you're using any of our smaller fly selections this summer, pairing them with a lighter line could be the secret sauce to getting more takes and fewer refusals.

 

Long(ish) Leaders

If you've not already downloaded your copy of the Small Fly Manifesto (which we made available last year), then you will have already seen the leader recipes for various long & light setups to tie yourself.

Here's the best one for fishing small flies:

To the 6X at the end of the above, just add in a couple of feet of the 7X tippet and you're good to go.

However you decide to create your leader, the one thing above anything else which will increase your catch rate is the length! When fishing small flies, on low rivers you need to make your leader as long as you can possibly get away with. It is not uncommon for hardly any fly line to be outside of the rod tip and just the leader is cast.

If you would prefer to buy a specialist "ready-made" tapered leader for fishing smaller flies, then we have these 16ft Camo Tapered leaders which are perfect - there's no need to add any tippet, just tie on your fly and you're all set (they're the ones I use myself):

Snowbee French Style Knotted Tapered Leaders - Pack of 2

£10.00

 

Small Streams & Small Flies

- Our Special Offer Continues ...

This is a book we published last year - it takes an in-depth look at fishing smaller rivers, with smaller flies. In this book, you will discover the techniques, flies, watercraft and how to approach fishing in smaller streams and rivers.

Our book also discusses the type of conditions you can expect to face on small streams and the various tips, tricks and techniques used the fish them. We've also included leader configurations specifically designed for use on small streams with smaller flies.

Continuing from last week - Add a copy of our "Small Streams & Small Flies" book to an order containing our Gnat & Midge Lifecycle Selection and receive your book for half price - only £5 (usually £9.99).

***Go on, you know you want to***

 

What are you waiting for - get out there and have some fun with small flies.

P.S. We were really happy to receive the below review (thanks Gary) of one of our Summer Concierge Fly Selections - it's great to know they are also being used as gifts: