Successful Summer Flies - Inspired By Our Friends Across The Pond
With the weather starting to be a little more settled across the country, fishing both in Rivers and on Stillwaters will start to really pick up. In today's email i'm going to concentrate on some staple patterns which all fly anglers should at least consider - It just so happen that all of the patterns have their origins in the U S of A.
To help you get the most from fishing in the coming week(s), we've split this email into three separate sections:
Section 1 - River Flies - Adams & Wulffs
Section 2 - Stillwater Flies - Muddlers & Montanas
Section 3 - Summer Dry Fly Fishing Tips for Rivers & Stillwaters
there's a great chance that the dry fly action will really start in earnest later this week. Especially with the Iron Blue hatch just on the horizon - but more about those at the weekend.
TL;DR - Too Long; Didn't Read
I know that some of you are pressed for time and save our emails to read later in the day, by this time our selections are sometimes sold out (I get lots of emails from customers pointing this out to me).
I've put this section at the beginning, so you can grab your flies now - and save reading my musings for later, safe in the knowledge that you have already secured your fly selections.
This email is all about patterns which should be every fly anglers boxes - all have their origins from the USA.
USA Inspired River Fly Selections:
At the very end of this email we've also got some great tips to enhance your Dry Fly game this summer.
Section 1
River Flies - The Adams
The Adams - Originally tied, in 1922, by Leonard Halladay and named after his good friend Charles Adams. The image below is taken from a fantastic book called, Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies by Mike Valla, where there is a whole chapter dedicated to the Adams - if you are into rolling your own flies, this book is a worthy investment - here at Barbless Flies we take lots of inspiration from it.
No one is really sure which insects the Adams imitate - a good guess would be an olive, but they really do work well, as such, the Adams is a fly which should be in all angler fly box.
Generally tied in two different styles, original and parachute versions:
- Original - With a hackle running a third of the way down the hook shank.
- Parachute - With the hackle tied horizontally around a sighting post
The way in which both of these variants are tied ensures the fly floats high on the surface - and stays there with only a little floatant added!
*** The Adams fly is one that should be in all river anglers fly boxes ***
River Flies - The Wulff
The UPDATED Barbless Wulff Selection, during the tail end of the Mayfly hatch and the start of the summer hatches, the Wulff series of flies are the first thing I tie on, they are great searching patterns and are good representations of the major up-winged flies found on the river at these times. Here we have a selection of 16 Wulffs four different patterns (to cover the major river types/colours in the UK) in two different sizes (12 & 16).
The Wulff dry fly was first tied by Lee Wulff, and with its bushy hackle is a great fly for those riffles which would sink a more delicate fly. Fish these flies as a standard dry, but don't be afraid to also fish these when they are wet - they are surprisingly successful when fished in the surface film! The Wulff flies come into their own in an afternoon through to late evenings.
When searching the river with a Wulff, try this technique:
- From the bank, section the river into lanes about 3ft wide.
- Cast upstream and make 3 or 4 drifts in the nearest lane, repeat for each lane, working away from you.
- Step upstream and repeat the process.
More details (and close-up images of each fly) can be found on the product page - just click on any image or button above to view the selection details.
Our Adams and Wulff selections is available again, each as a selection of 16 flies (4 different patterns - see above, 2 each of each size). We are supplying each of these selections for only £20 - which includes FREE delivery to anywhere within the UK.
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.
Adams Selection
£20.00
Wulff Selection
£20.00
*** Just a gentle reminder that all our products are shipped FREE OF CHARGE to anywhere within the UK ***
Section 2
Stillwater Flies - The Mini Muddler
The Muddler Minnow was invented by Don Gapen of Minnesota, in 1937, to imitate the sculpin. The Muddler, as it is informally known by anglers, was popularised by Montana fisherman and fly tier Dan Bailey. It is now a popular pattern worldwide with the flies distinguished by their clipped deer hair heads.
Effective retrieval tactics for the Mini Muddler include stripping the floating Muddler across the water surface rhythmically, imparting a "wake", or allowing the Muddler to sink and twitching or pulsating it against or across any current.
An unweighted Muddler will float and appears as a moth or struggling crane fly. With a tiny piece of split shot in front of it (or an intermediate flyline) the Muddler can be made to swim slowly over weedbeds and shallow gravel bars. With more weight, the Muddler can be stripped wildly in the shallows to imitate a small fish or fry.
Stillwater Flies - The Montana
The original Montana fly variant was tied by Lew Oatman from New York. It was tied to give a general impression of a range of large stonefly nymphs. We have a selection of barbless Montanas, especially tied for year-round Stillwater fishing, ideally targeting rainbow trout, but fished deep in the summer months and you are equally as likely to pick up the odd brown trout.
Fishing Muddler and Montana style patterns is all about the retrieve, effective retrieval tactics include:
- An unweighted Muddler or Montana will float and appears as a Hopper/Daddy Long Legs. Stripping the floating Muddler across the water surface rhythmically, imparting a "wake" will induce a take
- Allowing the Muddler or Montana to sink just under the surface and twitching or pulsating it against or across any current - especially near any water aerators or inlets.
- With a tiny piece of weight added in front of the fly (or an intermediate fly line or sinking tapered leader) the Muddler and Montana can be made to swim slowly over weed beds and shallow gravel bars
- With more weight, the Muddler or Montana can be stripped quickly in the shallows to imitate and alarmed fry
- Allowed to settle in deeper water the Muddler or Montana may be fished right on the bottom. When fishing on the bottom they must be fished slowly, with occasional fast strips of maybe a foot or two, as if trying to escape a predator.
More details (and close-up images of each fly) can be found on the product page - just click on any image or button above to view the selection details.
Our Mini-Muddler and Montana Selections are available again, each as a selection of 16 flies (4 different patterns - see above, 2 each of each size). We are supplying each of these selections for only £20 - which includes FREE delivery to anywhere within the UK.
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.
Mini Muddler Selection
£20.00
Montana Selection
£20.00
*** Just a gentle reminder that all our products are shipped FREE OF CHARGE to anywhere within the UK ***
Section 3 - Top Dry Fly Tips
When thinking about dry fly leaders, material choice is a subject in itself, here are a few pointers to get you started:
- Nylon/Copolymer: Generally more cost effective and slightly thicker than Fluorocarbon.
- Fluorocarbon: Denser than water so will sink, great when covering very spooky fish.
Use whichever material you have confidence in, this is the weak point in any setup, confidence in knot strength is everything!
Leader Material Sizes: The X system marked on spools of tippet determines the diameter of the tippet (the bigger the X number, the thinner the tippet):
Leader Length
If the water is small or rough, use a leader which is roughly the length of the rod. If the water is calm, extend the leader to between 11' and 15', then add 2' to 4' of tippet. Just remember:
"the calmer the water, the spookier the fish,
the smaller the fly, the longer and finer tippet you need.”
To enable your dry fly to turn over correctly (which is our main aim), your tippet should always be balanced to the size of your fly:
Leader Recipes
In this section, I will give you some leader designs for different length leaders. Using all of the above information you can define which length leader you need, use these designs as a starting point. All of these leader designs end with 6X and are designed for rods from 2 weight to 5 weight - happy tying:
Tight lines.
