Confidence - The Key To Success?

I'm firmly of the belief that confidence is the secret ingredient to success in fly fishing. It’s a slight mindset shift, but can be the difference between casting with purpose and thrashing the water into a foam which you local barista would be proud of!

Fish may only have small brains, but they somehow always seem to sense when you're not feeling it.

Let’s talk about how to fish (for Grayling) with the swagger of someone who knows their Pheasant Tail Jig from their Partridge & Orange.

I putting these emails together I always try to make sure that they are:

1. Entertaining (hopefully),
2. Educational; and
3. Relevant

If you're the same as me, you will have a special fly box, full of flies which are your "confidence" patterns - i.e. the ones which you just know, when the going gets tough, they will work.

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 selection.

This email is all about the Pixie Nymph - a fly which has now cemented itself in my "confidence" fly box - read on to find out why.

Grab yours Today before they run out - we've only 30 Selections available:

 

My "confidence" box only contains about 4 different patterns, all in various sizes and weights - if you're interested I've listed the patterns at the end of this email.

My "confidence" fly box has now got a new addition to it - The Pixie Nymph:

Working in the fly fishing industry, you read (and hear) all sorts of stories about 'killer flies' and 'deadly patterns' - it's only when I hear the same thing from a number of different (independent sources) that I start to take a little notice.

The Pixie Nymph is one of those patterns ...

I first came across this pattern a few years ago in a forum post (the pattern was originally devised by Phil Dixon) and someone had posted that it worked really well on the Welsh Dee for Grayling.

Then, on a phone call earlier this year with a customer (thanks Marc) he mentioned that I should think about stocking it as it worked really well on the southern chalk streams (again for Grayling) for the customers he guided.

Back in September last year I tied a few up and gave them a swim on my local Yorkshire Derwent. I picked up lots of small Brown Trout with them (and the odd out-of-season Grayling - which are very scarce on that particular river) - so there could be something in it!

The initial pattern I tied up had a white bead - rather than the more common orange one - as it was the only colour I had to hand!

After it's success in September I sent the recipe and a few samples over to the guys who tie for us and asked them to tie up a full set of various colours in sizes 12 & 14.

The finished patterns arrived with us on Christmas Eve (in that DPD delivery I mentioned previously).

I had a trip planned (to a good Grayling river about 45mins away from us) over the Christmas break with good friend Andy, so I thought I would give them a swim and see what happens.

At this point you'll be expect me to say that I cleared the river of fish - but that's not what happened ...

Now, Andy is a very proficient angler - he can catch fish in a puddle - both of us arrived at the river for 10am, went our separate ways along the river, and started fishing - we caught up with each other again for a spot of lunch at around 1pm, both of us empty handed with not even a sniff of a fish!

It was going to be one of those days!

With about an hour of daylight remaining I fished out the Pixie Nymphs from my chest-pack and tied one on, not expecting much, but I'd thrown virtually everything else at the fish with no response, it couldn't do any harm.

About 3 casts later I had the smallest Grayling you could imagine in the net! About 6 inches long, but perfectly formed.

A couple more casts ...

Another Grayling, this one a little bigger and very welcome.

Both fish taken on the Pixie nymph - one to the white bead and one to the gunmetal bead.

Catching up with Andy a little later, he'd also had a couple of fish to a similar looking nymph.

I always look on the bright side - I consider this a success, it would have been very easy to blank on what was a very tough days fishing - but the Pixie nymph seemed to do the trick.

With that (and a very successful trip using them just after new year), the Pixie Nymph has now cemented itself in a special section in my "confidence" fly box.

My "confidence" Fly Patterns

As mentioned above, I have a special fly box, full of my "confidence" patterns - i.e. the patterns I reach for when all else fails. As promised, here's what they are:

Trout Patterns:

Indicator Caddis - perfect when fishing late-spring and summer mornings and evenings.

IOBO Humpy - This pattern seems to work when all other fail, especially during the day when the suns out and the going gets tough.

Split-Wing CdC Olive - takes a little looking after and pretty delicate, but there's o better pattern when the Blue-Winged Olives appear.

Red-Neck PTN - the ideal pattern for early (and late) season trout, seems to catch fish anywhere in the world!

Grayling Patterns:

Duracell Jig - I use these when the water is coloured (which is very regularly with our peat-stained rivers)

Green Bomb Tungsten Jig - A clear water specialist fly, seems to work really well on chalk streams.

Pheasant Tail Javi - The fly I reach for when the waters deep and running fast.

And now ...

The Pixie Nymph - Just seems to work when the river is quiet and nothings moving.

The Pixie Nymph ...

As you probably know by now, we're pretty geeky when it comes to nymphs!

The Pixie Nymph colour variations included in our selection are:

• Copper Bead - 2 each of sizes 12 & 14
• Gunmetal Bead - 2 each of sizes 12 & 14
• Orange Bead - 2 each of sizes 12 & 14
• White Bead - 2 each of sizes 12 & 14

We've kept the price of these nymphs as low as we can, and we have something to suit all budgets.

How much I hear you ask - £1.50 for each individual fly, £20 for the full selection of 16 or £42.50 for the full selection including one of Tacky's specialist Double-Sided nymph boxes.

We have 10 dozen of each Pixie Nymph and have reserved 60 of each for sale as individuals only, so we only have only have 30 of these full selections for sale - they will never be produced in large numbers due to the time taken to tie/make each fly, so grab yous now - while you still can!

Please Note: These flies have been specifically tied for fishing in the water levels and flows we experience through Autumn and Winter here in the UK and are ideal for both rivers and stillwaters.

*** As always, all orders are shipped free of charge to any location within the UK ***

If you would like a set, you will need to be quick off the mark!

Here are a few more images to really tempt you:

Go on, you know you want to!

These Pixie nymphs are designed to catch fish, at depth. Therefore it is important when fishing these nymphs to follow these few tips to make sure the presentation of the nymph is as realistic as possible.

The key to fishing with any tungsten beaded nymph is the make sure the fly is presented in the best way possible. Here are a few tip to allow you to get the most when fishing with this style of fly:

• Choose Your Water: This style of fly is particularly proficient when fishing small pocket water, i.e. lots of short runs where you need to get the fly down quickly.
• Fly Presentation Techniques - 1: To get the fly as deep as possible, as quickly as possible, you need to make sure the fly enters the water before your leader - to do this make sure to stop your rod tip much higher than usual. This will force the fly to enter the water first and also put the rod in the correct position to keep you in contact with the fly as soon as it enters the water.

• Fly Presentation Techniques - 2: For the fly to sink as quickly as possible, it needs to enter the water at its maximum velocity. To do this add a single haul to the final cast before presenting the fly - this will speed up your line and in-turn the flies entry to the water.
• Fly Presentation Techniques - 3: When fishing with a heavy beaded fly, you need to present it on (or near to) the bottom,  when the fly enters the water it is usually better to lead the fly through the water - keeping in contact so you can detect any takes. The speed with which you lead the fly varies depending upon the speed of the water, but I usually lead it through just slightly slower than the water is flowing. Remember, that the water on the bottom will always flow slower than the water on the surface and you need the nymph to react as normally as possible.

This style of nymph is generally used in the faster stretches of water, due to its slim profile, it will sink very quickly and can get to the river bed fast. This allows you longer drifts each time you cast. However, using these flies will also allow you to fish those slower parts, which anglers usually pass by.

Tight lines, wrap up warm & put a Pixie in your life.