The Rock 'n' Roll Rhyaco

by Richard Fieldhouse

Morning,

Quick question: when was the last time you tied on a Rhyacophila imitation?

If you're scratching your head, wondering what I'm on about, you're not alone.

Most anglers can rattle off their favourite sedge patterns, point to a box full of shrimp imitations, and wax lyrical about their preferred PTN variant.

But Rhyacophila? The free-swimming caddis larvae that trout and grayling absolutely hammer year-round?

While we're all obsessing over the sedge hatch, these aggressive little predators are crawling/swimming across the riverbed 365 days a year, and the fish know it.

Introducing: The Rock n Roll Rhyaco

We've just added these lightly-weighted, resin-coated nymphs to our site, and I'm genuinely excited about them (which doesn't happen often, I get excited about fishing, but here we are):

  • They're all tied on Size 14 strong grub hooks; in
  • Four body colours: Black, Pink, Red and White

Their wired bodies get them down faster in broken water. The hard resin coating means they'll survive more than three fish before falling apart.

They're only £1.85 each, or grab a full selection of twelve (3 each of all four colours) for only £19.

Why should you care about Rhyacophila?

Fair question. Here's the thing most anglers miss:

Rhyacophila caddis larvae are completely different from the case-building caddis we all know and love to imitate. While sedge larvae sensibly build themselves protective stone houses and stay put, Rhyacophila are the wanderers, free-swimming predators that prowl the riverbed on the hunt for food.

No case. No shelter. Just a fat, juicy larva clinging to rocks in fast water.

For trout and grayling, they're like finding a fiver in an old jacket pocket - you're having that.

Where to find them:

Rhyacophila love fast, well-oxygenated water.

Think:

  • Broken runs over cobbles and rocks
  • Pocket water between rocks
  • The heads and tails of pools where the current accelerates
  • Pretty much anywhere with decent flow and a stony bottom

They're active all year round, but they're absolute gold during winter when grayling are on the feed and other food sources are scarce. I've had days on my local fast-flowing rivers where nothing else would get a look-in, but a lightly-weighted Rhyaco imitation would pull fish from every run.

What about Summer? Still deadly. Trout don't suddenly stop eating them just because there are mayflies about.

How To Fish Your Rock n Roll Rhyaco's

Nothing complicated:

Use them as your point fly (heaviest fly) in a two-nymph rig, or fish them solo under an indicator if you prefer. You want them bouncing along the bottom, proper dead-drift, right in the zone where these naturals live.

Cast upstream, get a good drift through the faster water, and watch your indicator like a hawk. Takes are often subtle because the fish are picking them off the stones rather than chasing them mid-water.

The four different colours give you options:

  • Black – your go-to in most conditions, natural dark body
  • Pink – high-vis attractor when fish are being picky or the water's coloured
  • Red – doubles as a bloodworm imitation (bonus)
  • White – clear water and bright conditions when you need something visible to the fish, but not alarming

Red-Neck Hare's Ear Tungsten Nymph Kit

We've only got 40 of these Rock n Roll Rhyaco Selections available - I'm keeping a few back for myself, to use (and lose) over the next few weeks!

Our Rock n Roll Rhyaco Selection contains 3 each of the 4 body colours (Black, Pink, Red & White) - all tied on size 14 strong barbless grub hooks.

That's twelve flies in total, for only £19.00 delivered in our eco-friendly packaging free of charge to anywhere in the UK.

Please Note: We've also reserved some of our Rock n Roll Rhyaco's to sell individually, in packs of 6 or packs of 12 - from only £1.85.

*** Go on, treat yourself - you know you want to - at only £19 for the selection, these will not hang around for long! ***

Limited Edition Boxed Selection ...

LIMITED EDITION BOXES: Before Christmas we received some brand new fly boxes (we launched a limited run of them with our Jig Apps Selection) - they have a y-slit silicon mat base and a magnetic closure for the lid (very handy when you're changing flies).

We've made up a few of our Rock n Roll Rhyaco Selections in our new boxes (10 to be exact) to try out, and are making them available as an option with our  Selection. If you'd like one, there's an option to include one with your Rock n Roll Rhyaco Selection for only an extra £12.50. If they prove to be as successful as I think they will be - I've just swapped over all my Tacky boxes in favour of these - we will be filling our shelves with them in the coming months.

If you're serious about your river fishing, whether that's wild trout or winter grayling, you should have a few of these in your box (Pink & White ones for Grayling, Red & Black ones for Wild Trout).

They're one of those patterns that consistently produce when other flies are getting ignored.

 

Tight Lines.

P.S. I'm genuinely curious, do you already fish Rhyacophila imitations? If so, what's your go-to pattern? Hit reply and let me know. I'm always looking for an excuse to tie (and experiment with) more flies.

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