Something Very Very Caddisy - If that's even a word! May, June & to some extent July, are brilliant months to be a fly angler. They're also, if you run a fly fishing business, the months where you spend most of your time not fishing. Read more
Guess What? - He didn't say flies. You may remember that last winter we dipped our toes into clothing with the 'barbless. beanie'. A simple idea - something understated, well-made, and wearable on the bank or off it. Read more
in-fal-uh-buhl - The Spring (and Summer) Fly That Never Fails I'm really looking forward to this weekend ... I'm testing some new fly patterns. Last Friday, we received the first samples of our "Summer Fly" orders from 'the guys who tie' for us. Included in the order were a dozen each of some new patterns which I will be testing out - if successful, the final quantities will be with us in early July - it's a tough job, but someone has to do it! Read more
They've taken six months to tie - You've only got a few days to order. There's a moment, somewhere around the second week of May, when everything in the fly fishing calendar changes. Read more
The Doge & His Daughter This is one of my favourite emails to send, those of you who have been in our community for a while may have seen a version of it before - but it's a good one! Please keep reading as these are all brand-new patterns & materials for 2026. Read more
The Weight of the Matter - Early Season Sorted! We all know that fishing in the first few weeks of the river season can be tricky - it's always best to approach any venture to the river before May with as much information as possible and the right flies. Read more
The fly that doesn't care what's hatching! There's a moment in mid-April that I genuinely look forward to. It usually happens around mid-morning. The temperature's climbed just enough, the sun's got a bit of warmth in it, and somewhere above the water - river or reservoir, it doesn't matter - you start to notice the first proper surface activity of the year. Read more
Happy Twanging - Dry Flies Which Work Everywhere (All The Time) When we first launched Barbless Flies, way back in 2014 (see our original logo below) we started with only two selections of dry flies. Read more
Fancy Something Bosnian This Easter? There's a small workshop somewhere in Bosnia - I've never been, but I like to imagine it the way all good tying rooms look: vice bolted to a worn bench, materials organised in a way that makes sense only to the tyer who owns them, and flies drying in rows that would make most of us quietly ashamed of our own efforts. Read more
A Very Very Caddisy April There's a moment in April that every river angler knows. You're standing in a pool that's been dead all evening, when all of a sudden the surface wakes up. Fish everywhere. Rings spreading across water that was glass five minutes ago. And if you look closely at the air around you, you'll see them: caddis flies, tumbling and skittering across the surface like they've forgotten how flying works. Read more
According To Alexa It's March Brown Day Next Week The Future of Fly Fishing? With all of this talk of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it will take over the world, I thought I would bring Barbless Flies Towers into the 21st century and an Amazon Alexa has been strategically placed in the office - Jack is very amused when I start arguing with it - to be fair, it's not too bad at answering any question I throw at it - but I can't see it standing in a stream casting a size 18 Griffith's Gnat to a selectively rising wild fish any day soon - it would need a long extension lead! Read more
Early Season Tactics - Start Planning Now 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! Read more
