2wheels1rod

BFFI (British Fly Fair International) 2018 Roundup

Did you attend this year’s BFFI (British Fly Fair International) exhibition? Thinking about attending next year’s show already? Whether you’re a business within the fly fishing and fly tying industry or you’re passionate about fly fishing in your spare time, you’re probably already aware of the BFFI fly fair. Barbless Flies were at this year’s show and we absolutely loved it! So we thought we’d create a roundup of what all the other exhibitors thought of the show as well.

Grayling Fishing - The Basics

The Grayling - the most wonderful of game fish, well that's my thoughts on them. I love fishing for Grayling and really look forward to the close season for Brown Trout and the anticipation of hunting for Grayling in the colder weather. So where do we start with this?

Mini Tungsten Nymphs

Mini Tungsten Nymphs Sometimes when you are grayling fishing, you need to present a small fly at depth, that's where these mini tungsten nymphs come into their own. With their small size (only 7mm long) and slim profiles, these nymphs will sink quickly. Our Mini Tungsten nymphs are tied on size 20 barbless hooks (even though these are size 20 hooks, 6x tippet - 0.13mm will still go through the eye quite easily). At this time of year, when the grayling are still fairly spread out and are not nailed to the river bed, these flies are deadly, even on pressured water. Try suspending one of these as a part of a Duo setup, French Nymphing on a long leader or short line Czech Nymphing on a dropper. We have put this selection together specifically with this time of year and grayling in mind, we present a selection of 8 Mini Tungsten Nymphs, four different patterns, two each of size 20 for £16. We are not offering these as individual flies as we only have 15 selections in stock (they are so fiddly and time-consuming to tie) so you will have to be quick!

Czech Nymphing for Grayling

Czech Nymphing for Grayling Czech Nymph fishing is a style of nymph fishing practised by keeping in close contact with the flies at close range, generally in faster riffles (so you can get closer to the fish) just under the rod tip. In most cases there is no fly line outside of the reel and a Czech Indicator/8m Leader is used. This gives you an enhanced feel for the flies as they are drifting along the river bed. Czech Nymphs are weighted flies tied on grub hooks to imitate fresh water shrimps/scuds. Typical characteristics of a Czech nymph fly are the slim profile (to allow it to sink quickly), a back covered with latex and a mono rib. As luck would have it - we've got you covered where Czech Nymphing for Grayling is concerned, with our NEW Czech Nymph Selection. We have put together a selection of 24 Czech Nymphs, eight different patterns in two different styles. We are offering these selections for £30 and only have 25 in stock - so you will have to be quick! Our Czech Nymph selection is made up of 2 distinct type of flies Heavy Ceramics: Use these on the point of a 2 fly setup, to get your rig down quickly. Czech Nymphs: Use on a 6" dropper (about 12" above the point fly). How to fish our Czech Nymph Selection Using a specialist Czech Leader (or a short indicator) tie a length of tippet roughly equivalent to the depth of the water you will be fishing. To this add a short section (about 12" long) tied with a 3-turn water knot, use this to create a 6" dropper (shorter droppers don't tangle as much). To the point, tie in one of the heavy ceramic flies, and to the dropper use one of the Czech Nymphs. Cast/Lob the flies upstream and track them back to you, keeping the rod tip just ahead of the flies. Stop the rod tip just in front of you and let the flies drift downstream, feeling for takes all the time. Using this method, Grayling are know to take the fly as it rises through the water column (known as the "induced take").

Mini Streamers - Bigger Fish?

Mini Streamers A streamer is a lure which usually represents a minnow/fry, which are present in both rivers and stillwaters from July/August onward. They particularly come into their own for rivers in September, and for stillwaters from September to December. To a trout, these patterns seem very much alive when any action is imparted to them - therefore these are fished quite actively (try twitching them down and across through any deep holes!). These Streamers are tied to represent small fry. They are tied sparsely and measure only 3.5 cm in length, so accurately mimic the size and form of minnows/fry. Another advantage to these streamers (with their small profile and light weight) is that they can be fished on lighter rods (2# to 4#) - no need to take 2 rods to the river when fishing light. How to fish them High Water - When the rivers are running higher than normal or coloured, try running a streamer through the back eddies. Keep out of the main flow, and think like a minnow! Also try dead drifting the streamer downstream, then retrieve it back (across the flow) with the odd twitch. Low Light Conditions - With trout feeding more confidently in low light conditions, try a streamer after the evening rise has finished. You will be surprised and what you can catch (even in just a few inches of water). Concentrate on fishing the tails of pools and shallower riffles. It's also worthwhile pulling a streamer through any flat water just as nightfall starts, again, trout feed more confidently after dusk. These flies are only available individually in sizes 10 & 12 (at £2.50 each). Click on the buttons below to view more details on our Mini Streamers. Link to both streamers are below: Mini Streamer - Pink Mini Streamer - Silver Go on you know you want to!

Updated Scuds - Grayling Colours

Updated Scuds Due to the success of the scud selection, we re-ordered them and now have them back in stock and in updated colours (we thought the other were all too similar colours, so now we have updated the selection to include some sweets for the Grayling in your life - Get ready for Grayling early this year. These flies are tied with either an olive or grey hare dubbing and segmented bead bodies, then a clear UV shell is applied, making them virtually indestructible! These scuds are specifically designed for UK rivers and are uncanny imitations of the natural invertebrates found throughout the UK. We present to you this selection of 8 Scuds, four different patterns, two of each, in size 14. Again, we are making the flies available to you either as a selection (for £20), or as individual flies (at £2.75 each). We know these are quite expensive flies, but we think you will agree the quality is stunning (and they catch fish!). Go on you know you want to!

Psycho Rhyaco's

Psycho Rhyaco's Rhyacophila are Caddis larvae - found in virtually all flowing water in the UK. It’s a "Caseless Caddis" - meaning it doesn’t build itself a case from the river bed. Very similar in style, size and form to a shrimp/scud these Caddis prefer shallow riffles and often get caught up in currents, making them easy pickings for Trout & Grayling. With the help of Stan (of Ceramic Flies) we have created this selection of Barbless Rhyacophila Larvae which should be one of your first patterns to use when searching a river. These flies have segmented bead bodies and tied with black dubbing heads (just like the real thing), then a coloured UV shell is applied, making them virtually indestructible! These rhyacophila larvae are specifically designed for UK rivers and are uncanny imitations of the natural invertebrates found throughout the UK. Here we have a selection of 8 Rhyacophila Larvae, four different patterns, two of each in size 12. Due to the amount of time taken and the cost involved, we only have 25 of each fly, therefore only 12 selections are available, you will have to be quick! Once again here at Barbless Flies, we are making the flies available to you either as a selection (for £20), or as individual flies (at £2.75 each). We know these are quite expensive flies, but we think you will agree the quality is stunning (and they catch fish!). Go on you know you want to!

Daddies & Hoppers

September Special Offer Daddies & Hoppers Be it Rivers or Stillwaters - This time of year (September) is the prime month for these larger terrestrials. Daddy Long Legs: Generally seen from August through to October, they hatch in the ground on cool humid mornings. It pay to fish these when the wind is blowing, the daddy long legs is not good at flying and are always blown onto the water. The legs on these flies seem to act as a trigger to the fish (especially when twitched). Hoppers: Really productive flies throughout the UK and equally effective in both rivers & stillwaters. Hoppers are generally fished as you would a dry fly, or as a point fly in a team of buzzers. Don't forget to use a slightly heavier tippet than you would normally use - it reduces the amount of twist in the leader. Daddy Long Legs & Hoppers are also surprisingly effective when fished as wet flies, so don't be too quick to keep these flies dry, once wet and submerged, if on a stillwater, gently "figure of 8" them back - on a river try fishing them in the surface film. Both the Daddy & Hopper Selections are tied on size 10 and 12 barbless hooks with slender hackles (more aerodynamic - less leader twist), this allows them to create a wake on the surface when retrieved, again another trigger point the fish home into. Now to the offer: Buy 2 of either the Daddy Selection or Hopper Selection (either 1 of each or 2 of either), enter the promo code BIGDADDY at the cart and these selections will be discounted by 20% (offer open until midnight on Sunday 10th September). Go on you know you want to!

August Tactics

August Tactics Midges & Sedges Fly fishing in August can be very challenging on both Rivers and Stillwaters. In order to get the best out of your session, it pays to be prepared. Often fishing in the early morning will be more productive than during the day when the sun is at its peak. TOP TIP: Check the cobwebs on your walk to the water, that will usually show you what is hatching and give you a good size guide. With the weather so far this month being quite variable (have we had any sun yet?), the one consolation for us here in the south-west, is that the rivers are being topped up and at least we have some flow on them. The downside is that they are more coloured than usual. This calls for a change in tactics, I was out and about early (6am to be precise - too early) on our local water yesterday and saw that we have lots of really small flies hatching throughout the day (the dew laden cobwebs were full of 5mm sized midges). I started with a small nymph (specifically one of the size 18 Zebra Nymphs from our Micro Selection). This, combined with a 6x (or even 7x) tippet produced the goods when the water had some colour in it. Later on, the water cleared up, and with clouds of midges hatching the Knotted Midge came into its own (pictured above), again on light tippet and a long light rod (9ft - 2wt which gives really good tippet protection). During the early afternoon there was lots of sedge activity (but only for an hour or so), a swift change of fly - to a size 18 Jingler - and again we were in. This proved to me that size is key when the fishing gets more challenging. Be prepared to adapt and watch what is going on around you and there's no reason why August should be written of in the anglers calendar).

Low Water Tactics

Sorry there's been no posts for a while (nearly a year)! We are making a concerted effort to now update the blog weekly with any tips and trick, adventures and products. Here goes with the first one: On my local small stream, it's been quite hard fishing of late, especially with the low water levels we are seeing in the South West. Even with the low levels I am still finding that when the fish playing hard to get, the "go to" tactic is the Duo method using our Dry Jig flies. Using this method I've caught in mornings, afternoons and evenings. I've been following these simple rules and it really has upped my success rate: DO NOT get into the water and wade, not unless you really have to - As the fish have less natural cover from predators, they are really spooky. Any disturbance in the water (or noise from your studded boots) will transfer its way to the fish. Use a longer leader - I generally us a longer and lighter leader, this will allow you to land the fly with a more delicate presentation - experiment with using a French Leader setup - they really come into their own at this time of year. Look for deep holes & behind any obstructions - If there is no surface activity these will be the places the fish are holding. Target these with a Klink n Dink setup (use a small beaded nymph - size 18 or smaller). Take advantage of the low water - If you regularly fish the same stretch, look at the riverbed and see what the contours are, and spot and likely fish holding places. This will be really useful information for when the water levels rise again. We all know that fishing the duo can be deadly, but with barbless hooks you cannot effectively fish "New Zealand" style, we have come up with what we believe is a unique solution. We have tied the dry fly on a lightweight jig hook, which then presents the dry fly correctly when the dropper is tied to the eye of the hook. Take a look at our Dry Jig Selections here: DRY JIG SELECTION ULTIMATE DRY JIG SELECTION Tight Lines

Small Steps ...

Fly fishing on a motorbike, got to be easy, right? Well that's what I intend to find out ... Over the next year I will be trying to complete as many fishing trips as possible on my motorbike (for you bike buffs out there it's a Kawasaki KLX 250). I'm hoping that this will teach me to travel light and really think about my fishing before I set foot on the bank, so I only take what I think I will need. So. Here's the bike (all loaded up for the first trip): And here's whats in the tail pack: I eventually decided on packing: Waders Boots Small chest pack (looking back, a lanyard would have been better) Travel rod (Scott 8’4” 4 weight – 5 piece) Camera Phone Money for coffee! You will notice that there was no room for a net! The river I fished was full of small grayling, so I thought I would dispense with the net for this trip, as it was a bit large and didn't fit in the tail pack. I do need to find a collapsible scoop net - If you know where to get one, please let me know. You can read all about my first trip (and it was fairly eventful) in Issue 491 of Trout Fisherman magazine. Once it's been published (and I have asked permission!), I will put a copy of the article up here. I'm planning lots more trips throughout 2017, so if you have any ideas of where I can go (and if you need a fishing buddy) get in touch. Tight Lines Richard

Innovative Scuds

The Bacchus Bug Selection

Barbless. Clothing