The Bosnian Spider Selection - from Barbless Flies
Four 'Bosnian' variations on the North Country theme. Our selection includes 3 each of four different patterns (a total of 12 Bosnian Spiders).
These aren't museum pieces. They're working interpretations tied by our Bosnian tier - someone who understands proportion, hackle quality, and the difference between a spider that looks right and one that fishes right.
Three of each pattern gives you the confidence to actually fish them properly. Upstream dead drift through the runs. Across and down on the swing. However you work spiders on your water.
Each of these exquisite Bosnian Spider patterns are tied on a size 14 AHREX FW505 barbless hook.
The patterns:
The Copper One - Warm metallic body, soft hackle swept back. Suggests those early coppery duns and emerging sedges. Works in that marginal light - overcast March mornings, late evening when the water's still got some colour in it. Our selection includes three of these.
The Purple One - Classic North Country colouring with good reason - it's been catching trout for two centuries. Dark enough to show a silhouette in rippled water, the purple body hints at iron blues and the smaller dark olives. Fish it when you need visibility without bulk. Our selection includes three of these.
The Mojo One - Light olive body with that fine gold rib catching the light. This is your large dark olive pattern, your general spring emerger when the water's starting to warm. The rib adds just enough flash without shouting about it - movement and suggestion rather than advertisement. Our selection includes three of these.
The Yellow Squirrel One - That natural squirrel dubbing gives it movement even when it's sitting still in the current. Pale enough for bright conditions, suggesting pale wateries and the lighter olives. The one for gin-clear water and educated fish. Our selection includes three of these.
How to Fish A Spider:
The beauty of spiders is their versatility - they work upstream or down, dead drift or on the swing. Here's how to get the best from them.
Upstream dead drift
This is the classic North Country method, and it's more demanding than it looks. Cast upstream at roughly 45 degrees and let the spider drift back towards you, just subsurface. The key is maintaining contact without dragging - you want natural drift but you also need to feel the take instantly.
Keep your rod tip low, almost touching the water. Retrieve line at exactly the same speed the current's bringing it back. Watch the leader where it enters the water, not where you think the fly is. When a trout takes, you'll see the tiniest check - the leader pauses for a fraction of a second, or moves slightly against the drift.
Lift immediately. Not a strike, just a smooth lift of the rod. In cold water, trout take spiders with authority but they don't hold on.
The concentration required is serious. You're reading water, managing slack, watching for takes, all simultaneously. But when you intercept a trout cleanly on the drift, there's nothing quite like it.
Across and down on the swing
Less technical, more rhythm. More fishing, some would say.
Cast across stream or slightly upstream, mend if needed to avoid instant drag, then let the current do the work. The spider swings round in an arc, rising through the water as it goes. Trout often take right at the dangle, when the fly's directly downstream and hanging in the current.
You can work this method actively or passively. Sometimes just letting it swing is enough. Other times - particularly in cold water or when fish are sluggish - a slow hand-twist retrieve as it swings adds enough movement to trigger takes.
The takes on the swing are more dramatic. The line tightens, the rod loads, and you're into a fish. No subtlety required - they've hooked themselves against the current.
Either way:
Use a long leader - 12 feet minimum. Spiders need to fish fine and far off. And fish them sparsely in your cast. Two flies maximum, often just one. These aren't loch-style teams where you're covering water with multiple patterns. You're presenting one or two flies with precision.
The water tells you which method to use. Smooth glides and runs? Upstream. Broken water, faster currents, or when you're covering a lot of river? Swing them through.
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