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Beginners Lessons

The Green Beast

Beginners Lessons
The Green Beast

The green Beast is an old pattern devised by a gentleman called Alan Pearson. He enjoyed a reputation for catching a lot of big trout in small still waters. It is a simple fly to tie and I thought you might like to give it a try. Originally it was supposed to imitate aquatic beetle [...]

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The Water Beetle

Beginners Lessons
Water Beetle

This fly is one I have devised after getting some dark green straggle fritz and struggling to find something to do with it. In past years I have had some success with snails which I have tied using black plastazote foam.  I know that some waters do well with terrestrial insects and beetles blown on [...]

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The Jersey Herd

Beginners Lessons
The Jersey Herd

 
The Jersey Herd was created by Tom Ivens for reservoir fishing in the early 1970s . It derived it’s name because the early pattern’s body was made from the gold colour foil on the milk bottles known as gold tops. At that time the Jersey cows were the ones milked to give the best full [...]

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The Dark Stone Fly

Beginners Lessons
dark stone fly

This is a pattern more popular in the USA , and New Zealand , than here in the UK. It is a large fly that makes only a brief appearance as an adult fly. In it’s nymphal stage it is a generous morsel for a trout.
I would suggest a long shank 8 hook for both [...]

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The Baby Doll

Beginners Lessons
Thumbnail image for The Baby Doll

This fly originated in the very early 1970s and was attributed to a Brian Kench. It differs from earlier more traditional patterns in as much that there were no moving parts. Despite this it quickly found favour with the fly fishers of the day on the reservoirs and still waters, thanks mainly to the publicity [...]

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The Shipmans Buzzer

Beginners Lessons
Shipmans Buzzer

This fly pattern was originated by Dave Shipman over 20 years ago. The original pattern was tied using white antron to make the fly float on an even keel in the surface film, imitating the midge emerging from its nymphal shuck. In recent years, CDC., because of its excellent floating properties, has become more popular. [...]

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The Egg Fly

Beginners Lessons
The Egg Fly

Strictly speaking this is not a fly, something it has in common with many of the creations invented in recent years. However it does have its place in the fly box.
The origins of this fly can be attributed to our American cousins. It was designed to imitate the salmon eggs which get dislodged from the [...]

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The Woolley Bugger

Beginners Lessons
The Woolley Bugger

This is a lure which is equally effective in rivers and stillwaters, particularly for rainbows.
The most popular colours are olive, black, orange and red. Can be tied on longshank 8s, 10s, and 12s. For rivers I prefer a size 8 wet fly hook.
Early season on stillwaters a size 8 L/S olive fished on an intermediate [...]

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The Cormorant

Beginners Lessons
The Cormorant

This fly has its origins in fly fishing competitions.  It is neither a nymph nor a lure but can be fished as either. Primarily a still water fly it can also be used on rivers and tied with  a silver or holographic body.  It bears more than a passing resemblance to a butcher , only [...]

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The Stickfly

Beginners Lessons
The Stickfly

This fly has been popular with reservoir and stillwater trout fisherman since the seventies. It is an imitation of the caddis grub in its shell. The caddis grub eventually matures to be a sedge which is also popular with the trout. This fly can be tied on all sizes down from long shank 10s. Smaller [...]

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