Learn Fly Tying » fly fishing

The Jersey Herd

Dave Cammiss — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:07:02 +0000

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 cream milk, hence the name Jersey Herd.

It is still a useful pattern to have in your box. Materials have changed over the years and the body is now usually made of copper lurex ribbed with copper wire, or goldfingering. I have used a material called new body czech which I prefer. This fly like so many others from that era still catches a lot of fish and is well worth giving a try.

The Dressing

Hook - L/S 6, 8 or 10
Thread - Black
Tail Back & Head - Peacock Herl
Body - Either Copper Lurex ribbed with copper wire, Goldfingering or New Body Czech.

Dave C and The Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg1L38TH5Wc

The Yellow Dancer

Dave Cammiss — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:53:33 +0000

The Yellow Dancer is a relative newcomer on the fly fishing scene. It is a ‘sport’ of the original Woolley Bugger devised by our friends north of the border. It has proved to be a ‘must have’ fly on most Scottish still water trout fisheries. As is always the case it has spawned the usual derivatives, Black Dancer , Orange Dancer, and I expect in the fullness of time we will have the Highland Dancer. I had to resort to my favourite fishing magazine , Fly Fishing and Fly Tying to get the dressing. It is a straight forward tie if you do the proper preparation.

The Dressing

Hook -- Kamasan 175 or similar , sizes 8 / 10.
Tail -- White marabou with a few strands of pearlescent micro flash.
Body -- Rainbow flashabou or similar.
Rib -- Fine gold oval.
Hackle -- Long yellow cock palmered.
Head -- Gold bead to suit hook size.

Dave C. and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzFN7APj62s

The Dark Stone Fly

Dave Cammiss — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:23:07 +0000

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 the nymph and the adult fly. The pattern I have tied is from a book by an American author , Edson Leonard , dated in the 1950s. A large pheasant tail nymph with a leaded underbody would be adequate for the nymphal stage.

The Dressing

Hook -- Long Shank 8 ( light wire )
Tail -- Bronze Mallard ( a generous bunch ) optional
Rib -- Fine Mono
Body -- A mix of brown and grey Seals Fur. Dub 3/4 of the hook length. After tying in build up a base for the wing. The wing has to lie flat along the top of the body. If the wing ‘ cocks up ‘ carefully unwind and apply more even turns to the base and try again.
Hackle - 2 Cree Cock Hackles ( brown as an alternative ). Wind the 2nd hackle through the 1st. Make a nice neat head and tie off ( as an option you can trim the underbody hackle fibres ).
Wing -- Brown Turkey quill , doubled and tied flat .
Antennae -- ( optional ) bronze mallard fibres.

This is an easy pattern to tie and it just might be useful to have a couple tied in case you are there on the right day.

Happy Fishing

Dave Cammiss and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7kJZVrfVY

The Sedge Fly

Dave Cammiss — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:09:40 +0000

This pattern sits better in the water and either static or moving it does behave like a sedge. I even found that when it was gunged up with slime and sunk it still caught fish. I suggest you tie some up in 10s and 12s and and keep them ready in your fly box. I only wish I had some of these when I went to New Zealand earlier this year.

The deer hair patterns are more complicated to tie and create a mess when you trim them up and I feel are less effective.

The Dressing

Hook Lt. wt. L/S 8,10,12,14. (kamasan 830.)
Thread Brown.
Hackle Blue Dun/ Red Game. Trim off the all the hackle fibres projecting downwards.
Body Cream dubbing ( possum under fur) tied meaty.
Thorax Cream Antron(optional).
Wing Cream antron ( I use Partons dapping floss.)
Flotant Mucilin or similar

Dave C. and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQpEjMTo1SE

The Baby Doll

Dave Cammiss — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:41:40 +0000

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 given to it by Bob Church.

At that time I was tying flies for three of the local tackle shops and I was inundated with orders for the original baby doll and the several variants it had ‘spawned’. Fortunately Jean, my lovely wife, took it upon herself to deal with all the ‘baby doll orders’ and left me free to carry on tying proper flies.

It was only after a good day at Eyebrook reservoir that I appreciated how good a fly it was. Despite its success over the years it has fallen out of favour and given way to more exotic creations when more man made materials became available to fly tyers.

I would suggest that before you tie this fly you make sure your hands are clean. The baby wool is fluoescent and loses its appeal if it is grubby. I would also suggest that you scrap the fly after a days fishing, after all it is cheap as chips to make.

If you want to give your ‘doll’ a ghostly look gently stroke the wool body with an emery board to raise the fibres, but make sure that the head is well varnished and dry first.

Materials

Hook -- Long shank or Streamer hook ’8′ and ’10′.
Thread -- Black or Red.
Body/Tail -- White ‘Baby Wool’.
Rib -- Silver wire (strong).

Good Luck and Happy Fishing.
Dave Cammiss and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHQytZ6RDKk

The Shipmans Buzzer

Dave Cammiss — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:37:51 +0000

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. The antron is the cheaper option without sacrificing floatability but foam is also an alternative for larger flies.

The body is best tied with seals fur in claret, red, orange, olive or ginger. Do not be afraid to try different colours. The rib is pearl tinsel tied in fine or medium widths.

Once the fly has been finished and the varnish on the head is dry gently stroke the seals fur with Velcro stick or pick out fibres with a dubbing needle.

The fly can be fished on a floating line, individually or in a team of three when the trout are feeding on flies emerging from the surface. I have found that a static fly is often better during the day but a slow retrieve gets more reaction as the night closes in.

Hook - Light weight. long shank sizes 10, 12, and 14.
Tying Thread - Brown or claret.
Body - Seals fur. Red, claret, olive, and ginger.
Rib - Pearl/ Holographic tinsel, medium or fine.
Tail / Wing - White Antron, CDC., Foam or Dapping Floss.

Happy Fishing
Dave Cammiss and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqmDzGBIz1c

Daddy Longlegs (Crane Fly)

Dave Cammiss — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:39:43 +0000

The crane fly is a land based insect which features in the fly fisher’s armoury because it is an ungainly flier and regularly finds it’s way on to lakes and rivers by accident. They usually appear about August time and can be quite an abundant food source for the trout either on the surface or as they get caught up in the surface film and drown.

Their long legs make them very distinctive and all the imitative patterns are based on this feature. They can be tied with a detached body on short shank hooks or wool body tied on a long shank hook, there are even gold bead versions.

The most common and certainly an effective pattern is tied with hackle point wings and knotted cock pheasant tail fibres for the legs on a long shank size 10 hook. The most trying part of this fly is tying the knots in the pheasant tail fibres. Try to acquire the centre tail feathers from a mature cock bird. These fibres will be longer and stronger. I also tie two together at the same time, it saves time and the trout do not seem to notice.

A variant of the daddy long legs is the hopper. For this pattern don’t give it wings and tie a seals fur dubbed body with lurex ribbing.

Hook -- Long shank size 10
Tying thread -- Brown
Body -- Brown wool or floss
Rib ( optional ) -- Fine copper wire
Wing -- 2 brown grizzle hackles over back
Legs -- 2 pairs of knotted cock pheasant tail fibres each side of the body
Hackle -- Brown cock hackle

For the Hopper

Body -- Seals fur ( any colour )
Rib -- Lurex silver or gold
Hackle -- Colour to match

Happy Fishing from Dave C and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p4LMMAoA68

The Woolley Bugger

Dave Cammiss — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:05:51 +0000

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 line is a good starter. On my recent trip to N.Z. I had about a dozen rainbows to 3lb. in a fast river all on olive and orange woolley buggers on size 12 L/S in a morning session.
There is little new on the tying of this fly which we have not covered on previous lessons.

Materials

Hook -- L/S size 8, 10 or 12 -- wet fly 8
Thread -- To match body colour
Rib -- Gold or Silver oval -- Gold or Silver wire optional
Body -- Black , Olive, Orange and Red Chanille
Tail -- Marabou to match body
Tail Flash -- Colour to match
Hackle -- Henny cock, colour to match body ( long enough for 2 turns at head and 3 turns down the body )
Gold Bead -- optional
Clear Varnish ( cement ) -- for the head

Happy Fishing
Dave C and the Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC4LO_nXoKE

The Stickfly

Dave Cammiss — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:43:45 +0000

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 sizes can be good on rivers.

Back in the mists of time when I was a young lad we used to turn over the bigger stones on the local stream and collect the caddis grubs in their shells and use them for bait, but that is another story.

This is a relatively easy fly to tie. You will have used all the steps at some time on the previous lessons. The peacock herl is fragile and does need the ribbing. You can give the body 2 coats of varnish and it will make it more durable. The hackle can be any shade of brown or orange. I have used brown partridge hackle to good effect, particularly on the rivers.

Materials

Hook -- Long shank 10/12/14.
Thread -- Black or Brown. If you tie some flies unweighted use a different colour thread to the weighted.
Rib -- Wire copper,red.green or black.
Tag -- Fluorescent antron or wool. yellow, green / lime.
Body -- 3-5 strands of peacock herl depending on the size of hook.
Hackle -- Henny cock. brown, ginger, orange or brown partridge.
Underbody fine lead wire. If not available copper wire.

Regards Dave C and The Team

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUeHUvgic3s

The Booby

Dave Cammiss — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:12:45 +0000

The Booby is a relatively recent addition to the flyfishers arsenal. The original patterns were tied using polystyrene balls tied together in the mesh from ladies tights and tied in at the eye of the hook. The way they wobbled about was how the fly acquired its name. Their other main disadvantage was that if you applied varnish to the head and some got on the polystyrene it was only a question of time before either one or both ‘deflated’.

The fly had proved so successful on the stillwaters, particularly for rainbows, that some enterprising angler came up with booby tube which could be supplied in various lengths and was not damaged by varnish.

That is the material we have used on the demo.

The variations on colour of head, chenille, cactus chenille or the marabou tail is limited only by the imagination of the tyer. Green and white and orange and white are favourites.

The ‘fly’ is usually fished with a sinking line. Once the line has settled on the lake bed the booby will be floating above it at the height of the leader. You can be lazy and sit there and wait for a rainbow to cruise by and take the fly, or you can retrieve your line in long pulls, allowing time between for the fly to lift back up to its original height. As you pull the line the booby is drawn to the lake bed.

In recent years the competition fishers use boobies to fish the ‘washing line’ method. Usually, I believe, with an intermediate line. The booby is fished on the point and 2 droppers with nymphs or buzzers on the cast. This method is used to explore different depths where the fish are feeding.

I do not believe our American friends have discovered this ‘fly’ yet despite their Dolly Parton probably being responsible for its name.

If you like sitting on the bank and taking it easy this fly might be worth a try. It has accounted for some big fish.

Materials

Hook long shank 10 / 8
Body orange chenille fritz
Tail orange marabou
Head plastazote tube orange or white
Tying silk orange
Tail flash optional
Please note color variations are optional ( white /green -- black / green )

Regards

Dave Cammiss and The Team