What flies should I buy?

thehamo

Hi all,

Just a question, I know everywhere differs in terms of hatches, and flies fish go for etc, but starting my fly box from scratch what flies shoul I have?

I know I should have a selction of nymphs, mayfly, worms, buzzers, lures etc but there are so many variations I am lost as to what to get!

Any ideas muchly appreciated!

I was looking at some fo these perhaps? http://www.blackwatertackle.co.uk/erol.html

DryFlyFishing

build your fly box slowly... and just buy flys for the lake or river you want to fish at that time of year, what is the dominant hatch for the specific time you are fishing and the location? . (Nymph / Dry)

google your location of choice and see what flys people use for specific months. but do have a selection for month before and after ... as it was very cold this year... and the hatch is not progressing as it should.

Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

coolwings

There is a thread about a month ago in this forum, called "Best Flies" where we all posted our "must have patterns" and it answers your Q thoroughly.
You should read it:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055868380

ironbluedun

do not buy loads of flies for the sake of filling your box that's a major mistake. Follow the advice that dryflyfishing has given and limit your fly choice to patterns to suit your fishing location and tactics (wet, dry, nypmhing etc) think quality rather than quantity.

SeaFields

sound advice given already.

If you are completely starting from scratch you could also start with one of those introduction fly boxes. You can buy them online. Gives you perhaps 100 "favourite" flies in a fly box and build your collecting from there. You'll get to know the fly types and patterns that suit your river/ lake and you can start prioritizing from there.

Tight lines.

coolwings

Duplicates necessary, variety desirable.
Most of the time trout are feeding opportunistically, and take what they see.
It is more important to have the important ones, and spares of the important ones, than it is to have one of everything.

On the occasion of a big hatch, when there are big numbers of one fly around, the trout get locked in on one fly and feed on it exclusively. At thse times you have to have the right one or you will get refusals.

thehamo

cheers all.

I have bought a few online which include some mayfly, phesant tail nymphs, some cased caddis, bloodworm and wolly buggers, and some mixed dry flies. I do most of my fishing on stocked lakes, but im looking to broaden my horizons this year, perhaps the dodder, liffey and local tolka river (Which is not the nicest in the world, but its local!)

DryFlyFishing

thehamo wrote: »

cheers all.

I have bought a few online which include some mayfly, phesant tail nymphs, some cased caddis, bloodworm and wolly buggers, and some mixed dry flies. I do most of my fishing on stocked lakes, but im looking to broaden my horizons this year, perhaps the dodder, liffey and local tolka river (Which is not the nicest in the world, but its local!)

a few dry flies – ( Dark CDC wing) all black body of polar bear size 16 or 18 hook covers most lakes or rivers...

the fish think they are buzzer or any type of small black fly... every lake/river has some sort ......

use 2.5 – 3.5 lb tippet fluro... and you will be hauling them in on a stocked or wild lake on a warm day 15 degrees +.


Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

cj salmon

hope im not hijacking the thread but does the f fly have a brown thorax ,and a dark cdc wing,,i cant put uo a pic of the fly in question as its in a tree :rolleyes:,,only getting used to small stream casting lol,,i havnt a spare of this fly and trying to get something similar,as it took a couple of nice fish

DryFlyFishing

cj salmon wrote: »

hope im not hijacking the thread but does the f fly have a brown thorax ,and a dark cdc wing,,i cant put uo a pic of the fly in question as its in a tree :rolleyes:,,only getting used to small stream casting lol,,i havnt a spare of this fly and trying to get something similar,as it took a couple of nice fish

do you tie your own flys? sure make one? Show us it?

what is a (F Fly)? LOL

any small old fly about size 16 /18 in dark colour looks black to a fish.. silhouette...

all this fancy colours is crap....

go outside with a glass of water... dip a teabag in it 3 times... then drop your fly in and hold it up to the light... look through the underneath... ( what colours do you see yor fly as) ??

Black..............:)

dry fly is all about silhouette... but yea.. ya got to get a kinda ok match.... dont need to be detailed... should see the state of the fly's i use...

a shop would not sell them as they are not pritty... well i have never seen a real fly i thought was pritty...

if i showed you my flys you would puke they are so ugly... all they show a fish is the right silhouette...

Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

cj salmon

no i dont tie my own flies.
found the fly through google anyway,agree that colour isnt a major issue on dark lakes,what about small streams with low gin clear water,and im sure profile from below is,and the f fly worked for me,and any fly i have confidence in i would like to use again,,sure many people would feel the same.
anyway i found a pic on the net,the fly i had was a light brown thorax.
cheers

cj salmon

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

what is a (F Fly)? LOL

what was funny there by the way,,,an f fly,,,pictured in the post above,,,great lad...

DryFlyFishing

cj salmon wrote: »

what was funny there by the way,,,an f fly,,,pictured in the post above,,,great lad...

sorry i thougth it was funny... as i thought you called it an F Fly as it was stuck in a tree...

cant say the F word on here ....

Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

dry fly is all about silhouette... but yea.. ya got to get a kinda ok match.... dont need to be detailed... should see the state of the fly's i use...

a shop would not sell them as they are not pritty... well i have never seen a real fly i thought was pritty...

if i showed you my flys you would puke they are so ugly... all they show a fish is the right silhouette...


[/B][/COLOR][/B]

yes this is correct..............silhouette and size is very important in dry fly fishing..................:)

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

yes this is correct..............silhouette and size is very important in dry fly fishing..................:)

is that an olive?

looks like its just a bit of polar bear and cdc .... what size is the hook


Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

is that an olive?

looks like its just a bit of polar bear and cdc .... what size is the hook

?????????????:pac:

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

?????????????:pac:

i have a few of them in my box... it would take you 3 minutes to make one of them ....:)... they dont float very well in wave though...

i would think most tackle shops with a good selection of flys have them ... or something close....

Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

DryFlyFishing

cj salmon wrote: »

no i dont tie my own flies.
found the fly through google anyway,agree that colour isnt a major issue on dark lakes,what about small streams with low gin clear water,

i would still say any dark colour looks black..in gin water ... as the shadow of the light is underneath and the fish still only sees its silhouette... so no matter what kind of colour you used... if it is darker than beige... it will look nearly black +


Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

cj salmon

that i did not know,,,,thanks for the input,learning all the time,,would trout see light colours in clear water? ie white /yellow,,and i the flies hatching are seen as dark i suppose these flies in theory wont work as well, although the trout in the streams i fish are oportunistic feeding so colour isnt a major factor in any case,,size and presentation would be.

DryFlyFishing

cj salmon wrote: »

that i did not know,,,,thanks for the input,learning all the time,,would trout see light colours in clear water? ie white /yellow,,and i the flies hatching are seen as dark i suppose these flies in theory wont work as well, although the trout in the streams i fish are oportunistic feeding so colour isnt a major factor in any case,,size and presentation would be.

anything beige or lighter blends with the sky and produces enough light to counteract the shadow effect of the sunlight....

iv used white CDC wing.... and normal fly body.. so i could see my fly at long range... but it does not work.... well it does a bit...but deffo not on a sunny day... fish will turn it down... ill never use white again... or any bright colours ... for dry fly.....

Real fly’s don’t have that type of glow... they are supposed to blend with nature not stand out... I try and make my flys indistinguishable to a real fly at a few yards from me.. i would not know the difference...between my fly and a real one .. on the water until i tugged my line and bobbed the fly

but we are only talking about dry fly here... as wet fly is all about colours.... as a fish hits it straight on...

i suppose the theory is ... turn on a light..stand underneath it.... and hold your hand flat up to the light as if you did not want to see the bulb /light... what colour is the shaded side of your hand....?

Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

premiercad

hey all finally back on boards and I see loads of good stuff still up for discussion.

hope im not hijacking the thread but does the f fly have a brown thorax ,and a dark cdc wing,,i cant put uo a pic of the fly in question as its in a tree ,,only getting used to small stream casting lol,,i havnt a spare of this fly and trying to get something similar,as it took a couple of nice fish

CJ the F fly is orginally from eastern europe i think it's a cracking little pattern specially in small sizes. can be any colour body usually matching the hatch and almost always CDC two maybe three plumes for the wing. its basically an emerger with the body v slim and hanging below the surface but kept up by those oily feathers. I usually only dress the feathers in flotant to ensure the body goes under. The light brown thorax sounds like an large dark olive alright emerging around this time maybe size 16-14.

DryFly, love your description of the tea bag in the water makes sense. one question which always makes me think, if there was a trout in your cup of tea looking at that fly what would he see? what i mean is his eye is custom built for poor light/water clarity does he sse like we see?

premiercad

thehamo apologies thread going on a tangent there, one mistake i made starting was i thought "fill you fly box with everything you can afford" and now? well i fish maybe 5 variations on 6 fly patterns most of the
year! I learned slow about getting to know my fellow anglers and asking all the questions. most anglers I meet in my club now I rarely pass without gleaming some info off them and fly swapping :rolleyes:

ironbluedun

premiercad wrote: »

i mean is his eye is custom built for poor light/water clarity does he sse like we see?

good point, the trout does not see what we see...........that is why when a fly is on the surface, colour is less important than silhouette and size, with the wet fly or nymph etc below the surface i think colour is a more important factor.

DryFlyFishing

premiercad wrote: »

DryFly, love your description of the tea bag in the water makes sense. one question which always makes me think, if there was a trout in your cup of tea looking at that fly what would he see? what i mean is his eye is custom built for poor light/water clarity does he sse like we see?

i dont think a trout would see better than a human for dry fly.. as trout eye sight is better than ours in poor light and he comes to the surface and the sunlight is in his eyes .. its like you being in doors and then you walk out into the sun ... you are blinded.......predators hunt on movement and shape of silhouette ...in 2D ... movement attracts.. especially for wet.. but also for dry.. like when one is skating a mayfly by casting up wind... and brining it down wind like a natural fly.. and then its just about the right shape and close enough shaded colour... natural earthy colours... nothing that seems out of the ordinary... white or light colours are florescent in sunlight and project a large glow around the fly.... one needs dry flys that absorb light.


have you ever noticed the more you use a dry fly the more fish it gets... as the fly gets dull/dirty.. from the water...,

Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun

One needs transparency or translucency.......some natural insects appear transparent to the trout.........hence the traditional use of silver tinsel, be it flat or oval and the more modern use of pearl translucent tinsel…….. try using only pearl tinsel to form the body of a wet fly, you might be pleasantly surprised…..Anyway a bit off topic, but related none the less……. still the general consensus is to keep the artificial patterns to a select few but the right ones, that’s the key.

barry zx10

at last I find a list of flies
I'll be reading this all day now.

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

One needs transparency or translucency.......some natural insects appear transparent to the trout.........hence the traditional use of silver tinsel, be it flat or oval and the more modern use of pearl translucent tinsel…….. try using only pearl tinsel to form the body of a wet fly, you might be pleasantly surprised…..Anyway a bit off topic, but related none the less……. still the general consensus is to keep the artificial patterns to a select few but the right ones, that’s the key.

all nymphs have flash points... where the light refracts off their surface..
the pearl is great stuff... try pearl on top of silver or gold amazing refration ..

even though a mayfly nymphs looks all dull brown it does have a glint that comes off its surface area... it actually looks white/ or/ silver/gold ...where the light refracts of it....



Regards,

http://www.youtube.com/user/DryFlyFishing

DryFlyFishing

if i was starting to build a box of flys i would only have the main ones..

dry buzzer

black spider types...

cdc little black flys.. 16 /18/20

then mayflys size 10/12

wets - black buzzer /mayfly/ olive/ nymphs

and of course a selection of emerges for all above...


there is alot of others to add to that... grass hopper.. daddy long legs... the list is endless....

just buy flys for the months you actually fish...

thehamo

Cheers all,

Suppose the only one i should add to my collection are a few winged wet flies, but I have to learn how to fish them before I go buying them really.

Any advice on fishing a fast flowing river? I was down looking at the local river the other day and it was fast flowing, not flooded or anything, but I was thinking hows a fly meant to be fished in that! obviously it can but just how really!

DryFlyFishing

thehamo wrote: »

Cheers all,

Suppose the only one i should add to my collection are a few winged wet flies, but I have to learn how to fish them before I go buying them really.

Any advice on fishing a fast flowing river? I was down looking at the local river the other day and it was fast flowing, not flooded or anything, but I was thinking hows a fly meant to be fished in that! obviously it can but just how really!

fish the deep slow pools... walk the river....and find them .... it is where the biger fish for that river are...

cj salmon

what size river would you say you will be fishing?

thehamo

ah t'would be very much medium sized rivers, about the same size as the dodder, that included!

bribren2001

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

i


have you ever noticed the more you use a dry fly the more fish it gets... as the fly gets dull/dirty.. from the water...,

yep thats true, thinks its like that for all especially wet fly, i always get more fish on a fly thats shaggy, dirty, basically f####d looking, just looks more natural and less man made i suppose....

premiercad

fast flowing rivers or stretches of a river are good places to start learning to fly fish, its true fish will generally be smaller and easier to fool in faster water. They have less time to decide on a meal as its either snap at it or go hungry! most important thing I think is drag. Regardless what type of speed of water you fish your fly must behave like every other natural if its to have any chance. if its moving slower or faster than the water around it trout will generally ignore it. I think alot of my earlier failures in fly fishing were thinking oh ive the wriong fly and kept changing it when really what was wrong was how i presented it. good tip whether wet or dry fly fishing is to see that your fly matches the speed of bits of foam or debris floating near by, obviously in the case of wet flies youll be watching the fly line/leader junction.

cj salmon

thehamo wrote: »

ah t'would be very much medium sized rivers, about the same size as the dodder, that included!

well i dont know much about the dodder ,plenty of dodder anglers on here though,but i fish lots of streams not too far away i suppose.try spider fishing fast water,very productive when fish are moving near the surface,i like to fish almost square across or slightly upstream at an angle,and let ur flys dead drift to down below you,keep the rod high,so the line curves down to water,i almost just leave the leader in the water, watching the end of the fly line for any unatural move,ie stoping ,change of direction,,,you will be surprised,i have lifted at a slight twitch to find a fish on,,the takes are usually quite soft.im still missing plenty im sure!!,,its alot of work fishing the streamy runs but great fun,and works well.
wets fished upstream and allowed to dead drift is effective too.
the large fish hold in the slow pools as dryfly said,,but also on the smaller rivers in fast runs that are broken by large boulders,the slack water around the boulders can deep holes and i have found hold decent fish too.

hope thats of some help,sure the more technically adept guys can inform you more on leader setups for different wets and nymphs.


I might have fished alot of the rivers in that area so p.m me areas if you like ,i might be able to help further,
cheers

patakadarragh

Try a gold or tungsten head pheasant tail with a bit of sparkle will catch almost anything!

Also give the new zealand method a go.......Klinkhammer as an indicator(that wil catch)with a pheasant tail hanging of the bend.I find you will get 80% of the takes on the ptn and 20% on the klinky.

Itll work on stillwaters as well.