must have flys

huntsman77

Hey guys hopeing to get in to the fly fishing this year have rod reel line but only bout 20 flys what's the must have flys I need for lake fishing trout and any good places online to buy them

danbrosnan

white moth if you fly fishing for trout at night...

Absolutely lethal...:D

keppler

It would be a great help if you could post the names of the lakes you plan to fish

peenie92

Fulling Mill flies are a good place to start their quite good quality so you could google them and see what websites stock their range. Like above if you could say what lakes your fishing or even spicify if its wild brown trout lakes or commercial lakes for stocked rainbows then we could give you an idea of what patterns may work best.

Ipso

Kate McLaren, Green Peter, Hares Ear nymph and a buzzer pattern. Wouldn't go to a small Irish Lough without them.

alanrebelsw

Big fan of bumbles.. Claret etc

huntsman77

Thanks for all replys lads would be ennell owel and ree seen 1 of Irish fly websites doin packages of bout 40 flys mixed could prob try some of those would I mostly need wet or dry

alanrebelsw

Start wet,floating line,search diff depths with diff leaders,fluro,co polymer,mono and if cold,flatish and bright go to inter line and mono leader..how i started..

SeaFields

Big fan of sedges here. Definitely should have a few for dusk/ after dark fishing.

madred006

No such thing as must have flies in my opinion yes a few of each but it varies from person to person . I have seen guys turning up to comps with boxes of flies and some with a few on their patch its all down to conditions and how they are fished.

okedoke

I tie my own now but when I bought them I found the best quality (for reasonable money) was www.theessentialfly.com

When I was starting I bought loads of different flies - most of them never saw the light of day. If I was starting again I'd pick a couple of flies and just buy them in size 10 & 12 (for lakes). I don't do much lake fishing for no advice to offer on specific patterns.

madred006

huntsman77 wrote: »

Thanks for all replys lads would be ennell owel and ree seen 1 of Irish fly websites doin packages of bout 40 flys mixed could prob try some of those would I mostly need wet or dry

Never been to ree but ennell would be tough to start on IMO Owel is a relatively safe lake and can fish well using any method you could drop into o malleys fishing shop in mullingar and they would give you a cast or two .

madchild

BUTCHER, PETER ROSS, GOLD RIBBED HARES EAR NYMPH WITH A GOLD BEAD, Depending on time of year but those will suffice most of the year if you can pick up Peter o reillys flies of ireland tis a great book. Tightlines

huntsman77

Great help thanks lads I'll have no excuses now

deeperblue11

green peter or red arsed peter(wet and dry), bibio, claret bumble, silver dabler, claret dabler, peter ross, silver invicta. you wont go to far wrong with these flies on any lake in the country. in fact you will catch trout on any lake with these flies also salmon.
owel is full of small trout, great peter fishing during the summer and you will catch a trout on just about anything that floats when the trout are on them. some good fish are caught on the peter every year on owel.
ree is a good lake for wets but fishes best on the spent.

Flysfisher

I have gone away from using a lot of standard traditional patterns. Of course there are still a few old reliables but I now prefer to use patterns that I have devised myself. I just believe that it's important to show the fish something they have not seen before. And this is particularly true with wets and lures. Not so much with dries.

In short learn to tie your own flies and with time develop your own patterns.

deeperblue11

your right to tie your own. i do to. i also tie my own variations of the old reliable ones. its more satisfying to catch on flies that you have tied your self. tight lines.

Daroxtar

Size and colour are more important than actaul names. Get used to looking out for the insects on the water. You should alway have a few small nondescript flies(size 16 or thereabouts) in black brown and olive.
As Flyfisher said sometimes you have to get away from the old reliables and I've found that zonkers, minkies and humungous have been really pulling fish from all places for me the last few seasons.
As for buying flies, go to ebay and search for flies assortments. €20-30 and you'll have a fairly decent collection. I lost my big fly box a while back, probably a few hundred euro worth of flies bought in shops. Got onto ebay and I had most replaced for well under €100.

Nearly forgot, Klinkhammers- get a dozen of these in different sizes and colours. They are lethal

SeaFields

How did you find ebay for flies? I was tempted before but went with an establised uk site. Wasnt sure of the quality id get

okedoke

SeaFields wrote: »

How did you find ebay for flies? I was tempted before but went with an establised uk site. Wasnt sure of the quality id get

Generally v. poor quality, most flies I bought were very overdressed. But I guess it depends on the sellers

Daroxtar

Depends who you buy off, give the pics a good view and see what else the shop sells. If it's a proper angling shop trading on the internet then they should be fine. If it's a warehouse in hong kong then I'd be inclined to give it a miss.

Got one batch that were substandard but that's what you get when you pay €5 for 50. There's a good few decent tyers on there selling 3 flies for €1.50 -€2 or thereabouts and if you fish a light tippett for stockies or big browns or on tree lined streams that's enough to pay as you'll be breaking off plenty (well I do anyway )

I was in a well known sports shop in Sligo last year and they were charging €2-€2.50 PER FLY. Grand if it's a salmon fly but not a size 14 olive.

TBH the only fault I really had was flies not having a varnish finish on the head so the thread came loose after a few uses and that was very easily remedied.

deeperblue11

Flysfisher wrote: »

I have gone away from using a lot of standard traditional patterns. Of course there are still a few old reliables but I now prefer to use patterns that I have devised myself. I just believe that it's important to show the fish something they have not seen before. And this is particularly true with wets and lures. Not so much with dries.

In short learn to tie your own flies and with time develop your own patterns.

i wouldn agree with you totally. wet flies work because they represent some thing the trout feed on. im on about browns now. they dont have to be shown something new to be caught. whats under the surface?? nymphs, bugs, fry, worms....... the aquatic species dont change that much...color variations maybe. a good dabler in a few colors will catch. peter ross........ i think what you are saying is true for rainbows. lures????? some times what they have not seen before can frighten them!! brown trout are creatures of habbit. the bigger the fish the more selective he is. the more in tune with his lake and food he is. a big trout will take a small fry or "dabbler" quicker than something he has never seen before!! you have to find out what works and when it works to catch those big browns. tight lines.

madchild

A great fly i think in my opinion is the epoxy buzzer it is tied with a black floss wrapped up a b100 shrimp hook with a silver rib and a red thorax with orange on each side of the thorax brought towards the front of the hook with some black dubbing picked out with a dubbing needle and the body coated in clear varnish not nail varnish.

*(by the way of trying to keep it cheap as an old friend pointed out to me that the fragrance of nail polish can be smelled by fish which i now believe to be true from trial and error.)

another variation is to use peacock herl as a thorax which i find most affective and a good whip finish,
now when fishing these flies they should be allowed to sink as far as possible on a 10 foot leader lough fishing and twitched with a slow figure of eight retrieve with every draw of 2 handfuls you should stop for about 30 seconds then start again and stop i have picked up a few nice 2 to 3 lb fish with this technique and lost a hell of a fish at dusk one evening where a fish stripped my line until it reached the bottom and proceeded to shake the hook for about 20 seconds before coming off and this lake was renound for producing 10lb plus fish my late grandfather was sitting in the car park watching me and a friend i nearly threw the rod overboard with anger from dropping the fish that evening but thats my confidence in these flies pm me if ya need any more info on this... TIGHTLINES Bud...

deeperblue11

madchild wrote: »

A great fly i think in my opinion is the epoxy buzzer it is tied with a black floss wrapped up a b100 shrimp hook with a silver rib and a red thorax with orange on each side of the thorax brought towards the front of the hook with some black dubbing picked out with a dubbing needle and the body coated in clear varnish not nail varnish.

*(by the way of trying to keep it cheap as an old friend pointed out to me that the fragrance of nail polish can be smelled by fish which i now believe to be true from trial and error.)

another variation is to use peacock herl as a thorax which i find most affective and a good whip finish,
now when fishing these flies they should be allowed to sink as far as possible on a 10 foot leader lough fishing and twitched with a slow figure of eight retrieve with every draw of 2 handfuls you should stop for about 30 seconds then start again and stop i have picked up a few nice 2 to 3 lb fish with this technique and lost a hell of a fish at dusk one evening where a fish stripped my line until it reached the bottom and proceeded to shake the hook for about 20 seconds before coming off and this lake was renound for producing 10lb plus fish my late grandfather was sitting in the car park watching me and a friend i nearly threw the rod overboard with anger from dropping the fish that evening but thats my confidence in these flies pm me if ya need any more info on this... TIGHTLINES Bud...

hi there. i havnt tried epoxy buzzer fishing before. i have a couple of them in the box and intend to use them this year. what you are saying sounds good.
one thing though, have you tried the B110 hook for tying them?? i used to use the b100 for klinkhammers then i started using the b110. i find it a better hook. only a little heavier but a lot stronger.
im interested in knowing more about buzzer tactics??
regards

Flysfisher

madchild wrote: »

A great fly i think in my opinion is the epoxy buzzer it is tied with a black floss wrapped up a b100 shrimp hook with a silver rib and a red thorax with orange on each side of the thorax brought towards the front of the hook with some black dubbing picked out with a dubbing needle and the body coated in clear varnish not nail varnish.

*(by the way of trying to keep it cheap as an old friend pointed out to me that the fragrance of nail polish can be smelled by fish which i now believe to be true from trial and error.)

another variation is to use peacock herl as a thorax which i find most affective and a good whip finish,
now when fishing these flies they should be allowed to sink as far as possible on a 10 foot leader lough fishing and twitched with a slow figure of eight retrieve with every draw of 2 handfuls you should stop for about 30 seconds then start again and stop i have picked up a few nice 2 to 3 lb fish with this technique and lost a hell of a fish at dusk one evening where a fish stripped my line until it reached the bottom and proceeded to shake the hook for about 20 seconds before coming off and this lake was renound for producing 10lb plus fish my late grandfather was sitting in the car park watching me and a friend i nearly threw the rod overboard with anger from dropping the fish that evening but thats my confidence in these flies pm me if ya need any more info on this... TIGHTLINES Bud...

Interesting comment about the varnish. I use clear nail varnish and I don't think it has affected my catch rate on buzzers.
I love buzzer fishing for brown trout.

Flysfisher

deeperblue11 wrote: »

i wouldn agree with you totally. wet flies work because they represent some thing the trout feed on. im on about browns now. they dont have to be shown something new to be caught. whats under the surface?? nymphs, bugs, fry, worms....... the aquatic species dont change that much...color variations maybe. a good dabler in a few colors will catch. peter ross........ i think what you are saying is true for rainbows. lures????? some times what they have not seen before can frighten them!! brown trout are creatures of habbit. the bigger the fish the more selective he is. the more in tune with his lake and food he is. a big trout will take a small fry or "dabbler" quicker than something he has never seen before!! you have to find out what works and when it works to catch those big browns. tight lines.

No I rarely fish for rainbows. Variety is the spice of life trout like new shiney things :pac:

deeperblue11

every man to his own. if it works for u good. roll on friday. hopefully it wont be freezin cold or pissin rain.

Ipso

Buzzer emerger patterns can also be effective. One that worked for me was something like a shuttlecock.
Tie in the parachute post but have it extend beyond the hook eye (a kamasan b100 is ideal).
Tie in the hackle and wind down and secure but try not to crowd the eye area.
Then tie in whatever body and thorax you want.

When sitting properly in the water only the hackle and post is above the water giving everything else a "j" type profile under water.

con___manx1

kill devil spider,green peter,silver invecta,teal blue and silver,bibio,wickhams fancy,white moth,hares ear.

dodderangler

I fish for both brown and rainbow
For browns I'd always look up times if year fly hatches occur and match it to the flies I have
The duck fly does be great on likes of the dodder and upper Liffey
For rainbows I'd usually fish buzzers with two or 3 on leader bottom one being gold head or fish dry line with lures like boobies fritz or minkies do well and can be exciting seeing the trout chase and a wave approaching behind it

madchild

BOLLIX TO ALL THAT TALK AS IT ISIRRELIVENT TO THE FIRST OF MARCH. Hares ear silver spider greenwells glory hares ear with a partridge front hackle ,Butcher ( not a bloody butcther) peter ross, but with the weather we are expecting i,d recommend for stream and river trout fishing for the first of march would be dry flies like grey duster b100 hare,s ear body with hen badger hackle but cock will do fine. tightlines lads pictures will be posted friday evening i,m giving the young lassey the day off school this year as it falls on a friday, she will have to wait for another 3 years for another day off for the first of the trout so i see no harm in it .
A nyone else giving a youngster the day off for encouragement i think it,s a good idea to keep them keen

deeperblue11

i,d recommend for stream and river trout fishing for the first of march would be dry flies like grey duster.

i might end up going to the river to. i was over there yesterday for a look and the water is high and the current is strong:( i think if i go there il be using wets i wouldn use drys this early in the year.......my usual set up for march is a dabbler or two, peter ross and maybe a bibio.

Flysfisher

madchild wrote: »

BOLLIX TO ALL THAT TALK AS IT ISIRRELIVENT TO THE FIRST OF MARCH. Hares ear silver spider greenwells glory hares ear with a partridge front hackle ,Butcher ( not a bloody butcther) peter ross, but with the weather we are expecting i,d recommend for stream and river trout fishing for the first of march would be dry flies like grey duster b100 hare,s ear body with hen badger hackle but cock will do fine. tightlines lads pictures will be posted friday evening i,m giving the young lassey the day off school this year as it falls on a friday, she will have to wait for another 3 years for another day off for the first of the trout so i see no harm in it .
A nyone else giving a youngster the day off for encouragement i think it,s a good idea to keep them keen

I know what you are saying. If mild the dries could be worth a shot. But I normally start on the river with larger streamers and stuff like that.
Yes the day off is a good idea for the kids. Tight lines.

Flysfisher

deeperblue11 wrote: »

i,d recommend for stream and river trout fishing for the first of march would be dry flies like grey duster.

i might end up going to the river to. i was over there yesterday for a look and the water is high and the current is strong:( i think if i go there il be using wets i wouldn use drys this early in the year.......my usual set up for march is a dabbler or two, peter ross and maybe a bibio.

Trout will take a dry in suitable conditions. Even on the loughs.

madchild

well i,ve had 11 fish in the past 2 days lost 4 and missed 1 none of any size though from a quarter of a pound to half pound all wild brownies on the local rivers good sport to be had legs are achin this evenin must have walked 8 or 9 mile in the last couple a days

deeperblue11

madchild wrote: »

well i,ve had 11 fish in the past 2 days lost 4 and missed 1 none of any size though from a quarter of a pound to half pound all wild brownies on the local rivers good sport to be had legs are achin this evenin must have walked 8 or 9 mile in the last couple a days

well done, i might try the river this evening.. drys.