FLY OF THE MONTH
This less-is-more pattern will stand apart from gaudy lures at the start of the season, explains Stuart Foxall
THE INITIAL RUSH OF EARLY season anglers on small stillwaters can make trout wary. They see many lures and bright flies and associate them with danger. What fly should we use to overcome their fear?
I asked Matthew Pate, one of the finest tyers I know, to recommend a pattern. I first met Matt at a tying event many years ago when he gave a fly to every kid that walked by; a gesture that has probably added many anglers to the riverbank. Simple patterns reveal the best tyers because they do not include enough materials to hide bad habits and I was immediately impressed with Matt’s neat flies, both modern and traditional. A member of Upper Rhondda AA for 27 years and now its chairman, Matt also represents the Wales bank fly-fishing team and has fished many of his country’s rivers and large lakes. But small-water fishing is his passion.
Matt’s choice for spooky fish was the Grey Heron Nymph, a fly tied with fibres from a grey heron back feather. Grey heron is a protected species in the UK, but you can find shops that sell Chinese Pond Heron or, if you keep your eyes peeled, you may find heron feathers on the bank — place them in a freezer for a week to kill any bugs. Alternatively, grey goose is an easily bought substitute.
Matt’s nymph looks very “buggy” and can be fished in numerous ways. His favourite method for searching the water is the washing line. He uses a floating line and a 15ft leader with two droppers at 5ft intervals and a small Booby or large dry-fly on the point. The Grey Heron Nymph can be used on either dropper. Casting out and hoping for a slight breeze, he allows his flies to drift with the ripple and waits for feeding fish to intercept. If there’s not much wind, he will use a slow retrieve to keep his flies moving to make them look lifelike. The flies are small, so the fish won’t be expecting them to be pulled quickly. He covers any feeding fish immediately.
If the fish are deeper, he loves straight-line nymphing: a 15ft leader with his nymph on the dropper 6ft from a beaded or slightly weighted pattern on the point, which controls the depth. He retrieves slowly to keep in contact with the flies and watches for any straightening of the line. Sometimes, he will see takes before feeling them, so watching the line is important, especially just after casting when fish will often take “on the drop”.
Stocked trout are fed pellets for most of their life and some wait for the pellets to get wet and sink before feeding. Using natural-coloured nymphs like the Grey Heron on a long leader replicates this slow-sinking action and can dupe fish into eating confidently. Usually, Matt uses 6lb leader, but if the trout are being tricky, he uses smaller flies and lightens h
