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IMPORTANT
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Ask The Panel Archive
Q.
I fish on a small stillwater and noticed that a trout I caught had been
eating bloodworms. More
Q. Could you tell me which is the best nymph to use during the
months April, May and June on stillwaters? More
Q.
I
have never fished a trout competition before. Could you briefly tell me
any thing I should know More
Q. I hear of people discussing tippet length. Is there a general
rule of thumb to lengths or is it to stop spooking fish More
Q. Could someone please explain to me why traditional 'Loch style'
fishing with wet flies is recommended by most experts when fishing Scottish
lochs More
Q. How important is the red spot near the thorax in the original
Czech nymphs? More
Q. I have recently taken up fly fishing and would like help with
a problem I am getting with my casting. More
Q. I've converted to fly fishing from coarse and sea recently (about
two months ago) and I'm having trouble getting distance on my cast More
Q. I want to replace the top eye on my fly rod, but don't know
how to remove it without damaging the rod. More
> See more previously answered questions...
I fish on a small stillwater and noticed that a trout I caught had been eating bloodworms. Could you tell me how I would fish this fly and also any info on how to fish daddy longlegs would be helpful. Dave Cook
The blood worm is a chironomid larva and the red colouration is haemoglobin which absorbs what oyxgen there is in the mud. Chironomids are also known as buzzers. The larvae turn into pupae underwater and then wriggle their way to the surface to hatch. Any imitation should be bright red and can be fished very deep when there is no hatch. A team of flies fished on a floating line and allowed to drift with the breeze can be very effective as can a steady draw, to imitate a pupa making its way to the surface to hatch. Try fishing at different depths to establish the depth at which the fish are feeding.
The daddy longlegs or crane fly is a terrestrial or land-based insect. They get blown on to the water by the wind and tend to get trapped in the surface film so they cannot move much, if at all. Although early autumn is the most popular time for them, they do appear at other times. Use a good bouyant imitation and cast it out with the wind behind you. Leave it to drift and pay out line as it goes. And all being well, it will make a trout a tasty last snack Terry Lawton
Could you tell me which is the best nymph to use during the months April, May and June on stillwaters?
This
question arrived just as I was reviewing Henry Lowe's book, Reservoir
trout, A bank angler's guide. I am sure that he won't mind me quoting
from this very useful book. Choice of fly does depend to a great extent
on the weather conditions and whether or not there are any flies hatching.
Also certain patterns of nymph can be fished to represent different nymphs
by fishing them at different depths and speeds of retrieve. A change of
size of the same pattern can often do the trick. The flies that Lowe lists
include claret, red, ginger, green and olive buzzer nymphs, pheasant tail
and Cove's pheasant tail, amber nymph, stick fly, gold ribbed hare's ear,
green thorax pheasant tail, pond olive, damsel nymph, green and orange
hot-spot pheasant tail, flashback and Montana nymphs. A selection of these
chosen to give a good range of colours and styles, in a range of sizes,
should serve you well. You may want to add some with gold or copper bead
heads. Terry Lawton
I will be fishing a competition
(organised through work) in June at Brenig, North Wales. I have never
fished a trout competition before. Could you briefly tell me any thing
I should know - i.e. Do I kill all the fish I catch? If I'm in a boat
with a stranger is there any etiquette that I need to observe? Can I fish
a team of flies etc etc? I am fairly new to fly fishing and any advice
would be received very gratefully. Michael Cross
I am sure that the organisers of the competition will brief you on the
rules governing the competition. This will include whether fish are to
be caught, measured and returned or caught, killed and weighed at the
end of the day. How to handle and fish from a boat in safety and without
upsetting your companion needs a whole article. This is something that
we will look into. In the meantime, I would suggest that you get hold
a book such as "Reservoir Fishing with Tom Saville" which has
a very good chapter on boat fishing basics and one on boat fishing tactics.
Make sure that you and your partner know what each of you are doing, for
example if you want to cast in a different direction, and try to agree
what each of you expects from the other. If you are fishing with an experienced
partner, I am sure that help will be forthcoming. Terry Lawton
I've been fishing
for five years now and only having poor to moderate success. I hear of
people discussing tippet length. Is there a general rule of thumb to lengths
or is it to stop spooking fish? Harry Mellor
Although the tippet needs to be of a size suitable to the size of fly
- bigger fly thicker tippet, smaller fly finer tippet - there is no similar
rule of thumb regarding length. Too short a tippet is likely to frighten
fish as the thicker part of the leader, and the fly line, will be that
much closer to the fish and therefore more visible. A tippet of about
750mm (30 inches) is a good length to start with. You may want to try
something longer for fussy fish in clear water, or reduce the length if
casting into a strong wind. As you change fly you reduce the length of
tippet. When you have only 450mm (18 inches) left, tie-on a new, longer
tippet. In your question you say that you have had only moderate success.
Can I suggest that you look at some of the articles in the Techniques
section of this site? I hope they will be helpful and improve your success.
Terry Lawton
Could someone please explain
to me why traditional 'Loch style' fishing with wet flies is recommended
by most experts when fishing Scottish lochs - even lochs which have a
rich aquatic fly life. I live near Brenig in N. Wales and the methods
employed there are more akin to other large waters in England and Wales,
eg. Buzzers & other imiative patterns.
I think this is a case of established local fashions coming before experimentation. The methods used at Brennig i.e. imitative patterns and buzzers will catch trout on Scottish lochs just as I can see no reason why traditional loch style patterns should not catch fish at Brenig.
The key point when fishing large waters be they lochs, lakes, reservoirs is flexibility - adjusting your fly and line selection according to the prevailing conditions. On big exposed waters if there is a big wave, larger (Size 10) loch style patterns like the Kate McLaren, Zulu, Invicta, Soldier Palmer will usually work. In calmer conditions nymphs, small dry fly and buzzers can be applied - be adaptable and you should get there. Lesley Crawford
My question is very simple. How important is the red spot near the thorax in the original Czech nymphs? António Rodrigues, Portugal
One of our contacts in the Czech Republic, Ales Martinek, says that in his opinion it is important because fish can see it easily. He says that he uses more colours than red - orange and pink. He says the best way is stay in one pool and fish for up to one hour with nymphs with a coloured spot (often referred to in the UK as a hot spot) and one hour without. Last year his best Czech nymph was made from orange rabbit with black thorax or with a goldhead.
Jan Siman confirms that the red spot attracts fish, like the red tail of the Red Tag fly. He says that they use different attractors, for example, pearl angel hair mixed with squirrel dubbing for the thorax. Terry Lawton
I have recently taken up fly
fishing and would like help with a problem I am getting with my casting.
I quite often get knots in the tippet (I believe they are called "wind
knots".) I would appreciate any views you may have. Cliff
Proud
The knots you refer to are not caused by wind although the wind may sometimes
be involved indirectly in producing these annoying little knots because
of what it can do to your cast. The knots are caused primarily by casting
faults and most commonly by what is called a tailing loop.
A tailing loop occurs when your fly catches your fly line on either the
forward or backward cast. A tailing loop causes the fly to pass below
the level of the fly line instead of over, or above, it. The result is
either an unsightly pile of spaghetti at the end of the cast or, at best,
a knot or knots in your leader. Neither is good for catching fish due
to poor presentation and a severely weakended leader due to the "wind"
knots.
A few tips on avoiding tailing loops:
1. Try to smooth out your casting style. Tailing loops are produced as
a result of the mis-application of power in the cast.
2. Try to use less power in your casting: let the rod do the work.
3. Try to cast with a little less line. You may be overloading your rod
by using too much line. And remember if using a weight forward line, you
must only use the head of the line to cast and the thinner running line
to shoot.
4. This is probably the most important tip: get some professional instruction
from a member of the Game Angling Instructors' Association who holds the
Advanced Game Angling Instructors' Qualification, APGAI. Look in Fly Fishing
& Fly Tying magazine for a list of members advertising or e-mail me,
via this site with your location, and I will give you details of your
closest instructor. Vic Knight APGAI
I've converted to fly fishing from coarse and sea recently (about two months ago) and I'm having trouble getting distance on my cast. I use a weight forward line and my cast is OK but would like to get further. I don't try to power out the last cast as before. Any advice would be welcome. Dave Cook
The first point to make is that you do not have to cast into the next county to catch fish. On stillwaters and rivers you can and will catch many fish within five or ten yards (or metres if you prefer). If you manage to cast a full line - and some backing too! - you will find it much harder to detect a gentle take, harder to set the hook and you will have a job getting all the line back onto your reel as you try to play any fish that you do manage to hook and get it with reach of your net without tangling the line round your feet.
Please spend time perfecting your cast over short and medium distances and looking to see what is happening and where the fish are. When you are happy that your casting and presentation is consistently good, then you can think about increasing casting distance. To achieve distance you need to learn the double haul. Double hauling increases line speed which gives you the extra distance. We hope to publish an article on the double haul cast in the near future. Terry Lawton
I want to replace the top eye on my fly rod, but don't know how to remove it without damaging the rod. Also, what would be the best top eye to buy, a "hay fork" eye or "fuji" type? I curently have a hay fork eye, which is very soft, and requires some straightening after a period of use. Douglas
Tip
tops, or the top ring on a rod, can be fixed either with hot melt glue
or epoxy. Either glue can be softened by dipping the end of the rod into
boiling water and then twisting the ring free, holding the ring with a
cloth as it will be hot. If you replace the ring with hot melt glue, you
run the risk of the glue softening if you leave the rod in a car near
the widscreen on a hot sunny day. I would suggest that you use five minute
epoxy or Araldite Rapid. As regards the choice of ring, you should use
a Fuji-type tip top if you have Fuji or lined rings on the rod. If you
have snake rings, then a hay fork would be a better match. You can get
rings from Hopkins & Holloway. Ask for a catalogue and the name of your
local dealer: sales@hopkinsholloway.demon.co.uk
Terry Lawton
>
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