Want to Catch A Fussy Trout: Try Beadless Nymphs

For the last season or two I have been tinkering more and more with beadless Nymphs and getting good results.
We all know that the bead has several purposes on a nymph; one, to add crucial weight to get the fly down to the feed zones; secondly, the colour can be the factor that attracts the fish to take the fly.

But as we all know the colours vary and one day when sliver works the next day it will be gold or some other choice from the array of colours now available on the market. So is there a time and occasion for weighted nymphs with out beads, the answer is yes.

When I like most other anglers began fishing many years ago the nymphs we were using was a pheasant tail maybe with a lead shot up the cast to drag the nymph down to the trout or a sinking line would do the same job. However with the evolution of fly tying the tungsten bead has allowed the angler to present their nymphs to the depths very quickly.

As a competition angler I am always aware the the fish can become used to the different colour beads especially when you are fishing 3 to 5 sessions in a competition. So having some beadless Nymphs can be the answer in those late sessions or fishing in over fished waters and when you are looking to catch those fussy trout.

Tying the nymphs slim and getting some good quality lead and a few small tungsten beads in there will allow the nymphs to penetrate to the required depth, just as quick as a beaded nymph.
Fishing shallow runs and glides you will have no problem in getting the nymphs down to the fish and maybe you will have to punch them up stream a little further in order to allow them more time to get to the bottom.

Also a good addition to this approach is an aggressive leader set up so that when you make the cast the natural turn over of the leaders will ensure the nymphs will enter the water at pace and the nymphs will get down faster. This leader set up is something you will have to make up your self to get the best results. A good light weight rod with a good responsive action will aid you in getting these lighter nymphs to there destination also. Make sure and check out the Syndicate 10 foot 2 weight as this is the rod find good and the one I use for this approach.

Here is some of the beadless patterns that I have useful over the last couple of seasons and are we'll wort having a go with this year for some fussy trout.

The pheasant Tail 

Hook: Dohiku 611 size 16

Thread: Fine strong silk 

Tail: fibers of pheasant tail 

Tag: Glo Brite No.4

Rib: Copper wire 

Body: Pheasant tail 

Thorax Cover: Pheasant Tail

Thorax: Olive mixed dubbing 

Legs: Natural Partridge Hackles 

Another option you have is fishing the dry dropper set up with one or two beadless nymphs under the dry just make sure the distance between the nymphs and dry is long enough so that the flies are where they need to be. Make sure and secure in the beads and lead well with a good strong thread and some super glue. Also, lead and tungsten beads or sheets are the best option for adding weight to your flies using wires don't contain much heavy metals to make a difference and can be more expensive that flat lead. 

The Olive Quill  

Hook: Dohiku 611 size 16

Thread: Fine strong silk 

Tail: Coc De Leon

Under Body: Flat lead covered in olive thread 

Body: Transparent synthetic quills 

Thorax Cover: Pheasant Tail

Thorax: Olive mixed dubbing 

Legs: Pheasant tails tips folded back . 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and it has sparked some thoughts in developing your fishing and fly tying going forward in the new season. If you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact me. Also make sure and check out my website www.piscari-fly.com for all your tungsten , barbless hooks, Syndicate Fly Rods, Reels, leaders and much more. Thanks for reading.

Want to up your catch rate this season? A few points to consider for effective fishing

I get a lot of fisher people asking me for tips and tricks on better approaches to effective fly fishing out side of having the right set up and good quality nymphs. Firstly the answer is not spending the winter filling your fly boxes with patterns un-tried and un-tested, if you want to do a winters tying only tie the flies that worked last season and tie them in all sizes and weights. Over the years, I have spent a lot of time working on, and thinking about the small details that result in productive approaches and the things we as angler can do to try and shift the odds in our favor a little bit more. I am no expert but I have some thoughts on the matter. There is a fair bit of stuff to consider when you break everything down, such as beat management, fatigue, fish behavior and the like. However, here is a few important pointers and hopefully there is somethings in this post that you will consider in the coming season when you approach the river that will aid your ability to catch more fish. 

1. Identify the predominant lies and protective lies of the fish in the beat.
It is crucial to discover this from inspecting your beat before you start fishing or enter the water. The predominant lie is where the

fish sit undisturbed and feed away naturally. This could be the shallow margins or the side of the main current near by. But not to far away there will be a place where they go for protection once disturbed, this could be a deeper pocket, behind or under some object in the water. Once you begin fishing and wading some fish will move from one to the other once they are aware of your presence; so you must know when to also move from one to the other to keep catching fish. There can be many of each of the lies in one beat. Discovering these will save you time fishing all the water on your beat and fishing water where there is less or no fish. Moving quickly between the predominant lies in the beat will result in clocking up early scores on the card or fish in the net and knowing where the fish go once you have gone through the honey holes will save time in finding them the second time around and allow you to target pockets of fish in their protective lies.

2. Fatigue and body posture
This is something a lot of anglers don't spend enough time on; you cant fish or wade a beat properly if you are tired and you will lose

your focus during a fishing session. The single biggest problem I encounter when coaching anglers is them getting tired and lose concentration on the water, leader, dry fly or indicator and miss the signs of the takes. So we must focus on how to conserve energy and slow down fatigue of the legs, arms and especially the eyes. Your posture during fishing can help, having an open stance not only will allow you better and safer wading but it will engage your core and help support your back and arm as you reach forward while nymphing. This stance will also allow for better netting practice as when you hook a fish you are now in a position to take a large step forward and move several foot closer to the hooked fish and scoop the fish within seconds of a hook up.
Having good glasses (dont have to be the most expensive) that suit the day light is crucial as the wrong lenses will cause you to having to try and focus harder on the small indicators or dries. Therefore your eyes become tired and you stop looking and miss the signs of a take. Another aspect for good vision and tired eyes is your hat. A long billed hat pulled down over your eyes will tunnel your vision and save on fatigue, this will also allow you to see smaller objects further away. Also it will save you from be distracted by the view or the passing wildlife.

Good core strength will allow you to wade quickly through heavy water, it is worth considering this and some simple exercises will give you better strength in the water and more confidence.

3. Be a predator
Another aspect of posture. Standing straight up is not only bad for

your back and makes it easy for the fish to see you, it is also takes it toll on your concentration levels. If you can imagine any predator in the wild before they strike and their posture before they do so; there body position is curled up ready to strike. This is not only for the speed of the attack but to also have full focus and concentration on its prey. Being a hunter instead of an angler is a lesson I learned many years ago and one that stuck with me and I regually remind myself of. I often say to anglers imagine a photog you is going to feature on the front of your favourite magazine and this photo could be taken at any moment when you are fishing. So do you want to be seen standing straight up in the air sticking out or do you want to be published where you are on one or two knees totally focused on your prey and reaching out to full length in complete control.

4. Hearding and moving fish
In long beats where the fish are spread out it can be good practice to heard or move the fish into pods to maximize your chance of a

good catch rate. Fish will move in different ways depending on the species and the time and place. For brown trout sometimes you need to gently push them to the head of their territory. This is not necessarily the head of a run as there can be several heads of territory in one run, depending on on its size and volume of fish in the section of water. In doing so, you will also heighten the aggression levels of the fish and they will attack your flies out of that aggression rather than looking to eat food. Of course the best thing is if you heard the fish you know where they are.

Fishing from wading up one bank will manipulate the fishes behavior differently to wading up the middle. On larger rivers I like to wade up the middle and push the fish into the banks where they feel safe (into protective lies) and they tend less to run down stream behind me where they are no longer in my catch zone if I am fishing up stream. Fishing a smaller river I tend to fish along one bank and push the fish ahead of me and by casting kind of across the stream (lining the fish) will keep the majority in my catch zone, before the head back behind me.

5. Chain reaction within the beat
It is important to be aware of the chain reaction within the beat once you disturb the fish. This will save you time fishing water where the fish have moved from because of ten minutes ago you pushed the fish from there or spooked them when you were fishing 50 yards down river. Be aware when and where you release your caught fish, I tend to release fish behind me. Also wade in and out of the river well behind the area that you are catching in if you have to bring the fish to a controller.

6. Be aware of your surroundings
Getting caught up in trees, rocks ect is a big problem and one that

will never leave an angler. Wading to release your flies from rock and trees is one of the biggest mistakes of beat management. Tie plenty of your best flies so losing a couple will not matter in a session. A lot of anglers will spend some time looking at the water before a session and rightly so, but few will look at the trees and objects they will encounter fishing and casting in that section of river. I will make a mental map of the beat as I study it and I will identify the sections I have to be on my knees to open up a larger casting gap into tight spots. Ill know the spots where there is some weed on the bottom so ill speed up the drag on my nymphs so they stay just off the bottom and not get stuck in the weeds. This is also the same for rocky bottoms. Allowing a dead drift will allow the nymphs to settle between the rocks and get caught up. However, dragging them through a slight bit faster means the nymphs will bounce off the rocks and are less likely to get caught.

When you have your hat down around you eyes and you are

focusing on you fishing, if you are not aware of your surroundings you will spend a lot of time in the bushes and trees when casting. This will result in you breaking your concentration, disturbing the beat, getting in tangles and loosing nymphs.
It is the lack of focus on these details that cost most anglers from maximizing there catch in a beat and with some time spent on these aspects and errors of the anglers will increase good beat management and more time for your flies to catch fish.
Three most important three words I have learned for good effective fly fishing is DETAILS, SIMPLE, DETAILS

I hope some of this will be useful to you, and there is some points that you will consider focusing on this coming season. Its a bit of a whistle stop to effectively fly fishing a beat, and if you have any questions or queries on any aspects of this post please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any questions please feel free to give me a shout on my contact details and if you are interested in Dohiku hooks, top quality tungsten beads, or Syndicate competition Fly Rods and much more, drop me a line or check them out on my website, Just click on one of the links to the right.

Wet fly & spider fishing: A productive approach that should always be considered.

Over the last number of seasons through coaching and meeting anglers on the water, I am discovering more and more anglers young and old who have a limited or forgotten knowledge of effective wet fly and spider fishing on rivers. I have even encountered some top competition anglers that would not even consider the option of swinging a wet fly or spider across a stream during a session. 

For me growing this was our bread and butter fly fishing method, nymphing didn't come into our arsenal till I was into my twenties. So up on till then it was craftily swinging wet through the riffles and pools of the Avonmore River in Co Wicklow that won most of our club competitions and Leinster Championships held by the

club. Even though, today I too tend to lean towards the nymphs and dries time and time again, there are days when the wet fly's and spiders fished correctly will catch more fish than any other method. In order to be a complete competition angler you must be able to fish all methods and more importantly know when each one will be more effective than the others. 

Over the last decade or so I do try and spend some time on the wet when the conditions are favorable for this approach. Ideally a Spring or Autumn day with a nice breeze blowing up the flats creating a wave is what you are looking for perfect wet fly fishing. A extra drop of fresh in the river or a dropping colour in the water can put the trout feeding right in the zone where the wet flies are swimming. 

But admittedly I am not a wet fly angler, I can do it, but am no means an expert on it. However a good friend of mine has spent countless weeks, months and years practicing and learning to understand this fly fishing approach and in my opinion one of the best river wet fly fisherman I have ever encountered. 

David O Donovan is a renowned and accomplished competition angler through Ireland and Europe. Fishing Munster rivers all his life and especially the famous Blackwater River, where wet fly fishing is the go to method to catch large number of fish; also in this region there is some of the best wet fly anglers in the Country. During our practice sessions over the years, David will always spend half a day on the spiders and wets to test them out to see if they will be wort setting up. In most cases we end up setting up at least one rod with the wets. They can pick off a few fish any time and can cover the stretch of water a lot quicker than nymphs if you need to find pods of fish. 

So recently in a conversation with Dave I asked him for his top five tips to good wet fly fishing to share with you here and hopefully get anglers to start thinking of this approach for the coming season. 

No.1 Scan the surface for any fish activity or movement.

Being able to identify when is a good time to fish and put some of your session time into the wets or spiders is a key. Some times there giveaways when the breeze is blowing up stream and there is a hatch on. You will be able to see fish breaking the surface and a good team of wets here would be devastating. Looking at the way fish are moving and breaking the water surface will give you a clue if they are taking off the top or under the surface where the wet would be fishing. 

No.2 Keep on the move, cover as much water as possible. Two or three casts then a few steps. 

Wet fly fishing will allow you to cove a lot more water than any other method. This can help if you have long beats and you need to find where the fish are. 

No.3 Change your casting angles 

This is one I often hear Dave mentioning "its all about the angles". So by changing  your casting angle you will change the presentation of the fly to the fish and in turn could be the factor to entice the fish to take. Some times you can change the angle by you changing your casting position or by the movement of the rod during the swing of the cast. Changing the angles can allow your flies to swim deeper or higher in the water, faster or slower on the swing; by practicing this aspect you will gain valuable knowledge to what works best in different types of water on different days. 

No.4 Large flies can catch small fish. Vary your fly patterns. 

Larger winged fly's can represent fry and large winged olives that are plenty to be found on most rivers. Trout can be opportunistic creatures and a larger fly sometimes can be too good to be resisted by a hungry trout.  By changing the patterns and understanding the reason for changing can be the difference to catching or not catching. Changing to a wet fly that looks nice in your fly box dose not necessarily mean the fish will like it, make sure they are tried and tested and you know when to fish them.  

No.5 Fish the Glides, margins and light riffles in the spring, then fish the heavier water as the temperature rises through out the season. 

A lot of the time anglers forget or tend to ignore the lighter water or margins as there nymph get stuck all the time so why bother, even though this water holds fish. Fishing light wets or spiders can be very effective on this type of water and produce great sport that others are missing. As the fish fall back in the warmer months then the heavier water will be come more productive. 

Dave recommends a 10 foot rod, 3 to 4 weight with an intermediate fly line. He normally uses 3-4lb mono and 3 fly's that are usually 4 feet apart. 

It is amazing that there is anglers out there that not only don't consider wets as an option but because they are so reliant on nymphs they cant even cast the flies if they had to. This is also a problem for our youths, they are being taught that nymphing is the be all and end all and once the nymphs fail to catch then they are done and have no other options. I would recommend to any angler out there is if you want to raise your game then get to understand effective wet fly fishing, and get them fly's back in you boxes. 

Here is a couple good patterns that can produce some good fishing on the swing: 

 The Black and Sliver 
A great wet fly for me over the years, always worked a treat when a shower of rain was failing.

Hook: 303 Dohiku 12-18
Thread: Fine silk  
Body: Flat Sliver 
Rib: Sliver wire 
Hackle: Black Hen 

The Partridge and Orange 
Another classic, but this one has a twist in its tying that I find very productive indeed. 

Hook: 303 Dohiku 12-18
Thread: Fine silk  
Body: Orange holographic  
Rib: Gold wire 
Hackle: Natural Partridge 

Partridge and Gold 
One of the great point flies, ideal when you want the cast of flies to sink that little deeper. Tied large and makes a great streamer. 
Hook: 303 Dohiku 12-18
Head: 2mm tungsten bead 
Thread: Fine silk  
Tail: Natural Partridge 
Body: Flat Gold  
Rib: Gold wire 
Hackle:Natural Partridge

The Greenwells 
What a fly, simple as simple gets but irresistible to fish, this fly will take fish all year around. 

Hook: 303 Dohiku 12-18
Thread: Fine silk  
Body: Olive tying thread   
Rib: Gold wire 
Hackle: Greenwells hen or red game which ever you prefer.  

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and trying out some of these fly's and enjoy catching fish with it even more. 
Here is a link to a very interesting guide on fly-fishing that's worth looking up its by www.tackle.org https://www.tackle.org/ultimate-guide-to-fly-fishing/ Check it out.

If you have any questions please feel free to give me a shout on my contact details and if you are interested in Dohiku hooks, top quality tungsten beads, or Syndicate competition Fly Rods drop me a line or check them out on my website. Thanks for reading.

Sarca River Italy. Brown Trout Hunting

Recently my-self and a group of fishing buddies headed over to Italy to fish the fabulous Sarca River. The Sarca is a river rising in the Adamello-Presanella mountains, in the Italian Alps and flowing into Lake Garda in Northern Italy. We went there for five days to fish this region and take in the Italian river competition called the "Pialla Cup". The river itself has similarities to that of the rivers I grew up on in the Wicklow Mountains, the water flowed over Granite bed rock and as it made its way through the rocks and boulders it created beautiful pocket water ideal for brown trout and pocket nymphing. 
This river will host three sessions of next years Fips Mouche World

Fly Fishing Championships in September and as the Irish Captain I was eager to see as much of it as possible. We practiced for two days on the river before the competition and we weren't disappointed. While the fishing was not easy; it was very rewarding to the angler that took notice of the runs and pockets where the fish might sit, getting the right angles to attack the fish lies. 
The scenery here was exceptional and the hotel we stayed in was right on the banks of the river. Hotel Belsit was a lovely friendly hotel at very affordable prices. It was around a two and a half hours drive from Milan airport were we flew into. Our good friend Alessandro Freschi had all our arrangements made for our trip and competition. He also kindly tied us a stock of his lovely Sarca Nymph. 

The competition was ran on a team approach where two anglers fished the same beat for one and a half hours while being stewarded by another team. Following that session the anglers who fished would watch over the other team on a different beat. This allowed us the opportunity to witness some of the great Italian anglers in competition mode and see how they would approach this style of river. The scorning couldn't have be simpler, once you hook the fish and net it then it is counted on your card, all sizes count. A good measure taken by the organizers in keeping the competition open till the final session was, which ever team topped their group in their first session would get the worst beat in their next sector depending on the results that came in from that sector. The

competition as a whole was very well organised and very sporting. A total of 56 teams entered the competition and they were very friendly and welcoming to us Irish lads. 

With the possibility of some rising fish the dry fly rod was always on hand but for the most of the trip Nymphing was the most successful method to hook up with fish. My-self and my good friend David O'Donovan teamed up again and we were first on the water in session one on beat 1. The mornings were cold enough till the sun managed to find gaps in the mountain tops to peak through and warm up the water so fishing the early sessions was a bit slower. However we crawled our way through the rocks and took a good second place for the morning with 15 fish.

After lunch we moved down river to the second hardest beat in the next sector. We again found nymphing up behind the rocks and in the noticeable pockets of water the most productive places to catch fish. Following day one, two of the four Irish teams were very well positioned with Damien Walsh and John Willis lying in 5th place, me and Dave sitting in 7th place over all on 4.5 place points. 

All to play for on the second day; a tough draw for the morning saw us slip down to 10th over all with only four fish in our beat. For the final session we managed to get back up to second place in our group again which secured us 7th place over all. With some of the other Irish teams featuring in the top 20 and winning sessions along the way, not a bad result out of 56 teams with some of Europe's top river anglers in the field. 
Looking at the other teams during the competition we were set up very similarly, fishing light rods and fine leaders. The nymph selections ranged from small back nymphs with sliver beads to fine thread bodies and large beads, gold and copper; all adopting a very simple style to their dressing. For me my top nymph was a red butt pheasant tail nymph on a size 16 Dohiku jig with 3mm gold bead, it also had a black CDC hackle on it, this along with the Sarca Nymph did the business. What I did take from being a steward was how the Italians were switching from up stream nymphing to down stream nymphing in the same cast.  Not that this is a new concept but the way they executed the movement of the rod was interesting and was producing fish for them in the final sessions when fishing gets that bit tougher. This is something I look forward to trying out over here next season. 
The well deserved winners with a stunning bag of fish of 138 was Edgardo Donà and his partner Alberto Vignati winning 2 of their 4 sessions.

This was a great trip and certainly a right taster of what is to come for the World Championships next September. This part of Italy is easily accessible for anglers from here and if you would like any information on going to fish this fabulous river please feel free to give me a shout for more details. As always a Pleasure to travel with my fishing pals who make every trip full of adventures and mishaps. 
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the blog, my website link is to the right if you are looking for Dohiku Hooks, Tungsten beads ect. Also make sure to give me a shout at the coming Fly Fair in Galway this November to check out the amazing Syndicate rod range and much more.