Chasing Fry Feeders in the Spring: Two Great Fry Patterns for Early Lough Fishing

With the new year celebrations a distant memory now it is  this time of year a lot of anglers start to turn there attention to the early cool days on the Loughs soon to come. I have found over the years that fishing Irish Loughs in February and early March can be difficult and frustrating at times. The fish can be very moody and quite, this not being helped with little or no fly life about if we experience a cold start to the spring.
Now I have experienced both sides of the boat during this time of the year, one being on the great Western Lakes freezing hoping for a pull of a trout and the other going out on the opening day on the Corrib and returning five or six nice lumps through out the day. Over the last number of seasons it has been the Midland lakes, especially Lough Owel that are my early haunts and they proved to be just as frustrating as any other lake in the spring. However, I do manage to have some good days during the early months and it normally involves horsing out sinking lines and stripping back fast fry patterns. Not only by doing this do I feel I have a good chance of aggravating a trout into taking my lure but it also keeps the blood flowing and helps to take your mind off the cold wet lines and cutting breezes.

Here are two Fry patterns that have produced some fish in the early months, I normally fish them on a Di 3-5 sinking lines or Di 3-5 Sweep line; with two flies on the cast and vary my depths and retrieves till I get some action.

Fly No. 1 The Grey Minky 

Hook: Dohiku W 12sl or 10sl
Thread: Piscarifly fine strong Kevlar silk
Tail: Pinch of red holographic dubbing
Body: Sliver UV holographic micro fritz
Wing: Grey minky rabbit strip with a strand of sliver holographic tinsel down each side
Beard: Pinch of red holographic dubbing

This is a very natural looking fry pattern that moves really well in the water and can take a couple of fussy and lazy fish when little else will work. It is a sleek minky when wet and it also can be tied in a black version by just replacing the grey strip with a black rabbit minky strip.

Fly No.2 The Humongous

Hook: Dohiku W 12sl or 10sl
Thread: Piscarifly fine strong Kevlar silk
Eyes: Bead chain sliver filled with Neon Yellow UV nail varnish
Tail: Black rabbit fur with sliver holographic tinsel strips down each side 
Body: Sliver UV holographic micro fritz
Hackle: Grizzle ribbed with clear mono
Beard: Pinch of red holographic dubbing

Now the Humongous lure can be tied in a countless number of forms and colours, and it is a great early season lure; with those chain beads they can fish well down in the water and pick up the low lying fish. For me this is one of my better combinations, it looks fantastic in the water and is a cracking point fly on a Di 3 or 5 sweep. I am not one hundred percent sure if filling the holes left from cutting the bead chain a real game change but they look dam good on a dark spring day in murky waters.
So when you are heading out on the water this spring and there is little fly life about and the dabblers just are not picking up the fish try something a little larger in these from and you could turn a cold bleak session into a day where you pick up a couple of fish.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and enjoy tying these flies; if you would like to stock up your boxes for this coming year make sure and contact me through Facebook or email. 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 beads, Dohiku barbless hooks, Tommi-fly products,the amazing Syndicate Fly Rods, Reels, leaders and much more. Thanks for reading.
Also check out my new YouTube channel for all my latest tying and hot tips. 

Early Season River Nymphs

It wont be too long now till the months of February and March when we begin to see the return of the nymphing anglers back on the water after a long winter. Eager to wet the winter tying's and see if the new patterns will tempt fish from the runs of their favorite rivers and streams. The enthusiasm of the angler can be quickly dampened as the cold waters prove it quite difficult to entice a trout to take. At this time of the year brown trout’s metabolism is low and they are still lying in their winter protective lies. So, fishing the typical runs and spring/ summer lies will often lead to disappointment and poor catch rates. 

However, searching through the waters you can discover the more protective places that there could be a chance of a fish or two. These are usually along the margins, in deeper pockets, or places where the fish would remain safe from the winter high waters and cold weather. It is often the case also that you will come across pods of trout in these places, moving from pod to pod will result in a productive day during early spring for the fly angler.
So once you find the fish the next question is what you are going to throw at them to get them to open there mouths. The fish are on the border line from being in their winter feeding mode and their spring hunger encouraging them to snap at anything going by. Selecting the right pattern could be the key to catching rather than blanking.
Here are a few nymphs that I have found to be attractive enough to hook up some early season trout. 

1.Hare’s Ear Grub

Hook: Dohiku 644 or 622
Bead: Copper 3mm-4mm
Thread: Olive tying Thread
Rib: Flat Copper Tinsel
Body: Natural Hares Ear dubbing
Thorax: Mixed Hot Red Dubbing and UV Ice Dubbing

This is a great fly for early season nymphing but will also produce fish throughout the season. I find it best on the point and you could also add some flat lead in the under body to give it that extra weight to get down to the deeper fish.

2.Leggy Caddis

Hook: Dohiku 18-16 Jig
Bead: Slotted Gold or Copper 3mm-4mm
Thread: Olive Tying Thread
Tag: Glo Brite No 12
Tail: Natural Partridge Fibres 
Rib: Gold or Copper Wire
Body: Natural Hares Ear Dubbing
Thorax: Hends Peacock Dubbing
Legs: Speckled Rubber legs
Great Jig nymph and aa great attractor pattern for getting fish to open there mouths. This nymph can be successful on either the point fly or on a dropper. By jigging the rod tip up and down you get those legs moving and they can be a real trigger point for the fish.

3.Black & Orange

Hook: Dohiku 18-16 Jig
Bead: Slotted Gold or Copper 3mm-4mm
Thread: Black Tying Thread
Tail: Glo Brite No 9
Rib: Copper Wire
Body: Root Beer flat tinsel
Hackle: Black CDC Spun and Brushed Back
Thorax: Hends Peacock Dubbing

Another favourite for early season, black can be a good colour if the waters are a bit mucky at this time of the year. The CDC has lovely movement in it when it’s swimming through the runs and the little orange tail peeping through is just enough to entice the fish to have a taste. This fly is one of my go to fly’s no matter where I go.

At this time of year I like to have some movement or bushiness to my nymphs. I tend to stick to more natural colours and materials and use larger beads with smaller bodies to get the nymphs down right where I want them. But a key to successful fishing trips in the early parts of the season is your work rate. You must search the rivers for the fish and don’t be afraid to look in the unlikely spots, you may be surprised, Tight Lines.
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and trying out some of these fly's and enjoy catching fish with it even more. 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.

Soft Hackled March Brown

The month of March for most of Irish anglers sees our return to the natural fisheries of the countryside, the river and lakes will become our second home for the next nine months of spring and summer. But we are not the only creatures heading out on the waters for the first time after the winter; insects and flies make there timely return also, few in numbers but hatching fly's can be about. 
This can be a challenging time for the angler trying to lure the trout who are barely awake from the migration of the spawning months, but with some attractive and simple patterens and a positive approach it wont take long before you are landing the first fish of this year. 
Here is a nice wet fly that has caught some fish for me in the early months and is a trusted point fly when casting across the rivers in the spring.

Hook: Size 14 B175 Kamasan or 12 -10 for lake 
Thread: olive twist thread
Tail: Natural grey partridge 
Tag: Glo-brite no 5
Rib: Fine gold wire 
Dubbing: Hares ear mixed with a little UV ice dubbing brushed out well
Wing: Paired hen pheasant wing 
Hackle: Both natural CDC and natural grey partridge wound on together.


A very slight but effective variation of the original tying of this fly, the tag gives the trout something to aim at and the dual hackle gives the fly lovely movement in the water with a nice profile when wet. 
This dressing is also worth tying on larger sizes for the olive hatches on the lakes in later spring and trust me it wont let you down. Over the next few weeks ill be preparing my boxes with some good early season wets and nymphs so keep an eye here and ill show you what I have planned for the trout in March. 
I hope you enjoy reading this post and if you have any comments or questions on early season patterens just drop me a line below, also you can sign in and follow us. Thanks for reading.