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. 

Tying a Zebra Midge Nymph

Winter Tying Sessions No.4 The Dry Flies

Now that the New Year bell has rung and we have moved closer to the 2019 season, this post in our winter tying sessions we will look forward to the milder days of spring and summer. After spending the early winter focusing on nymphs, it is a nice break to move away from the tungsten beads and lead work for some CDC and light wire hooks to tie some dry flies. I have a versatile set of drys that I have been using over the last number of years and they manage to cover all my bases when it comes to catching rising fish. Again the same as my nymph tying I prefer the simpler patterns that are effective and catch fish when I need them to. 

I have a couple of simple components that I focus on when I am tying a dry fly and ones that you should keep in mind when you are thinking of filling that dry box for the coming season. 

1. Its got to float- now I know most dry's float;  that is the objective of tying a dry in the first place, but I am talking about tying dries that will stay up longer and don't need 5 minuets of drying, treatment after a fish or when they get submerged. So how do we achieve this? By using quality CDC, be conscious when you are tying of the weight you add to the dressing by the threads ect you use. Finally coat the fly in a water proffer before you fish it can make that dry sit up a hell of a lot longer. 

2. You got to see it- for me I like fishing small dries so when I tie them I am always thinking of can I see it and what can I do to help me see it better without overpowering the fly with colour products or flashlights. This is really important when you are tying klink's ect for dry dropper; for this method of catching fish one of the most common problems anglers have is not being able to see the dry. Being able to see even the smaller dries will help detecting the suttle takes. 

3. Simple patterns and tie lots of them- when I am stocking the dry box I will tie up to and more that 20 of each dry. They are simple fly's and quick to tie, so when I am fishing after a few fish or some time on the water I will change the fly regularly; the same pattern but put up a new one. They are easy to tie and a fresh dry make fishing more enjoyable at times rather than squinting your eyes and not being sure if that rise was for you or not. 

So that being said here is three dries that have to be in my box for 2019 and in quantities as they will get a lot of time on the water. 

Fly No.1 Loop Winged BWO

Hook: Size 18-20 Dohiku 301 
Thread: Piscari-fly fine strong Kevlar tying thread
Tail: Coq de Leon 
Body: Hends Olive body quill 
Wing: Pale blue CDC, Tie in the tips and loop back over to create the wing.
Dubbing: Pinch of Hare's Ear (this gets tied in before you loop over the CDC).

Fly No.2 Olive CDC 

Hook: Size 18-20 Dohiku 301 
Thread: Tommi-fly UV reflective tying thread NO.7
Tail: Coq de Leon 
Wing: Natural CDC pinch of half the CDC feather and tie in the center then double over the fibers. Make sure the fibers are up right. 

Fly No.3 Black CDC Emerger   

Hook: Size 18-20 Dohiku 301 
Thread: Piscari-fly fine strong Kevlar tying thread coloured black
Tail: Coq de Leon  
Wing: Natural CDC 
Dubbing: Black CDC mixed with UV spectra dubbing 

Remember to keep the bodies light and slim, use light wire hook like the Dohiku 301 to help the fly be effective longer. Most light and small dries wont last a couple of seasons and as we all know a dry that you use in an evening rise for trout probably wont last the full session, so tie the quick and easy and have plenty of them in your box. For some good klink's for the dry dropper fishing check out this blog post https://peterdriver.blogspot.com/2018/03/fishing-dry-dropper-dry-that-catches.html. For our next winter tying session I will look at some beaded wets that will be crucial for catching spring trout when they start to move about. 

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.