Colum Driver memorial banks competition Rathdrum Trout Anglers

On Saturday the 26th I joined several members of my family and friends for the second memorial Colum Driver competition in my home village of Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. The event was held on our lake just out side the village that is well stocked with rainbows some of which have been well seasoned and take a bit of craft to catch. This lake was developed by my Dad over the last number of years and the local club host several youth training days here through out the year teaching the kids fishing methodologies and water craft with safety aspects of fly fishing. It is a small but nice sized lake that has matured well and is open to anyone that is passing by, just drop us a line here or on Facebook and we can arrange it for you. Also if you have or know any youths in this area they can come along to the many training days that the club host through out the year on fly-fishing and fly-tying.

Cloum was instrumental in my angling education growing up and taught me many aspects of fly fishing that I constantly remind my self of when I am approaching a river, even though a lot has changed sense then in the way of nymphing and our equipment the fundamentals of his methods are still the same. Colum was one of the most patient anglers I have ever came across, he always keep his method and approach to his fishing as simple as possible and he always got the rewards; he did not angle for the fish he hunted them.

Colum was a traditionalist at heart when it came to fly fishing and all you would find in his bag would be a box of wet flies probably mostly around size 12 to 14s Black and Slivers, Butchers, Greenwells Glories, Wickams Fancy and maybe a few dries that wouldn't be far off mayfly sizes.  Along with these flies he would hit the river with a seven weight rod a pair of thigh waders, a spool of 6-8 pound Maxima and that was it. He would stroll along the river bank and find a spot where he thought there would be a good trout lying under some cover and flick his fly under the hanging branches and more than likely a good trout would be there waiting to feed on his large wet fly when it swung around to the near bank, tweaking the fly as it swam through the current. Colum never fished any of the methods we commonly use today but his reading of the water and understanding of the fishes behavior was exceptional and it is these traits that I regularly refer to when I am out hunting trout on a river today. 

The day started at ten when we gathered and made the draw, the competition was ran as a rapid fire competition you had to move pegs ever 20 minuets and after three fish on any peg you had to stop fishing on that peg. This competition is good fun and a way to meet old friends and remember our angling companion Colum. The fishing was not easy by any means a combination of muddy water from a heavy days rain the day before and very wary trout that had received a good education this summer from the youths of the club on what to open there mouths for made the fishing interesting. The successful methods on the day was on sinking lines Di 3 and 5 using white booby's and blobs. Mark Driver won the day with four good fish caught on a black blob with a florescent yellow tail on a size 8 hook, using a very slow retrieve. Sean McLaughlin was second also with four fish and I finished in third place again with four fish.

I live away from here now and its not often that I get up to where I grew up and learned my trade as a fly-fisher man in the forests that surround the Avonmore River. Even though it is not a regular occurrence it is always special  to return to this amazing part of the World and meet up with some old friends, throw a line and remember those who started us off fly fishing as kids. I look forward to next Autumn and the gathering of fly fisher men in Wicklow to remember our friend Colum Driver. 

Fishing with the Corixa Bug

The Corixa fly or bug which ever you prefer to call it is also known as the Water Boatman, it is an aquatic bug that paddles along the water surface with oar-like hind legs. This bug lives in fresh water and there is over 500 species known World wide. The water boatmen have a grayish, elongated, oval body, 3 to 12 mm long and  have a conical beak and a broad head with large eyes. The adults have short, flattened front legs; long, slender middle legs; and oar-like hind legs fringed with fine hairs that help them in swimming.

Like all aquatic bugs, water boatmen lack gills; they breathe air when at the surface of the water. They frequently carry an air bubble on their body surface or under their wings, and draw oxygen from this bubble while they are underwater.Water boatmen live most commonly in ponds and along the edges of lakes and eat algae and minute aquatic organisms. 

They can be sometimes confused with back swimmers, which are generally larger bugs that swim upside down.
The Scientific classification of the Water boatmen make up the true bug family Corixidae, suborder Heteroptera, order Hemiptera. During the summer I decided to take a break from my river fishing and headed to a local small lake that holds a nice stock of brown trout, the day was lovely and sunny and I had planned to do some buzzer and dry fly fishing from the bank. Arriving at the venue I took a stroll down the right hand shore and observed several good trout breaking the surface, excited at the thoughts of hooking into one of those beautiful fish I covered them with several different dries but to no avail. The light breeze dispersed and the lake was flat clam it was only then that I say what the trout were feeding on, it was the Water Boatman bug. The fishing was exciting using the limited patterns I had in my box to match the hatch but and i managed to fool a few fish that day. I returned the next day with some more variations of the Corixa that I tied the evening before and had a cracking second day on them taking fish after fish, one being the beautiful hen fish in the picture above. 

I was fishing the two files below on a floating line and retrieving very slow almost fishing the bugs stagnant the bottom bug has a little bit of weight it to drag it through the water. I used the two different weights in the flies to find out at what stage the trout were feeding on the water boatman as it made its way to the surface for oxygen by letting them down on different counts and using different retrieves to present the bug exactly the way the fish wanted it. 
Here are the two bugs that I fished and had great results on them:

Hook: Hends BL200 size 14

Thread: White Grail thread 

Rib: Green Mono

Under body: White foam

Body: White CDC dubbed on

Back:White foam colored in with permanent markers.

Legs: Brown Goose Biots.

Hook: Hends BL200 size 14

Thread: White Grail thread 

Rib: Brown Floss

Under body: Flat lead

Body: White Antron wool

Back: Pearl Scudback Cinnamon 

Body and back is coated in UV resin

Legs: Rubber centipede legs 

Hackle: Squirrel plucked from skin and dubbed on then brushed out well.

Sitting at the bank of a lake and the sun is beaming down with good quality trout on the move and you have the flies to catch them is pretty close to heaven for me. When the trout hit that fly the give it some thump and when you lift into them its an explosion of adrenaline as the fish plays tug and war with your line and fly. Its days like this that we endure the tough days for and the days we look forward to. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and if you have any comments or questions just drop me a line below l, also if you would like to see what post I am doing next  just sign in and follow this blog. click on any of the materials and the links will lead you to where you can find them. Thanks for reading. 

Fishing Stripped Peacock Quill Nymphs in Low Water

During the 2013 season I spent a lot of the time fishing low rivers, like most of the other river anglers in Ireland. Fishing was not that easy there was a lot of weed along with the water quality being at a low for some time, but the fish were still there and had to feed. Apart from the dry fly I had a  few good nymphs that were producing fish through out these tough conditions, but being able to present these nymphs properly to the trout was key to the success of the nymphs themselves.

I had began fishing by anticipating striking last year and this method had improved my catch rate by at least 15 to 20%, I will be putting up a post on this methodology of nymph fishing shortly, working up the margins of a run this method and these nymphs proved to be the most successful method I had for this season. Fishing a leader set up I make myself including a tapered section of 3.23 meters, this can be made of your own formula as I do or a tapered leader like a camou leader, just make sure there is a good spring in the tapered section you can add this to your leader by boiling the leader for three minuets; then join in a 28 cm sight indicator of straight dual mono with a small perfection loop at one end to attach your tippet material to. I use tippet ranging from  0.12 to 0.09 which a single nymph or some times a second nymph on a dropper is added. The single nymph approach I found to be better when fishing the lighter nymph and slacker water; I found this gave me better contact with the nymph and I was picking up less weed on my single nymph. Also when you don't have that extra knot in your set up, there is less chance of a break off at the dropper point when using the lighter tippet this and along with the extra spring in the tapered section which will help take the shock of a strike you should be able to fish fine tippets and not crack off the whole time when meeting fish.
Stealth is very important when fishing these conditions for both you and in presenting the flies to the fish; a good pair of knee pads will make this easier, more comfortable and protect your waders form the wear and tear of the uneven surface of the river bed when you are kneeling down to keep out of the trouts view thus allowing you to get closer to the lying fish. Understanding where the fish are lying is also an important factor and you should put some time into trying to get a grasp of this by watching and studying trouts lies and behaviors in low water, this will also give you your positioning and how to approach the section of water correctly so you don't spook the fish and you can work your way up through the run effectively.

Here are a few of the simple nymphs that i have found to to be effective when fishing in low water this season: 

Hook: Hends BL500 size 16

Bead: Size 2.5mm Tungsten 

Under body: Fine flat lead 

Thread: Olive Twist tying thread 

Tail: Cock De Leon

Body: Natural Peacock stripped and coated in UV resin 

Wing strips: Yellow Goose Biots 

Hackle: Natural squirrel plucked from the body skin and brushed out well. 

Hook: Hends BL300 size 14

Bead: Size 2.5mm Tungsten 

Under body: Fine flat lead 

Thread: Red Twist tying thread 

Tail: Cock De Leon

Body: Natural Peacock stripped and coated in UV resin 

Collar: Red Twist tying thread

Hook: Hends BL300 size 18

Bead: Size 2.5mm Tungsten 

Under body: Fine flat lead 

Thread: Olive Twist tying thread 

Tail: Cock De Leon

Body: Natural Peacock Dyed Olive stripped and coated in UV resin 

Collar: Hends Spectra dubbing no 46

There is something about fishing a low river on a summers day and light nymphing that I really enjoy especially when you have a system and flies that are working for you. Its not the easiest of time to be out nymphing but I find it can be the most rewarding and it is in these environments that you will learn the most about your presentation, nymphs, and the trouts behavior. I hope you will give these nymphs a swim next summer when the rivers are low and reap the same rewards and satisfaction I had this summer.

Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you have enjoyed it, if you click on any of the materials used in the dressings the link will lead you to find where you can buy it on our online shop. Also you can sign in your email and follow this blog to see what coming next, thanks again. 

My best Pheasant Tail Nymphs from 2013

I often have the debate with friends which classic nymph is better, the Pheasant tail or the Hares ear nymph. For me I tend to lean towards hares ears and they are mostly my go to nymph in any fishery. I have great confidence and belief in these flies and they continuously produce good catches for me . Saying that a lot of anglers have the same confidence in Pheasant tails, and I do share that belief, just might not reach for my box of PTs as quick as my hares ears if I am struggling to get some fish. However as you can see i always carry a nice selection of phesant tails with me. 

It was in Frank Sawyers’ book 'Nymphs and the Trout' first published in 1958 where he describes the method of tying and fishing this nymph. The design of the fly is significantly different from other flies in that Sawyer did not use thread to construct the fly, instead opting to use very fine copper wire. This has two effects; it adds weight to the fly, enabling it to be fished deeper than similar patterns, and adds a subtle brightness to an otherwise plain fly.
He twisted the wire and pheasant tail fibers around one another, and wrapped them forward together, forming the thorax and abdomen. A few good variations have been developed over the years, but when you strip them away, it's still Sawyer's elegantly simple, devastatingly effective nymph. The Pheasant tail nymph is and has been sense the publishing of Franks book globally renowned as one of the greatest flies of all time. Like most dressing the original pattern has undergone many changes and developments due the production and addition of many synthetic materials to the existing natural feather that is from the tail of the cock pheasant. 

I grew up in the country side of Co Wicklow, raring and hunting pheasants is a part of the way of life there, this meaning that I had an abundance of tail feathers all different in colour and size to tie these nymphs. 

With this simple material on its own and a bit of copper wire that I used to get from the back of old tv's you could create a cracking fly that will catch a lot of fish. With the addition of some other materials these nymphs can imitate many forms of the natural food for trout and con even the cleverest of brownies into a take. Here are some of the nymphs that have worked really well for me this season:

Hook: Size 14 Hends Jig hook with a flat lead under-body & 3mm gold tungsten slotted bead
Thread: Red twist tying thread
Tail: Ginger cock hackle fibers 
Tag: Red holographic tinsel
Rib: Fine gold wire 
Body: Natural pheasant tail Dubbing for the collar: Natural squirrel with a turn of Hends UV ice dubbing and brushed out well, finish with some of the red thread showing behind the bead.

Hook: Size 16 Hends BL200
Flat lead under-body & 2.5mm gold tungsten bead
Thread: Olive twist tying thread
Tail:  Ginger cock hackle fibers.
Tag: Glo-brite no 5.
Rib: Fine gold wire. 
Body: Natural pheasant tail
 Collar: Hends Spectra dubbing no 46.

Hook: Size 14 Hends Grubber.  hook with a Flat lead under-body & 2.5mm gold tungsten bead.
Thread: Red twist tying thread.
Tail:  Ginger cock hackle fibers.
Rib: Fine gold wire.
Back & Thorax cover: Pearl flat tinsel brought up the full length of the nymph.
Body: Natural pheasant tail.
Thorax: Hends Spectra dubbing no 46 with some of the red thread showing behind the bead.

These three nymphs are not that far apart in their dressings but yet I do find that with pheasant tail nymphs even the slightest of difference in the dressing of the fly can be very important in trying to match what the trout are looking for.
I hope you enjoyed this post and if you would like to see some more flies that I have found to be productive you can follow this blog by putting your email in the follow box on the right. Thank you for taking your time to read this. 

Jig Hook Nymphs with CDC

Over the last number of seasons the use of CDC in nymph dressings has increased dramatically, this development has given an extra but simple benefit to already productive nymph patterns.  I have been using CDC for many years on my dries and I know it is a great material for catching fish through this method. It was a couple of seasons ago when I was fishing some rivers in Norway that I was given a small gold wire nymph and told that this was working really well at the time for trout, the dressing was very simple a gold bead with gold wire wound up the body in touching turns and it had a CDC hackle just behind the bead head; the hackle folded beautifully down over the body when the fly was in the water and gave it a real natural and fishy look.
Sense then I have been adding this feather to some of my nymphs in different forms, on my micro nymphs ill pluck some fibers from the feather and dubb them onto the thread then wind them on just behind the bead and brush out the fibers, on the larger nymphs ill wind on or spin on the CDC hackle which allows the long hackles to create the look I want with the nymph. After been asked recently how to achieve this look I will show you and it is really straight forward.

Firstly once you have reached the stage of the body is complete with ribbing and what ever else you chose, then get a CDC feather that has a reasonable consistency to is hackle lengths like on the picture, then by brushing back the fibers near the tip tie in the stalk and simply wind on the hackle and brush it back as you wind on with your finger tips, once it is wound on as many turns as you require then wind the thread through the hackles and tie it off. To complete the fly I would add in a turn of some dubbing depending on the finished look I want and brush this out and back to allow all the materials at the head of the fly to blend in together. 

Here are some of my more successful nymphs with CDC:

Hook: Size 10 Hends jig BJ120 

Bead: 3mm slotted tungsten sliver bead with a flat lead underbody

Thread: Olive twist tying thread

Tail: Cock De Leon

Tag: Glo-brite no 5

Rib: Hends blue patina tinsel

Body: Grey Hares ear dubbing 

Hackle: Hends light grey CDC

Collar: Grey Hares ear dubbing brushed back well.

Hook: Size 12 Hends jig BJ120 

Bead: 3mm slotted tungsten sliver bead with a flat lead underbody

Thread: Olive twist tying thread

Tail: Cock De Leon

Tag: Glo-brite no 5

Rib: Hends medium peral tinsel

Body: Natural phesant tail  

Hackle: Natural CDC

Collar: Hends spectra dubbing no 46.

Hook: Size 12 Hends jig BJ120 

Bead: 3mm slotted tungsten gold bead with a flat lead under-body

Thread: Black twist tying thread

Tail: Cock De Leon

Tag: Green holographic tinsel

Rib: Hends green wire

Body: Pheasant tail dyed olive

Hackle: Hends olive CDC

Collar: Hends spectra dubbing no 46.

I generally fish these nymphs on the point of a team of nymphs using the weight of these nymphs to drag down the smaller nymphs that are on droppers, this can be effective when you are fishing in early season or in heavy water. Allowing the Jig hook nymph to trot down the current into the path of hopefully a hungry trout. I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and try out this addition to your nymphs it really does add to the productivity of your flies. You can sign in and follow this blog to be updated when the next post goes up with more flies, just enter your email in the box on the right and thanks for reading.

Hares Ear Nymphs

This natural dubbing that is taking from the face or mask of a Hare has been used to dress nymphs and flies for over 200 years and is still as popular and productive for tying nymphs today. The nymphs of today have varied quite a bit with the additions of synthetic materials being added to the fly, dying and mixing the natural fur also has helped the evolution of the Hares Ear Nymph. The dubbing in general gets used in millions of dressings and is a easy dubbing to use, along with its nice soft texture it can be dubbed on tight to the body or be brushed out to create a nice full and natural style to any fly. 
My first experience of this material and nymph was in the form of a small un-weighted nymph that I bought as a kid with some Pheasant tail covering a simple thorax and a copper rib, when I swung down and across in a wet style fashion on my home river and once it started the swing across the river a trout would rise and take it; when the conditions were just right it was unmatchable. Some time later when I began to tie flies the Hares Ear mask was one of the first pieces of material that I bought under the instructions of my coach, the late Noel Shields.  He began to teach me several patterns that this fur could be used on and from there it became a favorite dubbing and component to a lot of my best flies.  Over the years I have tied thousands of nymphs with this dubbing as the body and each of them have varied in one way or another, through mixing dubbings or adding tags, tails, wings ect; but it is still that natural piece of fur that give the fly its life and is irresistible to feeding trout. Here are some of my most successful Hares Ear Nymphs: 

Hares Ear Jig Hook
Hook: Hends Jig hook size 14
Flat lead under-body & 2.5mm Black tungsten bead
Thread: Black twist tying thread
Tail: Glo-brite no 11
Rib: Fine sliver wire 
Dubbing: Main body is natural Hares ear mixed with a small pinch of Hends ice dubbing, the collar is Hends Spectra dubbing no 46.

Small Hares Ear
Hook: Size 18 B175 Kamasan
Flat lead under-body & 2mm gold tungsten bead
Thread: Olive twist tying thread
Tail: Cock De Leon fibers 
Tag: Glo-brite no 12
Rib: Fine gold wire 
Dubbing: Main body is natural Hares ear, the collar is Hends Spectra dubbing no 32.

Pearly Hares Ear
Hook: Size 14 Hends grubber hook
Flat lead under-body & 2.5mm sliver tungsten bead
Thread: Black twist tying thread
Rib: Hends med pearl tinsel  
Dubbing: Hares ear mixed with a small pinch of Hends ice dubbing.

A lake Hares Ear Nymph 

Hook: Size 8 Hends 321 hook
Thread: Black twist tying thread
Tail: Glo-brite no 12 & several fibers of olive Krystal flash
Rib: Gold wire 
Dubbing: Main body is natural Hares ear
Thorax cover: Natural pheasant tail fibers 
Thorax: Natural Hares Ear but use the lighter part of the mask.


One key ingredient in all these flies is that I brush them out very well I fell it adds to the fish-ability of the dressing, I prefer to use a cut down tooth brush to achieve this as it allows me to dig deep into the dubbing and draw the fibers out. The first three flies are river nymphs and I have them in my box in all sizes from 18 to 10 or even size 8 for the jig hook nymph. I use the different weights and sizes depending on the depth of the river I am fishing. You can also change the colour of the tails and tags, this is worth trying to see what hot spot colour suits your river system. Also it is worth playing around with your dubbing and try mixing in different synthetic materials to enhance the natural material, the Hends Ice dubbing is really worth trying.  
The last Nymph is one I fish on lakes its not weighted as the fly lines take the fly down if needed, it is a great fly when fished deep and retrieved very slowly, it represents many forms of the trouts diet and can be very effective for those bigger fish hiding deep.
I hope you enjoyed this post and if you have any comments or questions please feel free to post them, also you can enter your email and follow this blog to see what flies will be coming shortly. 

Rainbow fishing at Lough Ashling, Edenderry.

Its the  time of year when the wild trout season slows down and the dust for me is blown off the rainbow fly box. So on Saturday I decided to head out to Lough Ashling in Edenderry to see how it was fishing and get in some practice for the Leinster bank finals to be held there in two weeks, as usual on my arrival you are greeted by a good host, Joe who always has the kettle on. After a chat I tackled up and headed down the left shore and after just been informed by Joe that it was recently stocked I began with fry patterns and from the off was into several good sporting rainbows around the 3lb mark that liked to take to the air once hooked. I was stripping fast and on most occasions I would feel a pluck or two before the fish committed its self to the take. The streamers were small and sleek with good zonker tails that moved well to attract fish. 

Moving down the left hand shore the fish kept coming to several fry dressings black and sliver being the predominant colours but I also fished some orange and bright olives that also produced fish.  Another angler who was on the shore ahead of me was also having good result on the dry fly which he showed me was a small dark klink hammer.
All along the shelf around ten feet from the bank a lot of good rainbows patrolled the edge searching for some prey, so it was worth casting down along this margin and picking one or two of these off before casting out to the deeper water where there is an abundance of fish there willing to take once you can reach them. I did a complete lap of the lake through out the day and took several fish off each peg I stopped at, mostly on fry patterns as I said but I also caught some fish on a size 12 slim quill buzzer with light orange cheeks fished just under the surface. I did find that fishing a sinking line did hit weed quickly so fishing a slow intermediate line was far more productive. 

Located four miles. from Edenderry on the 402 to Tullamore around 4 miles you will see sign signs to follow, price range for full and half days are very reasonable with good facilities also on site.
Here is some dressings worth trying if you head to this lake. 

Hook: Size 10 Hends BL200
Thread: Black Twist tying thread
Tail & Body: Hends sliver metalic dubbing teased out for tail.
Zonker: Black Hends Muskrat strip.
Eyes: Hends Epoxy eyes.

Hook: size 12 Hends 404
Thread: Black twist tying thread
Body: Orange striped quill coated in UV resin
Cheeks: Light orange Turkey Biots.

Hook: Size 8 Hends BL200
Thread: Black Twist tying thread
Tail: Red Metallic Hends dubbing teased out.
Body: Hends Sliver Metallic dubbing.
Zonker: Natural Hends furry-band strip.
Head: Hends Red Metallic dubbing in front of a few turns of large grizzle hen all brushed back.

This fishery is well worth the trip and has a good stock of fighting fish, with great hospitality and facilities. A place I will be visiting again shortly.
Hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading it if you have any comments please feel free to leave them and also you can sign in and follow this blog to see where we will be fishing soon.   

BLUE LAKE FLIES

BLUE is a colour that can often be forgotten or used lightly by fly dressers except when using it in claret bumbles and the like, for me I love adding in some nice blue hackles, flash hair, beads and making bodies from several products I have found over the years. I have also found throughout several seasons that it is a good colour to attract trout in rivers and lakes and especially when they are looking for that something out of the norm. I do use a lot of blue in my streamer patterns for stocked rainbows and I will show you some of them at a later date along with some cracking nymphs that can lure the craftiest of wild brown trout. But here is some of my successful lake flies that are a bit blue. 

The Blue Dabbler

Hook: B175 size 10 Kamasan

Thread: Black hends twist thread

Tail: Black pheasant tail

Rib: Silver or blue wire 

Body: Blue Hends Patina tinsel no 29

Body Hackle: Grizzle dyed blue

Under Wing: Hends Krystal flash light blue 

Wing: Cloaked black mallard 

The Blue & Claret Bumble

Hook: B175 size 10 Kamasan

Thread: Black hends twist thread

Tail: Golden pheasant tippets

Rib: Blue Hends Patina tinsel no 29

Body: Claret and UV ice dubbing mixed no 13

Body Hackle: Grizzle dyed blue and claret wound up together 

Under Wing: Hends Krystal flash light blue 

Head: Muddler style blue deer hair 

The Blue & Black Hopper

Hook: B175 size 10-12 Kamasan

Thread: Black hends twist thread

Rib: Silver or blue wire 

Body: Blue Hends Patina tinsel no 29

Body Hackle: Soft black cock hackle

Wing: dark natural CDC 

Shoulder Hackle : grizzle dyed blue 

I am always on the look out for new products that are this colour and different shades so I can add it to patterns that would give them an edge over the original fly, it is something worth playing around with and as I said its that something a little different that trout are not that used to looking at from us anglers. 

Over the next few weeks I will put up some other good dressings with this colour as the main concept of the fly and hope you enjoy tying and fishing them, so keep and eye on this blog. Also if you have any questions or would like to see any fly and its dressing just pop me a line and I will do my best to accommodate you. 

LAKE OLIVES

A fly dresser could tie boxes and boxes of olives all different sizes and colour combinations and still think of other designs that might work. Over the years I must of tied thousands of lake olives all different in one way or another, some were fantastic flies and others never attracted a single rise, I find that the tone of olive can be the most important factor in these flies along with a little bit of magic in there too. Here are some of my reliable ones that have proven there worth over the last number of seasons. 

Hook: size 12-10 B175 Kamasan 
Thread: Black twist thread 
Tail: Golden pheasant tippets 
Rib: oval gold 
Dubbing: light golden olive blend dubbing brushed out well through the body hackle 
Body Hackle:  light olive hen 
Wing: white deer hair 
Shoulder Hackle: brown partridge 

Hook: size 12-10 B175 Kamasan 
Thread: olive twist thread 
Tag: Glo-brite no 4
Tail: natural pheasant tail 
Rib: gold wire 
Dubbing: dark olive blend dubbing 
Body Hackle: dark olive cock
Wing: strands of hends pearl Krystal flash 
Shoulder Hackle: guinea fowl dyed blue 

Hook: size 12-10 B175 Kamasan 
Thread: Black twist thread 
Tail: glo-brite no 12
Rib: hends green wire 
Dubbing: green spectra dubbing 
Body Hackle: grizzle cock dyed green
Wing:strands of hends pearl Krystal flash and hends olive deer hair 


These olives are well worth tying and fishing, it is important that you brush your bodies and dubbing well before you finish the fly. Also tie them nice and bushy so they will move well through the waves. I hope you enjoy these flies and sign up to follow this blog and see more good flies coming soon. 

The Octopus

The Octopus trout fly is one of those flies that I remember from my youth and was a fly to fish in September and October when trout are feeding in the deep, but these days I would fish them throughout the season for brown trout on Irish loughs especially when there is a nice rolling wave.
There is many variations of this bright fly and below are some of my successful deviations from the original pattern. I generally always fish this fly on the top dropper of a three fly team, on a slow intermediate or preferable a floating line.

Hook: 10-8 B175 Kamasan
Thread: Black Hends Twist 
Tail: Glo-Brite no 11
Rib: Gold Wire Med
Dubbing: Hends Spectra Yellow 
Body Hackle: Sunburst Cock Hackle 
Under Wing: Several Strands of Hends Krystal Flash Yellow
Sholder Hackle: Golden Pheasant Body Feather 

Very similar to the fly above bar this dressing has no Krystal Flash and has a pair of jungle cock cheeks. The small variations in these flies I do find make a difference on days so it is worth making small changes to patterns. 

This tying has all the same materials as the above two only I add a bit of yellow deer hair wing in, also the jungle cock is tied in slightly different, in this dressing you take a large jungle eye and split it then tie it in on top of the fly and allow it to slightly fold down over each side of the wing. I find that on a windy day fishing this fly on a floating line fishes higher in the water and attracts more takes.

This dressing has the same hook and tail as the first fly after that it is:
Rib: Hends olive wire rib
Body: Green holographic tinsel
Hackle: Grizzle cock dyed green
Under wing: Several Strands of Hends Krystal Flash green
Wing: Hends Deer Hair


These flies are worth tying and will produce some good fishing on the right days, don't forget to dabble them just before you lift them off the water this can produce a take to a following fish. 
Follow this blog and see more good dressings of flies that catch fish coming soon.