Flicking feathers

  Fry time is when you stand arguably the best chance of catching specimen trout from still waters and although subsurface flies like the minkie are deadly, there's nothing better than catching fish off the top. Enter the floating fry, or spondoolie as it's sometimes called. This deer hair pattern is a bit more time consuming to tie than a foam fry, but it makes up for it in effectiveness. It offers a more natural shape and sits lower in the water better mimicking a stunned fry and being less buoyant than foam with no stiff material behind the hook will get fewer missed takes and result in more positive hook-ups. To support the channel, join the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up Materials list Hook: Tiemco 5263 or equivalent 3-4x long streamer hook size 2-8 Thread: White gsp 100 Tail: Orange rabbit or marabou Body: White deer belly hair spun &

  I first encountered this buoyant stickleback pattern sometime around 1993 and it has remained a consistent taker of fish ever since. Don't confuse it with floating fry, this pattern works best fished on fast sinking lines- we were still using homemade Hi-D shooting heads with amnesia running lines when this one came out. It will work all year, but seems to be most effective through the winter making a more imitative alternative to the booby and is great for sorting out the quality fish. To support the channel, join the online tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Material list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 4-10 Thread: Fluo White 8/0 Tail: White marabou, pearl & white polar flash and olive marabou Underbody: Pearl flash dubbing e.g. ice dub or glister Gill: Red dubbing or a red hackle Body: Foam booby tube (5mm for size 8&10, 7mm for size 6&4)

  The minkie is a fantastic subsurface fry pattern and is ideal for the back end of the season. It's best to carry a two or three different sizes so you can best match the size of the fry that the trout are feeding on. To support my channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Material list Hook: Heavy wire long shank e.g. TMC 5263 size 2-6 or Kamasan B175 size 4-8 for smaller sizes Thread: White 8/0 Body: White fritz Rib: Silver wire Wing: Mink zonker Hackle: Grey mallard flank Cheeks: Jungle Cock Head: Globrite no.3 floss

An unconventional bonefish fly here from Carl Richards. Although not many people fish imitations, sea urchin are a favourite prey species for all manner of flats species including bones, permit, triggerfish and tuskies among others. I've updated the dressing a little with UV resin making flies fairly straight forward ties and it's definitely worth having a few of them in your box. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head over to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Owner fly liner or Gammakatsu G-carp size 4 Thread: Black 140 Body: Black deer hair Weight: Non-lead splitshot Belly: Underside of fly coated in flexible UV resin and painted with nail polish  

Kenny Abrames' A perfect fish is a fantastic text on fly tying and fly fishing. Its main focus is on flat wing style flies and striped bass, but the lessons can be applied anywhere. This beautifully illustrated book is quite hard to come by but you'll probably be able to find a copy by following my amazon links. Amazon .com https://amzn.to/3DKxadM Amazon UK https://amzn.to/31BKYul Alternatively it can sometimes be found on ebay https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=a+perfect+fish&_sacat=0 Wherever you can track it down, this is a great book and well worth adding to your collection. To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up. Book of the Month 8: Strip-Set is available here Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3kizn9F Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3wvglSo Using the link will help suppo

  Long time supporter Joe Andrezik is the winner of November's flies. The Christmas prizes are currently a box of flies, 2 materials packs and 2 signed copies of "At The End Of The Line" by George Barron. I might add some more over the next week if I can. To enter the giveaways, get access to the monthly zoom tying classes and support the channel, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers an sign up. #flyfishing #giveaway #flytying

  This revised version of Barr's Spork is the 2nd fly from the carp fly tie & catch video. It's a very effective choice for shallow water carp that are searching for crayfish, shrimp or other mobile forage. I've changed some of the features of John Barr's original to address some of the issues I encountered while using it making, I think, a more effective fly.To support the channel and be eligible for giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers​ and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: TMC 2457 size 8-6 Thread: uni 8/0 Weight Bead chain Tail: Marbou Rib: Gold wire Body: TMC pellet dub or similar shaggy dubbing with a little flash Legs: Barred round rubber Hackle: Grizzly soft hackle BOTM 7 The practical angler is available here: https://amzn.to/3kLyBSW Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3EZxneY Amazon.com

  This snatcher version of the Paisley wet fly is a great option for midge feeders in calmer conditions when there isn't enough wave to fish a bigger bushy fly and when there are cow dung fly about. It's as effective for wild brown trout on the lochs as for stocked fish.To support my channel, join the monthly online tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Kamasan B100 size 12-14 Thread:Black Uni 8/0 Tag: Globrite no.4 floss Rib: Gold wire Body: Golden olive seal fur Body hackle: Badger cock, stripped on one side Collar hackle: Red cock hackle Head: Golden olive seal fur

Another old one I wrote for www.sexyloops.com The weather is cooling off a bit and I'm turning my eye on the seabass again.  They're around most of the year but fishing is better in the cooler months and inshore areas around Tokyo in summer aren't that pleasant with the humidity anyway. I went out a couple of weeks ago with Hawaiian Dave for the first trip of the autumn, just before the last typhoon passed by. It was a bit blowy and Dave was struggling a bit with his casting - not enough practice! But despite this the wind and the pre-frontal conditions had the bass heavily on the feed, and the thumb rash was right up onto the palm of my hand. Numbers and big ones. Which was nice.  As usual, I stuck on the intermediate and a 7cm rubber candy. It worked incredibly well, as it always does. I'm not sure when I last fished another fly for seabass. There are plenty of other flies that I know work plenty well enough, but it's just so relentlessly consistent that I can'

  Another of Stan Headley's flies, the near perfect buzzer is an excellent chironomid imitation for loch style fishing. To support my channel and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Kamasan B420 size 12-14 Thread: Black Uni 8/0 Abdomen: Stripped peacock eye quill, heavily varnished Cheeks: Go brite floss no 7 or 8 Thorax: Peacock herl Hackle: Sparse dun hen

  Rab Adam tied this fly for Ayrshire's reservoirs, specifically the Camphill dam, but it certainly works well further afield. To support my channel, get access to the monthly online tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 10-14 Thread: Black Uni 8/0 Body: 60%Hare's ear 40% yellow olive seal fur Rib: Gold tinsel Body hackle: Ginger/natural red cock hackle Head hackle: Brown partridge

  More compact than a dabbler but offering a heavier form than a bumble, the Irishman's Claret is a nice wet fly pattern for the top dropper that fishes best in a decent wave. To support my channel, get access to the monthly tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Materials list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 10-12 Thread: Black Tail: Golden pheasant tippet dyed hot orange Optional flash: Crinkle mirror flash-orange Rib: Fine oval gold Body: Claret seal's fur Body hackle: Claret cock Wing: Bronze mallard Head hackle: Dark claret hen

Another old post from www.sexyloops.com   Recently I've been tying a box of flies to take to Caithness and the Hebrides once we're able to travel again and I can get to Scotland. The Hebrides, Uist's machair lochs in particular have some of the best wild brown trout fishing out there, mostly traditional wetfly, with dapping also being worth a go if you fancy something a bit different and exciting. There's nothing groundbreaking going in the box, the usual wets, snatchers, muddlers and hedgehogs mostly. Dapping flies, well you only need 2 or 3 patterns; daddies, loch ordies and maybe a tricolor or 2.  Really, whether from boat or bank,  these wild lochs are all about simple fishing, you often don't need much more than floating and intermediate lines. It's more about covering ground and finding fish.   I've almost stocked up on all my favourites, but was looking through some books and  online for some local patterns or a bit of inspiration. There are some fant

  This traditional Welsh wet fly works well in a sedge hatch or as a more general prospecting fly. It's not particularly flashy or bright, but it certainly looks like food. The original pattern calls for bright red silk as the rib, but I like the effect of the Globrite. In George Barron's book, he lists a pattern with a red holographic rib which is a nice variation too. Materials List Hook: Kamasan B175 or B170 size 10&12 Thread: Uni 8/0 red Rib: Globrite no.4 Body: Hare's fur dubbing Hackle: Brown partridge Wing: Slips from hen pheasant primary   To support my channel , get access to the monthly tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers

  The Anti-static Buzzer has become well established as a fantastic midge imitation. The body material does a great job of representing the trapped gases in an emerging pupa. Materials List Hook: B175 size 8-14 Thread: Uni 8/0 black Rib: Red wire Body: Strip cut from an anti static bag Breathers: White marabou Wing buds: Fl orange angel hair Thorax cover: Mirage tinsel   To support my channel , get access to the monthly tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers

John Horsey's emerger is an excellent pattern for targeting midge feeders on reservoirs and lakes. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B100 size 10-14 Thread: Uni 8/0 Shuck: White marabou Rib: Fine wire Abdomen: Pearl tinsel or clear wrap Wing: Poly yarn or aero dry wing Thorax: Seal fur To support my channel , get access to the monthly tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers

This simple damsel nymph is a fantastic choice for shallow weedy areas on lakes. This suggestive pattern with the fluorescent head and thorax will almost certainly perform better than closer copy imitations and should definitely be in your stillwater fly box. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 8-10 or B200 size 10-12 Thread: Uni 8/0 olive Tail: Medium olive marabou Rib: Small olive wire Body: Antron yarn medium olive Thorax: Hare's ear & globrite 11 dubbing blend (60% HE 35% globrite 5%clear antron) Legs: Partridge dyed yellow Thorax cover: Antron yarn medium olive   To support the channel, get access to the monthly tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to  https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers  and become a patron or donate at  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

  As an answer to a request from a Patreon supporter, I made this video on sizing hackle. Remeber there are no hard and fast rules and you can adjust to suit your preferences. To support my channel get access to the monthly online tying sessions and be eligible for the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and become a patron or support through paypal.me/flickingfeathers Get your hackle guage https://amzn.to/33k7XGX

 Another Old one I wrote for www.sexyloops.com I've recently been watching a wildlife documentary called Night on Earth about the nocturnal goings on in the animal kingdom, and I've been enjoying it a lot.  The quality of the low light footage is amazing, maybe soon there will be a consumer level camera that can pick up the lumo lines at night! As entertaining as it has been, the coral reef episode was what really grabbed me. They were shining a black-light over the corals to show how they flouresce, which also showed how many reef species are also fluorescent. Mantis shrimp, crabs, gobies and lizard fish all displayed fluorescent pigment, all prey species for loads of flats targets. Being fluorescent doesn't seem like a particularly good survival strategy, but apparently it acts as some kind of sun protection by converting harmful UV light to less damaging visible light, makes sense if you make your living in tropical flats under knee deep. This has a lot of implications f

The Hypocrite, or Hypocrite's Flee is a pattern I tied many years ago and has a bit of a funny story behind the name. It's shown itself to be a great taker of both wild and stocked fish from the Orkneys and Shetlands to the reservoirs of southern England. Materials List Hook: Kamasan B175 size 10 Thread: Danville's or UTC 140 FLuo fire orange Tail: Sunburst marabou Rib: Gold wire Body: Tying thread Body hackle: Fluo orange Chinese cock (oversized) Head hackle: Partridge dyed orange    To support my channel,get access to the monthly online tying sessions and enter the giveaways head to  https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers  and become a patron or support through  paypal.me/flickingfeathers