Flicking feathers

Another old one from www.sexyloops.com   I lost an enormous carp last week. Enormous. It would easily have been my PB had I landed it, but I didn't. It's hard not to feel bad when things like that happen, but the questions that come of it can be useful or the answers can be at least. I had been a pretty slow day, I started fishing some bouldery pockets below a dam looking for bass but only picked up one little guy and saw nothing else but carp for hours. Eventually I decided to switch over and start targeting the carp. I should have done it earlier than I did, but sometimes I can be too stubborn for my own good. Anyway it didn't take too long to get an eat which even though the fish wasn't very big, was a bit of a day saver. Then I came round a bend where the riffle between the pools dumps into a deep pocket with a concrete diversion and tetrapods turning the river and creating a big slack backwater behind the eddy. There were about 12 fish, all big, and the biggest, we...

  The Peter Ross is a great fly for lochs and rivers. Tied in various sizes it can be a deadly midge imitation, a small baitfish imitation or an attractor for salmon and seatrout. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 6-14 Thread: Black Uni 8/0 Tail: Golden pheasant tippet Rib: Silver wire Body: Silver tinsel & red seal fur Wing: Teal Hackle: Black hen 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 at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

  Peter Dobbs's floating snail pattern is a quick, easy tie that works wonders when fish are switched on to floating snails. When you encounter one of those days, the fish feel like they are full of marbles it's time to tie on a Bigfoot snail which will almost certainly outperform more complicated imitations. Either fished singly or washing line style with a black and peacock spider on the dropper with no retrieve, expect takes to be long definite draws much like fishing a static buzzer. This pattern appears in Bob Church's Guide to New Fly Patterns which is available here https://amzn.to/3k1BE8h Materials list Hook: Kamasan B170 size 10 or 12 Thread: Uni 8/0 in black Body: Peacock herl Foot: Yellow ethafoam To support the channel, get access to the monthly online 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

  The teal blue and silver is an absolute classic wet fly. Although it's probably most popular as a seatrout fly, it is a good choice for brown and rainbow trout as well as salmon. Fish it big in the salt or in rivers for salmon and seatrout, or slightly smaller for loch style brown trout fishing. Material list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 6-12 Thread: Black Uni 8/0 Tail: Golden pheasant tippet Rib: Silver wire Body: Flat silver tinsel Wing: Teal flank Hackle: Kingfisher blue or teal blue hen To support the channel, join the monthly online tying classes and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up

 Another oldie from www.sexyloops.com I've been tying a big batch of boobies for a friend who fishes a lot of competitions recently. I don't tie many of them any more as I don't have much use for them in my fishing so it was a nice change from the usual warm water flies and traditional wet flies. Well, the first dozen anyway. I like boobies. I know not everyone does and they've been tarnished a bit by the way they used to be most commonly fished- static on a fast sinking line and short leader, essentially like ledgering a bait.  It often results in very deeply hooked fish making release impossible and has led to the fly being banned on certain waters, it's also super boring. But there's no need to fish the booby this way, and I'm a bit surprised the method still persists. They're incredibly versatile, especially when fished in a team of flies.  point or top dropper on any line from floater to the fastest sinker they can be ripped stripped, popped and cra...

  As we come into late summer the daddy longlegs moves to the top of the trout's menu. This muddler head version is ideal for pulling through the waves windier days when plenty of daddies will be getting blown on to the water. Fish it with a sunk or wet daddy on the middle dropper or point for those fish that are targeting drowned daddies. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 8-10 Thread: Uni 8/0 black Tag: Gold holographic tinsel Rib: Gold wire Body: Hare's ear dubbing Body hackle: Barred ginger or grizzle cock Legs: Knotted pheasant tail Wing: Natural deer hair Head: Natural deer hair To support my channel, get access to the monthly online tying classes and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or support through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

  This sedgehog is a cracking puller for wild browns and stocked fish alike. The flash and hot spot combined with the strong silhouette from the dark brown body make it a good top dropper choice for pulling through the waves on dull days. Material list Hook: Kamasan B175 size 10-14 Thread: Fluo orange Danville's/ Uni 8/0 black But: Peach or orange seal fur Tail: Hot orange crinkle mirror flash Wing: Dark tipped roe deer hair Body: Brown seal fur Hackle:Red game or furnace hen To support my channel, get access to the monthly tying sessions and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or support through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

This pattern has been around for ages, and in my opinion is a perfect stillwater emerger. It's simple, buggy and floats low and flush to the surface film offering an excellent impression of a midge breaking through the meniscus. Materials list Hook: Kamasan B170 size 10-16 Thread: Uni 8/0, Black Shuck: Pearl crystal flash Abdomen: Claret seal fur Rib: Pearl crystal flash Thorax: Hare's fur well picked out   To support the channel, access the monthly tying meetings and enter the giveaways head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or support through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

  This is a Crab that is on most Yucatan and Belizean lodges fly lists, and for good reason it has accounted for hundreds of permit and bonefish. It can be tied in any colour and in a range of sizes to suit every flats location or target species. Material list Hook: Gamakatsu SL11-3H size 6-1/0 Thread: Danville's Flymaster Weight: Lead, brass or tungsten dumbbells Claws: Marabou flanked by hackle tips Antenna: Crystal flash Legs: Medium round rubber Body: Wool or Mcfly foam glued together. To support the channel, get access to the monthly online tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers or https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers and sign up.

 Another old one I wrote for www.sexyloops.com Last week I wrote about wets for the mayfly. Their appearance is imminent and may even be starting in some places, so I thought I'd suggest a few dry patterns to compliment them this week. Now, if you already have favourite dry mayfly patterns for the rivers they'll most likely do fine for lochs and lakes.  The Wulffs are a great example of a style that crosses over well, yellow olive and grey being my favourites.  There are of course some that I don't think transition as well; Ollie Edwards'  Mohican mayfly makes an excellent, high floating pattern that works great on rivers and it will catch fish on stillwaters. Unfortunately, I've found it to be a less effective hooker on the lochs- I suspect the fly being essentially static or gently driftng with the breeze rather than drifting quickly past the fish on a river eliciting a different eat that is the reason. Similarly there are some patterns that are probably better su...

  Ed Jaworowski's Essential Saltwater Flies is a great book for those starting out in saltwater fly tying and more experienced tiers alike. It has excellent photos and a collection of patterns that will cover pretty much any saltwater fly fishing situation. Essential saltwater flies is available here; Amazon https://amzn.to/3zGDKBW Amazon UK https://amzn.to/3t4lEsa Book of the Month 9, Kenny Abrames' A Perfect Fish is available here: Amazon 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. #bookofthemonth ...

  Will Bauers crab pattern is a great permit fly that works all over the Caribbean. It's a style that lends itself well to size, weight and colour adjustments, making it a good option for other species such as golden trevally, large bones and triggerfish. Material list Hook: Saltwater size 4-1/0 e.g. Gamakatsu SL12 Thread:140 den Weight: Lead dumbbells to suit Eyes: epoxy/mono crab eyes Legs: Square rubber ( https://www.lurepartsonline.com/Old-School-Flat-Rubber-5 ) Pliobond or contact cement To support the channel, get access to the monthly online fly tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers

  Designed by Florida Keys guide Jeffrey Cardenas, this shrimpy little number is a great addidtion to the bonefish box. Even when lightly weighted, this fly finds bottom quite quickly because of its sparse design, with slightly bigger eyes it is great for deeper water or stronger currents. DIY Bonefishing https://amzn.to/3AvD81Y Material list Hook: LS11-3H size 6-10 or your preferred bonefish hook Weight: bead chain or dumbbells Thread: Danvilles 3/0 Antenna: Crystal flash Body: Rabbit fur To support the channel, join the monthly online fly tying meetings and enter the giveaways, head to https://www.patreon.com/flickingfeathers and sign up or donate at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/flickingfeathers Book of the Month 9: A Perfect Fish 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 Using the link will help support my chan...