Barry Ord Clarke has written, Co written and contributed to more than 30 books about fly tying
A very attractive grayling and trout soft hackle spider. Although very simple this deadly pattern is a true classic. The slight body and extremely mobile CDC hackle make this spider an irresistible river fly. Why the Pearly CDC Bloa? This … Continue reading Pearly CDC Bloa soft hackle spider
Another easy tie for a great little pattern. The pheasant tail shuttlecock is very buggy and a perfect pattern for still waters. Best fished static with a few twitches every now and then. Continue reading Pheasant tail shuttlecock
A great little emerger that is very quick to tie. An effective midge or small mayfly emerger that works all year round. Tie it in whatever colour you require, using the best colour para post for you too see at … Continue reading Ginger Quill emerger
An unusual slow water caddis dry fly pattern with a double wing and dense hackle, made for those days when the fish are rising steady. Slow water caddis pattern recipe Continue reading Slow water caddis dry fly
One of the flies that No fly box should be without! This simple but classic pattern can imitate just about everything on the water that is black and can be fished the whole year round. The ideal sizes are from … Continue reading The Classic Black Gnat Dry Fly
A lovely little Caddis with three nice techniques for the body, wing and hackle. This pattern can be used for any of the smaller caddis species. Fish it dry or as an emerger bith work extremely well. How to tie … Continue reading Alpha Caddis
A small fresh water shrimp that has accounted for many a fish. My favourite colours are a grey brown and this pink one I tie here. I make my own dubbing in a coffee bean grinder from a little pink … Continue reading Amorous Gammarus
A midge emerger tied Klinkhamer style that can be fished all year round. Tie it in any size from a # 16 down to as small as you can manage in any colour you need. I recommend and mostly fish, … Continue reading Midge Emerger tied Klinkhamer style
An unusual attractor nymph, that has a few interesting techniques, that is excellent for searching pocket water. Tie it in any size and colour that you may require. Continue reading Two Tone Nymph
Another fishy pattern that uses deer hair, moose mane and CDC for a great emerger that can be used for both caddis and mayfly hatches. A cheeky segmented quill body made from 3 Moose mane hairs, a wing of deer … Continue reading Tactical Emerger
A must have little pattern that can be fished as a dry, wet or even an emerger. With a quill body and a deer hair hackle, this is a very buggy midge that can be fished all year round. How … Continue reading Deer Hair Dry
Using the snow shoe dubbing from the previous video, heres a simple but very effective caddis larva made from a single dubbing noodle. Tie them in whatever various weights, sizes and colours that you require. How to tie Snow shoe … Continue reading Snow shoe Caddis Larva
This follow up video from the snow shoe rabbit foot prep video, shows how to position and measure the wing and tail for a mayfly dun. Also using the snow shoe underfur for dubbing the body. This pattern can be … Continue reading Snow shoe dun
If you are looking for a superb all round mayfly dun pattern, that is easy to tie and will work for just about any mayfly hatch, if you match the correct hook size and colour – you need look no … Continue reading Adams hair wing dun
This is probably the most important and universal mayfly dun that you can have in your box! The Craig Mathews sparkle dun is a no hackle pattern that can be tied in just about any size and colour to match … Continue reading Sparkle Mayfly Dun
A very quick and easy tie for a super effective Euro Nymph. If you are looking for an all round jig that works well, you need look no further! This pattern has been especially effective for brown trout, char and … Continue reading Hard Head Euro Nymph
An absolute must pattern if you are fishing mayfly hatches! Some very different and interesting techniques for this unusual parachute pattern, including my Para weld parachute technique. Once this technique is mastered, it can be used for any size or … Continue reading Para weld Mayfly
A simple black midge emerger that is extremely effective, wether tied on a lighter hook and fished dry, just hanging in the surface, or deeper under the surface as a wet or just below as an emerger. The most effective … Continue reading Black midge emerger
A pattern from Gordon Van Der Spuy’s book The Feather Mechanic, is a simple and quick damsel nymph that has lots of movement. Fish it slowly as a natural or with a faster jerky receive as an attractor, both work … Continue reading Skinny Damsel nymph
We all know the original Dyret pattern from Gunnar Bingen, but heres a pattern that I have been playing with the past two seasons that has been a killer for wild brown trout. Just a simple variant of the original … Continue reading Bibio Dyret
Another scruffy fishing pattern with a paraloop wing/crest that keeps this pattern floating all day long high and dry. With a very spiky footprint it can double as a all purpose searching pattern and the trout love it! Crested Caddis … Continue reading Crested Caddis
A small seals fur midge pattern that has worked well all season for me. Tied here on a Mustad Heritage S80AP Heavy Wet # 14 but you can also tie it smaller if required. The jungle cock can be substituted … Continue reading Seals Fur Midge
One of my most successful midge patterns, that is a little different. Tied on a size 18-20 heavy nymph hook, when I sell or give this pattern away, I do so with a catch guarantee! It never fails! How to … Continue reading Easy Street Midge
This easy tie is a must for both caddis and midge hatches. Fish it static or with a short pull every few seconds, just to create a little disturbance in the surface. It’s also deadly fished dead drift on running … Continue reading Caddis Emerger
A deadly little pattern that should be in all fly boxes! This midge emerger can be tied in any colour and various sizes to match any midge hatch. The design allows the midge to fish correctly with the rear of … Continue reading Copper wire Midge Emerger
A generic nymph for all round use, anytime, anywhere. Over the years this little nymph has worked wonders for me. Rather than targeting any single nymph species, the design try’s to emphasize on as many ‘nymphy’ qualities as possible, as … Continue reading The Ubiquitous Nymph
A relatively new pattern that I have only fished with this season, that has proven extremely effective, especially in the smaller sizes. Consisting of a CDC detached body and a comparadun wing of CDL and CDC, this extremely simple pattern … Continue reading The Emaciated Mayfly
This is a very interesting pattern from Gordon van der Spuy’s first book, ‘The feather mechanic’. The Best of Both, has two parachute hackles, one of traditional hackle and one of CDC. The lower CDC hackle helps give the emerger … Continue reading Best of Both Emerger
Here is a heavy autumn nymph that is easy to tie and pushes all the buttons for cold water trout and grayling. Tie it without the bead or adjust the size and weight to fish in the required water depth … Continue reading Hard Head Heavy Autumn Nymph
Probably the quickest fly that you will ever tie! This little comparadun midge is the ‘bees knees’ when it comes to simplicity and presentation. It sits low in the surface and can be tied in whatever colour you require. Use … Continue reading The No See Um Midge fly
A short tutorial on making dubbing from a deer mask. If you haven’t used a deer mask before please try and get your hands on one, they are a gold mine of material, especially for the caddis fly tyers out … Continue reading Deer Mask Emerger fly
This wonderful little pattern from fly tyer Mike Mercer is a great all-rounder that was originally designed as a crippled caddis fly it can be fished successfully under most hatches and conditions. Pay special attention to the proportions and amount … Continue reading Missing Link fly pattern
It’s that time of year again when old red legs hatches in great numbers! This is a very easy but extremely effective bibio pattern that has worked for me for decades. Also some very neat techniques for making the hairy … Continue reading Bibio Pomonae dry fly
This popular Finnish pattern, is a Goddard variant with a parachute hackle. I’v been tying these up for a fishing trip in August to the Finnmarksvidda, in the very North of Norway, where caddis flies are most defiantly on the … Continue reading Nyblom Caddis
An absolute must for midge fishing! This super quick and easy pattern should have a place in every midge Fishermans box. With only two materials this is one of the quickest and most effective patterns that I know. Tie it … Continue reading Hatching Midge fly pattern
A great little pattern for when the craneflies are about that is easy to tie and will float all day long. You can also tie these in attractor colours, orange, yellow and red all work well. Foam Cylinder cranefly pattern … Continue reading Foam Cylinder cranefly
The Parachute Hare’s Ear dry fly stands as one of the most dependable choices for anglers throughout the fishing season. Crafting a handful of these flies in sizes #12, #14, and #16 is a surefire way to enhance your fly … Continue reading Parachute Hares ear dry fly
A very quick and easy must have caddis. With only a tiny bunch of elk hair and a little CDC, you can tie this skating caddis that I guarantee is a game changer during caddis hatches. Clarke’s caddis fly pattern … Continue reading Clarke’s caddis fly
A quick skating caddis pattern that won’t let you down. Tie it with a natural or bleached wing for better vision. Tied with materials that I have harvested myself from the forest here in Norway. Harvester Caddis pattern How to … Continue reading Harvester Caddis fly
A cracking fishing fly with a interesting hackling technique, both parachute and collar hackle in one. This presents a very nice footprint for an emerging mayfly and also looks extra buggy! Please give this pattern a go, you will not … Continue reading Bedraggled Emerger fly
