mustad hooks
Jack Gartside’s soft hackle streamers must be one of the most simple but effective fly fishing streamers ever devised! Jacks original recipe: Soft hackle streamer pattern Hook: Mustad 34007 Salt Water, 3406 Fresh Water Tying thread: 6/0 Colour to vary … Continue reading Gartside’s Soft hackle Streamer
As the name suggests, the Matarelli special is a truly special fly. The under body is constructed of a double length of heavy gauge copper wire that is twisted together. The two ends of the wire where tied in along … Continue reading Matarelli Special Salmon fly
A cracking little nymph with lots of bling. Three great materials, copper wire, Pheasant tail and peacock herl make this a great pocket water pattern that gets down deep quick. Copper pheasant tail nymph pattern recipe Hook: Mustad R73 # … Continue reading Copper pheasant tail nymph
One of the original flies I have in my collection from the great Japanese fly tyer Ken Sawada. The great sedge is one of his original patterns from, I believe 1984. TAIL — Very small golden pheasant topping.BODY — Gold … Continue reading Great Sedge – Ken Sawada wet fly
One of the most highly regarded Irish wet flies tied here for both trout and sea trout. Not only a killer pattern but a great fly for the new beginner to tie and have success with. Bibio pattern Hook: Mustad … Continue reading Bibio & Jungle Bibio
One fly to match them all. A simple but extremely effective cripple mayfly pattern that with a little adjustment to size and colour will produce fish in most hatches. Mayfly Cripple emerger pattern recipe Hook: Mustad C49S # 10 Tying … Continue reading Mayfly Cripple emerger
Another good simple pattern that is quick & easy fly to tie. This generic caddis pupa has a couple of nice techniques and can be tied in a number of sizes, colours and weight to match your hatch or favourite … Continue reading Simple Caddis/Sedge pupa
The origins of this pattern are somewhat unsure. It can be traced back to the Mustad fly catalogue in the late 1920s and is listed in the Museum records as ‘being tied to customers requirements’. Others say it was tied … Continue reading Sølvdokka flue – Norwegian wet fly
A very quick and easy but realistic little stonefly that can be fished as an egg layer or spent. Tied on sizes 14-18 its perfect for the late summer – autumn hatch of needle flies. Hook: Mustad R43 # 14 … Continue reading Fluttering stonefly
One of the most popular patterns in the UK in recent years. When using marabou, the key to getting it right, is to get as much animation in the pattern as possible, it helps using the right marabou in combination … Continue reading Blue flash damsel nymph
The most popular dry fly in the world with a spun deer hair body! Could it get any better? The full tutorial on tying the Adams irresistible. Adams irresistible pattern recipe Hook: Mustad R30 # 10 Tying thread: Dyneema or … Continue reading Adams irresistible fly
Tandems or flies tied with a flying treble or double like Hugh Falkus’s famous Sunk Lure, have been used for sea trout fishing for decades. There are many ways of connecting the trailing hook to the leading hook but … Continue reading Sunk Lure streamer for sea trout
During late summer & autumn large numbers of crane flies begin to hatch and loose the battle against the elements and end their life on the water as trout food. This daddy long legs pattern has quick & easy detached … Continue reading Deer hair daddy long legs dry fly
Yellow mayfly This is one of those technique that has recently become extremely popular again, after being more or less shelved, for over four decades. The original Wally wing was created by Canadian tyer Wally Lutz in the early … Continue reading Yellow mayfly
This one feather flat-wing is a cracking pattern not only for the salt, but when tied in black or olive is a great fresh water big fish pattern. If you haven’t tied flat wings before this is probably the best … Continue reading Orange Ruthless flatwing streamer
One of the early British still water patterns created by Ken Sinfoil for catching ‘fry bashing’ trout. Fry bashing is the equivalent of a hatch but with newly hatched coarse fish fry. In August these large shoals of fry gather … Continue reading Sinfoil’s Fry a bait fish streamer
A very quick and easy, effective dry fly pattern for plant eating carp. The Mustad C67S super strong, egg, caddis hook, is kept afloat beautifully with this combination of CDC and marabou. Grass Carp Salad fly pattern Hook: Mustad C67S # … Continue reading Grass Carp Salad dry fly
One of the beautiful Bergman wet flies that is a treat to tie. There is something I find very therapeutic about tying these classic wets, but if I am doing a dozen or so, in one sitting, I become totally … Continue reading Colonel Fuller wet fly
A very simple but yet effective, all CDC emerger that uses a few nice CDC techniques for a super buoyant Hi-Vis emerger. Marc Petitjean pattern MP 2100 Petitjean MP 2100 pattern recipe Hook: Mustad C49S # 10 Tying thread: Sheer … Continue reading CDC Emerger MP 2100 – Petitjean
Galten Farm A historic fishing destination with a touch of Victorian flair. Sometimes things just fall into place perfectly and this is what happened right from the start when Barry and I made our entry to Galten farm … Continue reading Fly fishing in Norway – Smith Seter & Galten Gård
Fly fishing Streamers and lures that have a ‘black’ base colour probably catch more fish than any other colour! The Ace of spades was designed by UK still water angler Dave Collyer in the early 1970’s. Normally fished deep and … Continue reading Ace of Spades streamer
One of the true classic trout flies and without doubt the best known from the Wulff series, first tied by Lee Wulff in the early 1930’s. This version is a little unusual as its tied with a parachute hackle. Royal … Continue reading Parachute Royal Wulff
This is my portrait of the late great Norwegian fly tyer, Erling Sand at his tying bench in his fly shop. He spent many hours each day tying flies to order, and building up his shop stock, if you look … Continue reading Verre enn minken – Worse than a mink!
One of the first nymphs I ever tied and fished with. Although this has the appearance of a modern nymph it was first tied back in the early 1930’s by Don Martinez from California. A great generic nymph that has … Continue reading How to tie Black Martinez nymph
As a little project I’m going to tie up a set of old Norwegian dry fly patterns that have almost been forgotten, but I’m having problems with finding the original recipes. As with the featured image above of ‘The Kaktus’ … Continue reading Traditional Norwegian trout patterns
An extremely quick and easy tie for an extremely effective midge pattern. A great fishing pattern that only requires the most basic of tying skills. Top secret midge pattern recipe Hook: Mustad C49S # 16-26 Tying thread: Sheer brown 14/0 … Continue reading Top secret midge
When the egg layers are active your waders can be a popular place to deposit the eggs! Its that time of year when an egg laying caddis is an essential addition to your fly box! Heres an easy pattern that … Continue reading Egg laying caddis/sedge dry fly
The scruffy squirrel nymph is a great all rounder and a good alternative to a hares ear. The combination of squirrel dubbing and a rib of Ultra lace tubing makes a very buggy morsel that ticks all the boxes for … Continue reading Scruffy Squirrel nymph
A great little caddis pattern that has a few nice techniques. The super buoyant combination of CDC and deer hair make this pattern almost un-sinkable. Hook: Mustad R43 # 12 Tying thread: Petitjean SS Olive Abdomen: Fluorescent Green CDC hackle … Continue reading Midsummer Caddis dry fly
An extremely quick and easy, yet effective pattern that can be mastered by tyers of all levels. This Ugly or scruffy mayfly dun includes a few interesting techniques for making dubbing and applying it. Don’t be fooled by it’s simplicity, … Continue reading Ugly Mayfly dun pattern
Yet another quick and simple, but effective pattern, that requires only basic skills and materials. Fish it not only as a generic Coleoptera but also as something thats just buggy! Hook: Mustad R30 # 12 Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 Claret … Continue reading Brown & Peacock Beetle dry fly
A very quick and easy variant of the classic pheasant tail nymph, using only a sparse amount of materials. One for the box in various sizes and colours. Hook: Mustad R 74 # 10 Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 Tail: Pheasant … Continue reading Magic Glass Pheasant tail nymph
A no hackle emerger that gives a very nice presentation of a hatching mayfly. An interesting technique that uses Para post yarn for the emerging wing and hackle. If you don’t have the Booby eyes, you can also use a … Continue reading Clarke’s No Hackle Emerger
A damsel nymph tied in the Montana nymph style. A great pattern, especially for still waters and as a stalking bug. Tie it in your favorite colours and the more weight you add at the head the more aggressive the … Continue reading How to tie Montana Damsel nymph
A truly effective pattern for when those hatches of small caddis are underway, or even just fished as a all round attractor. Simple and quick pattern that pushes all the buttons! X-Factor Caddis pattern recipe Hook: Mustad R30 # 12-18 … Continue reading X-Factor Caddis
Another easy nymph technique for a long slender nymph body style that with a little adjusting will work for most larger mayfly nymphs. Hook: Mustad R75 # 10 Tying thread: UTC 70 Flou Green & Sheer 14/0 Brown Tail: … Continue reading Ultra Lace Mayfly nymph
Another winging technique that gives a realistic flat lying wing, ideal for midges and stoneflies. With this technique all you have to do is change the hook size and colour and you can cover most small stonefly hatches. There is … Continue reading Wonder wing stonefly
A nice technique for making realistic mayfly nymph abdomen with simple materials. Hook: Mustad S82 # 8-14 Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 olive Tail: Peasant tail Abdomen: Larva Lace & peacock herl Wing case: Pheasant tail fibres Thorax: Peacock herl … Continue reading How to tie Gill Abdomen nymph
The lovely little Welshman’s button or chocolate drop, as it’s also known, is a simple but rewarding pattern to tie. With three nice techniques to learn for the body, wings and antennae. Tie a few up for coming hatch of … Continue reading Welshman’s Button fly
A robust yellow quill buzzer for those hatches of midges. Fished alone or as a dropper with a team. A seriously effective pattern on still waters. Yellow quill buzzer pattern Hook: Mustad C49S # 10 & smaller Thread: Sheer 14/0 … Continue reading Yellow quill buzzer
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