Hi all

Ive been coarse fishing rivers for about 18 months now, predominantly for roach, chub, barbel etc and really fancy something new next year, and think that flyfishing for coarse species is the way forward.

However, I still have a lot to learn with coarsefishing let alone fly tackle, the terminology and the bewildering array of flies etc.

GIven my taregt species will mainly be chub, roach, and maybe rainbows as the rivers i fish have a fair head of them, and given the rivers will be small to medium rivers in the midlands ranging from the blythe and lugg, to the teme as the largest river, what rod, reel and tackle do i need to be looking at, and how would you recommend i go about starting to build up a fly selection from scratch?

Thanks in advance

I think if it where me, since you have both chub and rainbows, and infact Barbel, I would be using something minnow like in size and shape as a general searching pattern. Chub LOVE minnows, especially fished in wear pools or alongside rafts of debris, eddies and deep bends.

I would also try the dry fly in summer. Use something big and bushy..a Wulff or similer. Again, on a nice shallow riffle the Chub will hit a dry fly with glee!

Roach are a bit more subtle. They will take small drys, something like a size 20-18 Olive, black gnat or the likes. As they feed mainly on small insects etc. buzzers can work well, small nymphs, bloodworm imitations etc. Search for long glides, pockets of calmer water etc.

As for tackle..hmmmm..I think i would go with two rods...a 6 weight for the chub, trout and barbel and a 3-4 weight for the Roach and smaller fish. You could really use a 1 weight for roach but then you start to get into issues with wind etc.

Hope thats of some use..

Regards
Rob

Hi and welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy it here
A nice rod for river fishing that will easily handle chub and trout could be a
9ft rod for a 5 weight line with a middle to tip action. These rods are easily available from a range of manufacturers at a range of prices. Try the search function on the tackle section, you will get lots of good advice on there. This rod might over gun the roach a little, and be a little, how shall I put this, exciting perhaps if you hook a barbel on it but you are more likely to catch chub than barbel on a fly anyway. If you really get into it you could always buy a heavier set up later for the barbel, then another for pike, then another for.........Be warned mate, this game is completely addictive
As to flies, keep it simple and learn to fish a few patterns effectively rather than amassing huge amounts of them (that comes later).
As chub are predatory, a pattern called a minkie is a good fry imitator, fish it in various colours but the smaller sizes on a five weight as it can be a heavy fly when wet. If you have been on the rivers already, you will know where to find the chub, just cast the minke in and twitch it back to your feet, fish it out right to the end of the cast as chub might follow for a while, or even be right under your feet if you are stealthy enough. You could consider some of the pike flies made from water repellant material such as EP fibres in smaller sizes as fry imitators too. Beware if there are pike in the river though as they will take these flies too so you might need to consider a wire trace. One of the most effective ways on my local rivers to catch chub on the fly is by using a method called the duo. This is very simple and involves using a dry fly such as a size 12 Klinkhammer as a sighter, (although the fish will take the dry) with a pattern such as a size 16 pheasent tail nymph suspended underneath. This is achieved by tying the nymph onto the hook bend of the dry fly with a short length (depending on how deep you want it to fish) of leader material. You will catch trout with this too, and grayling if you have any of them in your river. Big bushy drys like hoppers skated across glides on a summers evening will be hammered by chub as will wet fly patterns like black spiders fished sub surface. Roach I don`t have much experience of I am afraid and I have only ever managed to catch barbel on bait but it can be done on the fly. Large weighted nymphs sight fished to individual fish is one way.
One thing you will notice about fly fishing compared to coarse fishing is the lack of tackle you need to carry. One 5 weight rod, a small reel to hold the floating line. a few spools of leader and tippet material, camera, a small fly box, net and polariod glasses (don`t fly fish without these, you don`t want a fly to end up in your eye) and that is it. You are much more inclined to cover the water rather than sit it out in the same place waiting for fish.
Good luck and enjoy,
Andy.

__________________
The trout in yonder wimpling burn
That glides, a silver dart,
And, safe beneath the shady thorn,
Defies the anglers art

R.Burns

Andrew is pretty much spot on.

If you can actually spot the chub in shallower water in the summer they can be a highly challenging fish to catch as even though they can be very greedy they're easily spooked. Big bushy drys will work in warm weather and in autumn Daddies take some beating. I always find the long summer evenings are the best time. I've also caught them on damsels and hoppers and in the duo style explained above if the water is deeper and the chub unwilling to come that far up in the water.

Keep yourself low and creep about, cast a suitable distance in front and let it rift down naturally. If they want it they'll hammer it big style. I've even caught specimen Dace the same way on the faster glides.

Go light, wear polariods and some good waders will help but keep water disturbance to a minimum. I love fishing this way, I'm sure you'll be the same.

Good luck.

Thanks. looking forward to getting a fly collection off the ground and maybe even tying my own eventually, cant think of much more satisfying than fooling a fish on something furnished by your own fair hand