I've been experimenting on my local brooks a fair bit in the last few weeks, I'm determined to keep catching right through the winter...given at least reasonable conditions. I'd usually give up on the river coarse fish around now and either go grayling bashing in Derbyshire or piking on the canals/rivers local to me.
A few notes/pics from the last 3 short trips, all to the Biam in Leicester:

27th November, river clear and just a few inches up.
Takes were few and far between, I'd not had anything from the first couple of "banker" pools. I waded up the side of one of the biggest, deepest pools on the whole river, feeling pretty unconfident. A short cast into the rapid flow, letting my 3 small nymphs dangle in the slacker water a few yards below me gave my first take...

That small chub at least gave me a little confidence but was the only action in the swim.
A back eddy on the far side of a fast run gave up fish number two...

..and a few seconds later this small roach took the copper headed PT

I moved to a slow wide swim which is usually worth a perch or two, when nothing is happening in summer. Here I took 12 perch in quick succession, none of them big but great fun on a 3wt rod. It reminded me of plundering a shoal of grayling on Czech nymphs, but from slower water.
The biggest of the bunch...

Time was up, I'd only had just about two hours but had to move.
Walking back though I just had to try a similar looking swim to the one that had produced the perch. Here I took another 5 perch in a few minutes.
An interesting session, the perch had been great fun, I'll be trying the slower swims a lot more often.
The perch were mostly taken on #16 copper headed PTs or #16 copper headed HE nymphs. They were not as keen on anything goldheaded..clear water?
Dee

Out again for another session on the Biam. Rain the day before had coloured the water, visibility was down to about 12" and the river was fast!
I waded in and dangled a team of three...goldhead HE, pink shrimp and copper PT... below me and let them settle in the slack of a slight bend. Upstream casting is a complete waste of time, which is hard to accept when you are so use to doing it for grayling/trout.
This first swim produced a couple of small dace...dry net out of my mind, which is always nice!

I missed about 20 other taps and plucks here, plenty of fish if you can hook 'em!
The swim that produced a small chub two days earlier threw up a better dace and small roach...no other takes though.

Dace

roach
This chub was the biggest silver fish, it snaffled the GH HE

..not hugh but again fun on a 3wt and there are plenty of big fish in the river..if I can hook 'em.
The swim hat yeilded a dozen perch resulted in not a twitch! The one that gave me 5 though this time produced 6 in a few minutes.
Biggest of the batch...

Good session; 5 dace, 4 small chub and 6 perch, and I learnt a lot.
Dee

Out yet again, this time with "Bakerlight" from on here.
I was attempting to show him "how to". Frosts for the last two nights killed that plan off though!
The water had dropped lots and was much clearer, 3ft + visibility, and it was really cold.
I managed a small dace to the pink tungy shrimp within minutes...

Then a tiny chub to the same fly but that was it for the two of us!
I managed to bump about half a dozen small fish and missed a good 30 tiny takes. It was hard but I should have had 6/7 fish..again lots learnt.
I'm now starting to think the rivers are better well coloured in winter. I'm looking forwards to trying when it is "horrible" but not too "up", don't want to get washed away.
Peter hopefully got an insight despite the meagre catch.
Dee

SD, You are doing well, been reading your posts and some great reads. thanks for sharing keep up the good work. when i sort out how to post photo`s will put some of the carp i have had to 36lb 12oz on a fly.

Dai.

__________________
Any day with a y in it, is a good day to go fishing

http://daijonesflies.blogspot.com/

I would like to try your combo

how do you set it up

i was thinking of using

PT
shrimp
and that is a HE?

Hi,

Sorry if this is a stupid question but would you use a floating or intermediate line for this style of fishing?

Rich

Craig, the HE (hairs ear) and pink shrimp are pictured here on my answer (#5) .Starting a collection - essential patterns
The rig is dead simple, no tapered leaders or anything fancy. The leader is just level mono, 3-5lb depending upon what you are confident using and what snags are pressent. You want this 6-9ft long, go on the longer side if the swims are deep (relatively speaking, I'm talking about small rivers, 4ft is deep!) Flies set on droppers about 18-24" apart. The heaviest fly usually on the point but also try it on the top dropper possition...can get the lighter flies fishing deeper but more naturally than the heavy one ever could. A little floating putty at the end of the fly line helps hold it up as the flies sink and makes bite detection easier.
Try and find slacks & eddies just off the main flow. Cast into the flow and possiton your rod tip so that your flies will be pulled into the calmer water, as the current pushes them downstream. You want your flies to touch bottom (but only just) as they get dragged into the calmer water when your line tightens below you (on the dangle). You can now use your rod tip to move the flies either slightly back into the flow of further into the slack. Takes usually happen just as the flies settle but you have three flies (they will "bottom" in different flows/depths) so search the different parts of each slack. If no takes then twitch back...slowly and pause often. If this also doesn't produce then cast again but a foot further, so the flies will settle below your last "dangle". Repeat again and again till you've fished the whole slack. Then go find another likely looking spot unless you are still emptying the swim!
Now get out and try it.
Dee

Floating line Rich, but I'm still experimenting.
Still to try sinker/intermediate with neutral density flies just a bit worried about bite detection on this line as the takes are subtle....but the line should be straighter to the flies so maybe they'd be possitive knocks.
Sinking leaders...various weights to try, should allow lighter more naturally moving flies to fish at the depth but again take detection?
Ledgering! Split shot or a huge sacrificial fly on the point to drag light flies into the take zone.
Try it out, aim to have you flies fishing ultra slow, just on the bottom and on as short a line as possible to aid bite detection...you won't see/feel 'em with yards of line out.
Dee

Hi Dave, funny why the fish seemed to like a copper bead more than a gold one,you would of thought they were almost the same thing. Must go out and buy some copper beads, as I only have gold ones.
As for colour in rivers and drains I seem to do well when there is colour in the drain I fish even when there is only a foot of visibility. I do not know why this is maybe the fish feel more confident who knows. A year ago I would not of even gone flyfishing in such murky conditions, it pays to try now and then.