Peter Ross/ Loch Flys ?

[Englander]

Hi Guys

I caught my first Loch Brownies yesterday on a Peter Ross point fly the dropper flys completely ignored !

The mental block (lack of confidance) i had in BIG WILD WATERS has gone

As of yet ive not tied any traditional Loch fly's but i certinally will now.

I was wondering about jazzing it up slighlty for 2008 by doing the silver body with sliver holo stuff

Also are there and "modern" Loch stlye flys they are intended to target "wild" Brownies

[RPS]

Sorry to go off topic a little, but felt the need to mention that the Peter Ross is also a much underrated salmon fly...like many of the traditionals. I use Holo Silver on some of mine and catch allsorts on them.

[Scratch]

The first fly I ever tied was a Peter Ross... took me about 2 hours.. and the end result was truly atrocious,scary.I've hated the pattern ever since.If I'd been around in the 40's we could have threatened Hitler with it and shortened the war
On paper though it should be a great pattern,and to my mind,is probably one of the first general buzzer patterns... the tail representing the shuck,the abdomen representing the silvered/gassed up mid abdomen,the red seal fur representing the surge of blood to the thorax,and the teal wing representing straggly appendages etc. All I see though is a collection of parts. I like my flies to be a little more 'seamless',and more than the sum of it's parts. The Peter Ross doesn't do this for me,but you hit the nail on the head Englander with the confidence thing. In the right hands,Im sure it's a winner,especially on a bright day. Even though I can rationalise the pro's and cons of the Peter Ross, to me it's useless...cos I hate it,and I have no confidence in it,and I'm wasting my time ever tying one on my leader.

[Englander]

Hi guys

Amazing two answers too conflicting views love it /hate it ??

I love the fly myself it will always have a special place for me as it took my first Wild Loch Brownies Like the PT Nymph took my first river brownies on it

Im really chuffed i took my first Loch Brownies on a traditional fly only a few miles from where the pattern was born Glad i they didnt take a orange blob

Yes it was Bright very bright indeed and often completly flat calm although i caught when there was a nice ripple and fast-ish pulling retrieve's, funny the ones i missed were on a fast fig 8

Englander

[The Bear]

I use a Peter Ross on a size 10 double at this time of year with fairly positive results

[doonicus]

Yes, good old Peter Ross, can be a great fly at this time of year, and in a buzzer hatch when the trout are up, any time of the season.

Try dressing it with an orange hackle, instead of the black, you will be surprised with this version.

If you fish for brown trout often, you should really have a box of the tried and tested old favourites with you. Some "modern" flies that can work are dabblers in various colours of synergy, and there are many other patterns that can be "modernified" with chennille, marabou, but to be honest best to go for the traditional patterns, these have all past the test of time for brown trout, and do work for rainbows as well.

Sam

[Lewis Chessman]

Originally Posted by scratch

The first fly I ever tied was a Peter Ross... took me about 2 hours.. and the end result was truly atrocious,scary.I've hated the pattern ever since.If I'd been around in the 40's we could have threatened Hitler with it and shortened the war
On paper though it should be a great pattern,and to my mind,is probably one of the first general buzzer patterns... the tail representing the shuck,the abdomen representing the silvered/gassed up mid abdomen,the red seal fur representing the surge of blood to the thorax,and the teal wing representing straggly appendages etc. All I see though is a collection of parts. I like my flies to be a little more 'seamless',and more than the sum of it's parts. The Peter Ross doesn't do this for me,but you hit the nail on the head Englander with the confidence thing. In the right hands,Im sure it's a winner,especially on a bright day. Even though I can rationalise the pro's and cons of the Peter Ross, to me it's useless...cos I hate it,and I have no confidence in it,and I'm wasting my time ever tying one on my leader.

Interesting post, scratch, because I've long felt that this was a fly that polarised people. Some friends of mine love it, others will never fish it. Of course, they're the one's it'll never work for.

I've always envisaged it as more of a small fry imitator, with the teal wing barring suggesting a moving body and the red upper body the gills/eggs/a wound - an attractor 'hit point' for the fish. Consequently, I tend to fish it on a medium/medium-fast retrieve, rather than static or slowly as one might a buzzer imitation.
Could that account for it's some of its restricted effectiveness for some, perhaps?

I've tied it with a wing made of a tuft of stripped, dyed blue guinea fowl hackle, with an eye to summer sea trout - and taken them, salmon and brownies on it! Somewhat pretentiously I dubbed it the 'Saint Peter' as it welcomed the fish outside the Pearly Gates.

[troutheaven]

Originally Posted by Lewis Chessman

I've always envisaged it as more of a small fry imitator, with the teal wing barring suggesting a moving body and the red upper body the gills/eggs/a wound - an attractor 'hit point' for the fish. Consequently, I tend to fish it on a medium/medium-fast retrieve, rather than static or slowly as one might a buzzer imitation.
Could that account for it's some of its restricted effectiveness for some, perhaps?

I've had Peter's in my box for over 40 years now and can tell you that you've hit the nail on the head. P Ross is a fantastic traditional buzzer pattern for all the reasons stated in posts above. Try a teal-Winged Butcher; imho it is even better than a P Ross.
As a fry immitator it is pretty poor, as are most of the tinsel bodied traditionals. I wouldn't like to venture an opinion of best fry imitators for wild browns but have a liking for hare's ear in bright conditions and claret seal's fur when dull. No clear reasons, just what works for me. And sometimes that's all your left with - past experience.

[Englander]

I must admit with the silver i always thought fry or possibly drowned bug the silver being trapped air ??

Buzzer imitation you say if so why does it work so well with a fast pulling ??

Ive got "just" caught my first Rainbows on super glue buzzer fished on a long leader with a HE on point and buzzers dropper very ,very,very slow fig 8

Out of interest the Loch had Gin clear water, sandy shallows with under water grass stuff just before the a steepish drop off..... do you get buzzers in this type of water ?? And do the normal "super glue" type buzzers work well on wild Brownies ? may be washing line stlye and floating line ?

This is a whole new ball game from my years of course fishing

Englander

[troutheaven]

Originally Posted by Englander

I must admit with the silver i always thought fry or possibly drowned bug the silver being trapped air ??

Buzzer imitation you say if so why does it work so well with a fast pulling ?? But of interest the Loch had Gin clear water, sandy shallows with under water grass stuff just before the a steepish drop off..... do you get buzzers in this type of water ?? And do the normal "super glue" type buzzers work well on wild Brownies ? may be washing line stlye and floating line ?

This is a whole new ball game from my years of course fishing

Englander

Being a pendant, Englander, its 'coarse' not 'course'. Forgive me.

Because anything pulled fast will draw a response. However, in a black buzzer hatch a slow fished P Ross will take fish who go for the black, red, silver combination as an imitator of a gas-filled pupa
Buzzers usually need mud for their larval stage, but some species can do without.
Super glue buzzers work very well for browns, sometimes even better than they do for 'bows,