To all the Scots out there...

As a rank beginner at fishing in peaty water, are there specific colours which work well for nymphs and emergers? When targetting wild/semi-wild browns?

After a couple sessions trying all sorts of combinations, it seems that black nymphs with a touch of red or even bright orange work amazingly well. But only some of the time: I've caught several in rapid sucession in one spot, moved 100 yards down the bank, and failed to catch anything (fish definitely there and moving).

Any advice for loch fishing from the bank would be very gratefully received! I'm, keen to try traditional wets, but at a bit of a loss as to how to approach this (again - from the bank).

Thanks,

Matt

Depends whats on the water or whats coming off but you wont go far wrong with black and claret in peaty water,that goes for trads as well.Best advice I could give you about bank fishing trad style is to keep moving.No more than a couple of casts at different angles from one stance then take a step downwind and repeat.

im Scottish dont think the colour matters a jot.

Thanks Jimmy. So it's best to move down wind? I'd been trying to treat it like a river, attempting to cast at least a bit upstream and letting it drift back toward me (which I found very difficult...).

Anyway - have had some success, and it's fantastic to be catching wild brownies somewheere that feels a bit wild. I'm astonished at how agressively they fight.

That would be the normal accepted m/o Matt...

---------- Post added at 11:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 PM ----------

Profound statement that,got anything to back it up...?

D'oh...

Thus provimg that being a Scot and knowing anything about fishing don't always go hand in hand


Wee Jimmy is right, keeping on the move and fishing ALL of the bank is usually far better than fishing a spot for a while and then wandering off to try somewhere else missing all the water in between.


Andy

couple of seasons actively experimenting with different colours just, i dont care much how many i catch these days so its easier to be unbiast, i became convinced that dark claret did make a difference for a time, but i now catch the same number of fish on hares ear or plain natural colours,

my final conclusion was that movement, type of movement or lack of it, depending on the fishes expectations is the key, colour less so unless there is a hatch of something specific.

In heavly peated water go for gold bodies. Drooby, wickhams, gold butcher etc.

If you want to experiment with colour buy Frank Mcphails dubbing box 1-12.
Get a box of Kamasan B100N nickel shrimp hooks size 10 and a box of heavy size 12 grub hooks (can't remember the code). tying as follows, one of each size.

Body: Dub as colour, continue third of way round bend
Rib: fine silver or gold wire ( not tinsel)
Body hackle: As dubbing or as close as possible. Short fibres.
Head Hackle: As dubbing or as close as possible. Long fibres.

Essentially your tying a bumble snatcher. Keep the body tied loose and the head hackle long and swept back. If you've tied it correctly when you hold it up to the light it should appear as if it's glowing the translucent colour of the dubbing.

Use the size 10s on a floating line ( no floatant) and the size 12 grub hooks on a sinktip or intermediate.

Post your results here.

Thats not quite the same as saying colour doesnt matter a jot though is it....?
I place more priority in how I'm fishing the flies than the patterns themselves but I do think colour is important.Yellow based flies such as a Golden Olive Bumble for example just do not cut the mustard at our usual place and is a particularly weak colour in reliability terms up there.
Gold or silver bodies as DJ suggests, certainly pull their weight on my regular peaty water haunts.But for me no other colour comes close to black or claret for consistency.