New to fly fishing and the forums - couple of questions & introduction.

[guest18]

Hi all,
I have very gradually got into flyfishing this season after starting to fish for brownies in the local lochs with my stepdad.

During the brownie season I wasn't able to catch any fish on the fly as I only really started to use the fly rod for the last 3 weeks of the season but I had pretty good success on the spinner using a "Little Pretty Fish" 7g Tasmanian Devil.

On a couple of occasions my stepdad let me play a fish that he hooked on the fly and the buzz is something else as the feeling of actually pulling the fish in with the line compared to reeling one in using a spinning rod/reel is phenomenal.

Anyway, after the season ended I was bursting to catch a fish on the fly as I had caught the bug. Luckily there are several stocked fisheries pretty close to where we stay so after a bit of coaxing my mum I managed to get my stepdad to take me fishing at Skelmorlie Fishery a few Saturdays ago.

The wind was howling but we persevered with a wet fly and about 30 minutes in he was on to his first rainbow of the day. This made me more determined than ever to catch a trout and 3 casts later when retrieving my fly I felt 3 small tugs at the line then I lifted my rod and had my first trout on the end of a fly that I casted and tied to the leader. I managed to get the fish landed without any problems at all and was feeling pretty happy but the one thing that I have noticed when it comes to landing a fish is that a stocked Rainbow Trout doesn't really compare with a wild Brown Trout in terms of the amount of effort it puts up.

Anyway, I think thats enough for now so onto a couple of questions that I have and hope that you could answer for me please.

Don't worry - I have been reading the forums avidly for the last few weeks so hopefully they wont have been answered elsewhere and remember I am new to all this so if some of them may seem pretty basic please bear with me as we all had to start somewhere

My 1st question is about waders. There are so many different kinds on the market it really is boggling. From what I have gathered so far I would be probably aiming to buy neoprene chest waders as where I stay it really is baltic and I dont fancy having to have thousands of layers of tech fabric to stay warm if I were to purchase breathables. The dams that I fish are accessed by a gravel/mud/rocky track so I would really need waders with soles that can take punishment and the wader itself would need to be hard wearing. Can anyone recommend any please? Also, would I be better off getting an "all in one" wader with boot or buy stocking foot waders with a seperate wading boot?

Are there any particular flies that are "deadly" for wild brownies? So far I tried Zulus, Claret and Amber (?), Pennels and a couple of others that I forgot the name of. I have read a good few back issues of Trout and Salmon and the "killer" fly seems to be the Daiwl Bach. Is that correct and does anyone else have a particular favourite that they would recommend for wild Scottish brownies?

So far i have only caught rainbows using a wet fly where the principal basically seems to be that the fish is on and you lift your rod and thats it hooked. Is the basic principal the same when using a dry fly or do you need to actually watch for it to be taken before raising the rod to strike as I have seen trout try to drown the fly on the water before taking it below the surface.

When fish are rising should I stick to using a dry fly or would a wet have the same chances? Is it the opposite when there are no fish rising?

Many thanks for bearing with me and reading as I know it is a long first post but any input is appreciated.

[The Famous Grouse]

Shadow, first off welcome to the forums and to fly fishing in general. It's really great to see new folks joining the sport and really enjoying it. Your first fish on the fly is a tremendous achievement no matter what it was.

In answer to your questions, I'll try to cover things pretty broadly.

- The main advantage to waders with separate wading boots is that the give better support and are more comfortable for walking any distance. There is also the added benefit of being able to own several types of waders, but using one pair of boots. This is a benefit to many anglers because neoprenes are great in the winter, but very uncomfortable in the summer.

Personally, I only wear breathables even though I do a lot of winter/early spring fishing here in the frozen tundra of middle America right next to the Canadian border. I simply add layers, but the comfort and light weight of breathables is worth it to me at least.

As far as fly choice for wild browns, here's my list of universal must have flies for trout anywhere:

Nymphs: All in beadhead. Get a selection of sizes from 8 on the big end to 16 on the small end.

- Pheasant tail nymph
- Gold ribbed hare's ear nymph
- Prince nymph
- Zug bug nymph

Also, get some black beadhead woolly buggers in sizes from 4 to 10.

For dries, I'd go with Adams, the Elk Hair Caddis, the Pale Morning Dunn, and the Stimulator.

The patterns above account probably account for more trout than all other patterns combined. If you can't catch using these patterns, it's going to be tough to catch no matter what you do.

One more thing. It's easy when you're getting started to get overwhelmed with the sheer number of fly patterns out there and to think that unless you carry 500 patterns with you at all times you won't have a chance. Bull.

On average, IMO, the factors in catching wild brown trout are in this order:

- Presentation
- Size
- Color
- Pattern

Notice that pattern's last on the list. I've had may days where 2 or 3 guys fished together and caught fish on 15 or more different patterns. But I've fished right beside guys using the same flies they were using and failed to catch even a cold. Presentation!

Hope this helps.

Grouse

[tonyj]

Originally Posted by The Famous Grouse

Shadow, first off welcome to the forums and to fly fishing in general. It's really great to see new folks joining the sport and really enjoying it. Your first fish on the fly is a tremendous achievement no matter what it was.

In answer to your questions, I'll try to cover things pretty broadly.

- The main advantage to waders with separate wading boots is that the give better support and are more comfortable for walking any distance. There is also the added benefit of being able to own several types of waders, but using one pair of boots. This is a benefit to many anglers because neoprenes are great in the winter, but very uncomfortable in the summer.

Personally, I only wear breathables even though I do a lot of winter/early spring fishing here in the frozen tundra of middle America right next to the Canadian border. I simply add layers, but the comfort and light weight of breathables is worth it to me at least.

As far as fly choice for wild browns, here's my list of universal must have flies for trout anywhere:

Nymphs: All in beadhead. Get a selection of sizes from 8 on the big end to 16 on the small end.

- Pheasant tail nymph
- Gold ribbed hare's ear nymph
- Prince nymph
- Zug bug nymph

Also, get some black beadhead woolly buggers in sizes from 4 to 10.

For dries, I'd go with Adams, the Elk Hair Caddis, the Pale Morning Dunn, and the Stimulator.

The patterns above account probably account for more trout than all other patterns combined. If you can't catch using these patterns, it's going to be tough to catch no matter what you do.

One more thing. It's easy when you're getting started to get overwhelmed with the sheer number of fly patterns out there and to think that unless you carry 500 patterns with you at all times you won't have a chance. Bull.

On average, IMO, the factors in catching wild brown trout are in this order:

- Presentation
- Size
- Color
- Pattern

Notice that pattern's last on the list. I've had may days where 2 or 3 guys fished together and caught fish on 15 or more different patterns. But I've fished right beside guys using the same flies they were using and failed to catch even a cold. Presentation!

Hope this helps.

Grouse

****** me, I must be losing my marbles but I thought I'd just read the very same post from Fly Forum Admin. No, can't be, Grouse is always right and I'm always wrong. On this evidence, can I recommend Calvet Reserve Bordeaux for its hallucinogenic properties.

[The Famous Grouse]

Or maybe I'm messing with your mind, Tony. But is it really me posting this? Or is it Elvis? Also, don't look now, but the silent black helicopters are hovering above your house again. Do you think they're following you?

Grouse

[3lbgrayling]

welcome to the forum.to begin with i'd get a pr of neoprene thigh waders,just so you realise that wading isn't the most important thing, in fact if you can get away with not wading you'll scare less fish.
when dry fly fishing,you observe the take, then lift into it.
don't be fooled, a stockie rainbow that been in the water for more than a couple of hours/days will fight as good as a brownie
the british /scottish equivellent to a wolly ****** is almost a yellow dancer.
try olive/black damsels .kate mclaren, soldier palmer.
keep up the good work.

jim

[morayflyfisher]

spot on JIM my thoughts exactly along with a black spider and a teal blue or bibio and silver invicta.

[traprain]

Originally Posted by tonyj

****** me, I must be losing my marbles but I thought I'd just read the very same post from Fly Forum Admin. No, can't be, Grouse is always right and I'm always wrong. On this evidence, can I recommend Calvet Reserve Bordeaux for its hallucinogenic properties.

It's the double life that gets them in the end Tony. Maintaining that dark secret gnaws away at them. It's almost like a subconscious desire to be caught. It looks to the outside world like it's just a careless slip, but in reality it is the surface reflection of a deep inner turmoil. But one little slip is all it takes for their cover to be blown. Once it's gone, it's gone. No putting the genie back in the bottle, or the toothpaste back in the tube. No more suspicion, guesswork, accusations. Now we know.

[The Famous Grouse]

Originally Posted by traprain

It's the double life that gets them in the end Tony. Maintaining that dark secret gnaws away at them. I should know, I used to be a cross-dressing Margaret Thatcher impersonator. It's almost like I had a subconscious desire to be caught. It looks to the outside world like it's just a careless slip, but in reality it is the surface reflection of my deep inner desire to be spanked by Ronald Reagan. But one little slip is all it takes for my cover to be blown and I was once caugth on the top level of a bus in Soho spanking myself with a copy of the Telegraph. Once it's gone, it's gone. No putting the genie back in the bottle, or the toothpaste back in the tube. No more suspicion, guesswork, accusations. Now you know.

Whatever you say, Traprain.

Grouse

[traprain]

Originally Posted by The Famous Grouse

Whatever you say, Traprain.

Grouse

Oh dear. It is a sad state of affairs when one of the secret moderators starts messing around with quote boxes and misrepresenting innocent posters. But possibly understandable. The release from the torment of the double life following the unmasking has probably led to a clouding of judgement. Following a period of rehabilitation and self-criticism it is to be hoped that Mr Grouse may rejoin the community as a changed man with his dreadful secret firmly behind him.

[.D.]

Originally Posted by The Famous Grouse (is trying to say)

. .........goback...........goback.................goback........

Grouse

.............


.D.