Hello all i grew-up fishing the worm & minnow in a very similar way as i have watched on DVD people fishing Czech nymphs.So last winter i tied a load of different Czech nymphs /PTNs / GRHE / & a few others.Now that we have finally had a fair bit of rain i gave them a try today & it proved to be hard work .I spent the whole day changing flies & the only fly that the odd trout would grab was a GRHE.The river had a very slight brown tinge not chocolate colour it's peaty water so never goes really clear anyway.So what would be wrong ? do you need to use different flies in slightly coloured water .I have seen flies advertised with bright hot spots for fishing in coloured water but i never had any tied up.Any suggestions would be welcome . Cheers

I had the same problem last week and found that a size 14 copper tungsten beaed pheas tail with a hot orange thread thorax took fish. Also a hares ear czech nymph but with a pearly tinsel head. I would send you some but im short on hooks and tungsten beads atm mate

Look's like i will be tying a few hot orange thorax nymphs tonight .I tried a PTN with a pink bead but it didn't work.Is there any other hot spot colours worth carrying in my box. Cheers

was out in these conditions today, river was up about 16 inches with a lovely whiskey tinge...had about a dozen trout to about 9 inches.. what i found worked the best was a heavily leaded double silver bead head grhe... think i had 8 on this and the rest on a size 8 hotspot shrimp...missed and lost the same amount i think...they were really hitting the grhe though..takes within seconds of landing at times

Not really mate i tend to just use the fire orange thread from uni to create the thorax. I like to put a little hares ear mix collar and use the whip finish to create the hotspot just like you get when building thread up behind a bead head. Try the pearly tinsel one aswell mate if youve got any

Heres the materials i use for both-

Hotspot Pheasant Tail-
Hook-Favourite Nymphs hook size 10-16
Bead- 2mm tungsten copper
Thread- Uni fire orange
Body And Tail- Pheasent tail fibres
Rib- Copper or gold wire
Thorax- Hares ear mix (add a little flash if needed)
Collar- Fire Orange Thread

Pearly Czech Nymph-
Hook- Any grub shrimp hook 8-14
Underlayer- Flat or round lead
Thread- Brown
Rib- 4lb nylon
Shellback- Brown scud back
Body 3/4- Hares Ear
Final 1/4- Pearly tinsel (varnish underside so it last longer)

Hope this helps and catches you some fish and glad to help seen as my gran was an ayrshire lass

Solid black (e.g. seal's fur) bodies on bead head nymphs with silver or gold tungsten bead heads can be very good in coloured water (as well as towards dusk in normal conditions).
A gold or copper wire rib, dubbed body and bead head - about as simple as flytying gets.

What position was the GRHE fishing in? Could have been depth rather than just the pattern that was important.....

Hello Paul i ended up with two GRHE on at the end of the day & caught a couple from the top & bottom fly. I was out on another peaty river today that joins the river i fished yesterday & caught a fair few trout.I had to keep change flies at first i got a few with an olive nymph & a GRHE.But they seemed more keen on a slim PTN with a Cdc collar & copper bead.But the fussy little buggers wouldn't look at a PTN with a black peacock glister thorax.This season i decided to fish fly only & i reckon it will be fly only from now on.What i have found the hardest part of river fly fishing is fly selection .I keep finding a pattern that's deadly but only for so long .A few months ago Lucian's Caddis grub tied with a shammy was deadly now they won't look at it. A small Grizzle Orange bodied parachute fly was deadly for a while but not now. A Cdc & Elk was deadly but not so much now but still proving a good searching pattern as it tends to bring bigger trout .Maybe in another couple of years i will have a better grasp on entomology & fly selection .I have ordered one of them collapsible entomology nets to try with matching the insects on the water.As for the black seal's fur i am sure i have seen that one on your DVD . I better get to my bed as i will probably be out in the late afternoon till dark. Cheers

The mention of colored water, black nymphs & orange thoraxes reminds me of a fly I made up especially for a local stillwater which often gets very cloudy.
I call it the Frensham Fiend & the simple dressing is as follows:
Thread: black
Hook: 10-14
Tail: small bunch of black hen hackle fibres
Rib: fine silver wire
Body: black seals fur thicker towards thorax
Thorax: a few turns of fluorescent orange floss
Hackle: 2 turns of black hen

The Fiend has done rather well for me, both at Frensham & elsewhere.

Frensham Fiend

I fish this coloured water fly very slowly, as I would a Midge Pupa imitation.