I’ve always liked using big bushy dry flies. Easy to see, easy to fish, and fun to tie. The patterns I use resemble nothing in particular, and are more of a combination of other fly patterns than an imitation of a particular terrestrial. My flies probably look more like some “extraterrestrial” bug that’s just landed here from another planet, than a bug that’s just fallen on to the water from the river bank. I like a little bling in my dry flies. Some colour and exaggerated triggers are important to me, though I’ve never asked the fish if they prefer my flies to something much simpler. I may be a minimalist when it comes to my fishing, but certainly not my tying.
I heard it said that you should never share a fly or introduce into before in its tried and tested. A figure of a hundred fish was mentioned. To hell with that idea! I have caught one tiny little trout this whole season, so that might take a little time. I tie flies far more than I fish and far more than I need to. I tie a fly or two on most days, between babysitting, farming and trying to keep my wife happy.
Here follow a few of my latest dry flies that I’ve tied. I’ve modified old patterns of mine to make them more fishable and I’ve come up with a few new flies too (well new to me). I have had a lot of fun tying with CDC since I first used it just over a year ago. I can’t say that I have experienced it’s fish catching “magic” first hand, but it really does give a fly some life and buggieness.
Here follow a few of my extra terrestrial bugs. Some have just crawled off my vice this weekend and others I have tied over the last year or so. I will include a short SBS for the spider and beetle and a link to previous articles for an SBS of the other patterns.
The Lotheni Spider
Here are a few variations of a pattern that I have recently tied but not yet fished. While fishing the Lotheni River last weekend, I noticed several big grey spiders climbing over the rocks in the river bed. A tasty morsel for a trout, no doubt. I looked at my spider pattern that I was fishing, and it looked very different to the real thing that was so abundant along the river banks. Here is the spider pattern I tied after my observations on the river. I have tied it in a few colour variations which are probably not necessary, but it’s fun anyway.
Lotheni Spider and Beetle SBS:
A few other terrestrials from my fly box
Below are two links to the SBS for my hopper and Para Daddy, and another for the Bungezi Beetle
https://astreambeyond.wordpress.com/2015/12/13/my-secret-paradise-and-two-new-flies/
https://astreambeyond.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/tying-the-bungezi-beetle/
Lovely. I’d imagine these would go down well on Sterkies, too.
Rex, your flies look amazing boet – I’ll try them on our WC browns, hopefully this coming season;)
Thanks Leonard. I reckon I would save those cdc flies for the tricky fish of streams like the witte, I don’t like having to spend too much time drying my flies between casts.
Thanks Jeff. I reckon those hoppers and especially the Beetles will work well for yellows, but I can’t say I’ve ever tried any of them on yellows.
“I tie a fly or two on most days, between babysitting, farming and trying to keep my wife happy.” – Hahaha, yes Rex! x2… except when it comes to farming I’m more in the agriculture of trying to cultivate words
Jazz what “fertilizer” do you use to fertilize your words?