Small Flies

I spent time comparing my diary notes on the last three years fishing late last night. The idea was more to see if I had learnt anything about the fishing on our venues during the hardest part of the season August-September.

It seems I have! Despite guiding on more days each year at this time, we have less blanks year on year. Another interesting feature was that of the bigger fish landed 80% were on small flies during this period. However the number of fish caught was split roughly 50/50 between small fly patterns and larger mobile flies.

Why should this be so? I believe that from late July through to late September the trout are surrounded by food, it a feast and they know it! Not only that, much of this food is small, tiny in fact and often olive or black in colour. Midge pupa immediately spring to mind, but if you sample the waterlife as we did during our courses this summer you will find most of the nymphs are a lighter shade of olive and small.

Why? By this stage of the year most of these nymphs are immature having hatched from eggs only weeks ago if that. These nymphs are what will mature and hatch into next summer's flies.

So make a note now to tie plenty of size 16-18 buzzers and nymphs this winter, it will pay you back well during summer 2007!

Tight Lines

Steve