Fishing Wild Places, all about the flies my favourite flies

Some of my favourite flies

The Goddard Sedge

Almost completely made out of deer hair, this HAS to be my favorite and most successful dry fly for small stream brown trout fishing. I simply love this fly and so do the brown trout. I have used this fly on many, many different streams in just as many different countries.

The Goddard sedge was developed by....you might have guessed.....John Goddard one of the great icons in the 'modern' fly fishing world. I started tying and fishing this fly over 25 years ago and you will always find it in my fly box in the hook sizes #10, #12 and #14.

This dry fly has at least 5 (!) strong points:

1) It floats well (and that is an understatement)
2) You can see it well on the water surface.
3) It is a tough fly, it won't fall apart, ever.
4) It is a cheap and easy fly to make. (after some practicing)
5) The trout love it, especially in small streams!

The fly

At first I hesitated to show this "secret" fly to the world...that is how good this nymph is... believe me. But since I do not mind other people having fun and catching fish I decided, what the heck, let them know about it! (So I also wrote an article about it for Eastern Woods & Waters which you can find here.)
The pheasant tail nymph (also known as the Sawyer nymph, after the famous river keeper Frank Sawyer) is one of the oldest and most successful nymphs ever. This fly has a worldwide reputation as a very good all round nymph. It is easy to make with very simple materials. Nothing fancy, just the way mr. Frank Sawyer saw things, but very deadly. This nymph is a good imitation for a whole range of insects, you only have to vary the size a bit.

Now I would like to make a little jump to the success of the goldbead (goldhead) flies and nymphs. We all know that they work well and I think it is because of 2 reasons; 1) The fly sinks like a stone and 2) The goldbead is reflecting the light. After a couple of years I got sick and tired of just sticking a goldbead fly at the end of my leader and chucking it in.

The result...

There's more to life than goldbeads. So I went back to the classic patterns like the Pheasant Tail Nymph but noted that I had not as much success as with the goldhead flies. So I started looking for more shiny wire and changed to a red coloured pheasant feather. The combination of those two ingredients was just amazing! This fly is an absolute killer for trout and grayling and I have tested it in many different rivers, lakes in just as many different countries. Every time I had other fishermen with me, they were just as stunned as I was. OK, here's what you need:

- Heavy wire nymph hook (TMC 3769 is my favourite)
- Shiny brass wire 0.3 mm (I find this on large spools in handy craft shops!)
- Red dyed pheasant tail feathers.

By-the-way, all credits go to mr. Frank Sawyer....not me.

Two fantastic and very old patterns which I have used all over the world and with much success. Most of the time I use those flies on lakes and ponds when there's a nice breeze and the fish are actively cruising around. Sometimes it is really "deadly" when the fly creates a little "wake" in the surface, especially rainbows can go crazy for them if you fish them that way. Expect really aggressive strikes after a breath taking chase through the surface !

Try not to overdress the flies because that way they lose a lot of their action. The dubbing I use for the bodies is SLF made by Davy Wotton, it's brilliant. Sometimes you end up in a situation when you're not sure if the fish are taking "down under" or at the surface. In that case I use those flies on a dropper right at the start of my leader. That way you kill two birds with one stone. Take it from me, those flies should not be missing in you fly box.

The black sheep of the family in the world of flies ? It could be true because I don't find this fantastic "killer" in many fly boxes. I don't exactly remember how and when I stumbled upon this model but what I do know is that it brought me many, many fish. black leech

Often you will find fly fishermen turn around a go home if they find their favourite river in spate and discoloured. Boy, do they miss a great opportunity to catch a lot of BIG fish ! Try this black leech, maybe with a bit of weight added or using a sinktip, and fish right underneath the bank, you'll be surprised....

Also, on the big reservoirs I often use this fly in springtime. Most of the time I fish it with slow jerks on a slow sinking fly line. (The clear "still water" fly line made by 3M is my absolute favourite) Be prepared for a big BANG because the fish will attack this fly in a very aggressive way. Depending on the type of water and the size of the fish I use a leech from "wopper size # 2" all the way down to a tiny # 12. (Streamerhook with a 2X shank) If you tie them well enough -use very strong tinsel to rib the zonkerstrip- they will last a long time and that's something very useful when you're catching a lot of fish and want to keep on going.

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