I'd spent three hours searching, and over forty minutes of that were spent hidden in the tall grass, waiting for a hatch that would never materialise. I counted three Danica all evening. I chuckled as a male blackbird, thinking it was a swallow, attempted in vain to catch the airborne…
The first event of 2025 is booked, and I'm really chuffed at being invited back for my 12th year at BFFI. The show is easily the biggest and best in the UK and sees an unbelievable pool of fly dressing talent from all over the world converge on Stafford, UK,…
In this video, I tie the famous CdC and Elk, a pattern (developed by Hans Weilenmann back in the 1980s as a result of his time spent fishing in Montana) wielding CdC as an alternative to the equally famous rooster-hackled cadis imitation, the Elk-Haired Caddis. This is a pattern that…
The Klinkhamer Special needs no introduction. Developed by Hans van Klinken in the 1960s, the pattern has become known as one of the most widely used flies worldwide. I love this pattern when fishing my home waters in South Wales, UK, and more so on the small, fast-running streams for…
This is a pattern that (if you've ever fished with me) you'll know is on my leader pretty much every outing, and sometimes regardless of what's hatching. This is one of those perfect everything-and-nothing flies and one that imitates not just midge but also small olives/mayflies/Ephemeroptera. Materials Hook: Fulling Mill…
She's finally starting to wake up. After what seemed like a season full of heavy rain and high levels, May finally gave the feel of a river alive with invertebrates. More importantly, trout were looking up. https://youtu.be/miM2gcJct8g
Like any chapter in any book, each has a start, a middle, and an ending. I've had the privilege of being counted as a Pro-Team member of both Partridge of Redditch and Semperfli for almost 15 years, and their support, fantastic hooks and materials (as well as the opportunities afforded…
It was sunny during Bryn’s lunchtime walk to the park. Despite the slight chill, snowdrops, crocuses, and daffodils proudly sunned themselves while hazel and birch joyfully flaunted healthy blankets of catkins. The blackbird’s song and deafening sparrow fight reflected this late winter/almost spring afternoon rather perfectly. Bryn sniffed at the…
Initially developed by Bob Wyatt as a follow-up to his Deer Hair Emerger (DHE), the Snowshoe Hare Emerger (SHE) is a fantastic pattern that imitates a vast range of invertebrates and caddis and, at a push, I don't see why it wouldn't feel comfortable imitating midge. Its messy, noisy, buggy…
Late Spring is always a perfect time to stop and watch, and after a stunning 35cm trout, my day is complete. It couldn't get any better anyway. So now I sit and listen to the rumble of this small Welsh stream while watching trout feed on Olive Uprights and caddis…