Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Articles and Reviews

Here are a few Articles to inspire you fly fishing fanatics out there, feel free to revisit as new articles will be updated regularly. Good Luck, Tight Lines and Enjoy.

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Article - Introduction to River Fishing

River Fly fishing for me is one of the most exciting and challenging aspects of our sport. If you haven't tried it yet you really should. For me the peace and tranquillity of wading up a river cannot be surpassed. Many people as I originally thought are put off by the perceived expense or as when starting still water fishing the fear of appearing a complete novice surrounded by lots of people. Rivers are surprisingly not heavily fished. Regularly, especially during the week day you would be lucky to see anyone at the bank side. This gives the novice time to practice casts and get the ‘feel’ of river fishing in peace.
When fishing with really light equipment you feel as though you become part of your tackle and the river environment. To become successful all of your senses must be alert. Judging likely holding areas for fish proves dividends. You will start to really read water, each nerve ending tingling in anticipation for the rise to the dry fly. No longer will you just be thrashing water in the hope that a stocky will grab your huge lure. You will be selecting flies to match the hatch and all the pre perceived boring entomology books will now come to the fore, gleaming the insights this knowledge can give you. With time, accuracy will be improved, due to the trout’s window of vision giving a sense of accomplishment that is difficult to explain.
Imaginative casting now comes into the equation as vegetation, undercuts and trees attract your fly more than the fly attracts the fish! As frustrating as this can become over time these casts become second nature, judging the back cast perfectly to out manoeuvre obstacles yet still get that fly on target with gentle presentation. The old adage ‘there is more to fishing than catching fish’ comes to mind.
As soon as the fly lands it is engulfed in the flow of the river and starts to move. Mending lines up and down stream combats any drag and the fly flows downstream naturally. Suddenly a splash, the heart jumps out of no where and the battle is on. The fish is netted and one of the most beautiful sights nature can offer is there in your hand. A brown trout with glorious spots and butter sides. You slip the fish back into the water with both parties leaving with a little more respect for one another.

Article - Bend back Flies

By Gavin Hurst of Carcharodon Angling
When you are fishing over rough ground or over weed beds consisting of kelp and bootlace weed a bend back fly will help to avoid the hang ups that can occur. The hook will ride upside down and the wing material will act like a weed guard allowing the fly to slip over bottom structure and through weed making them an essential part of your armoury. Using a long shank hook such as the Turrall’s Saltwater Streamer or the Tiemco 911s makes it much easier to bend than if we use a Mustad 34007 standard O’Shaugnessy Stainless Steel hook and will leave more room to tie in the dressing and apply a head coating such as epoxy.To bend the hook hold it loosely in a pair of pliers at the point where you want the bend to be and bend it back using your fingers. The angle of the bend shouldn't be too sharp because this can weaken some hooks, also if the hook is bent at too great an angle this could lead to missed takes (Hook at Top of Image). Once you have bent the hook to the desired angle you can then tie any style of streamer or epoxy fly hiding the hook point in the tail or wing of the fly as pictured. A weightier alternative to any bend back pattern can be achieved using a cone head or two to add additional weight and turn the fly into a jiggy that will still sit upside down when fished. When using two cone heads place them back to back at the head so that they fit neatly together. However you may need to remove the barb to allow the cones to slip on to the hooks more easily

Article - Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing

By Gavin Hurst of Carcharodon Angling
If you ever find that you are unable to fish your favourite river because it is in flood and the water clarity is poor or if you are on a seaside holiday why not head to the sea with a fly rod. The great appeal of saltwater fly fishing for me is that you often don't know what you're going to encounter, it could be a bass, a mackerel, a Pollack or even a cod. Location, the stage of the tide and the time of day that you choose to fish will dictate what you catch. Estuaries and shallow beaches tend to fish best during sunset through to darkness or just before sunrise into first light for bass (minimum size limit for bass is 38.5cm's although 45 cm is better from a conservation point of view), flounder and even the odd sea trout (full license required for sea trout and many estuaries are protected nurseries for bass that should be returned). Rocky areas and steep beaches can be fished all day and virtually all stages of the tide because they have deep water with more structure where game fish feel safer and can ambush their prey.
At rocky locations it will be necessary to wear a sturdy pair of boots with a sole that grips well or a pair of wading boots with studded soles. Rocks can be extremely slippery especially when covered in algae and sea weed so you should always take care when moving around in these locations. You can also find yourself being trapped by an incoming tide flooding in behind you so it is worthwhile studying a tide table for the location. Taking a look along the shoreline for the contrasting coloration of the dark rocks above the high water line or the wrack line that marks the upper limit of the tidal range on a beach will give you the information that you need so that you are not stranded by the tide. Regardless of you chosen location it is always good if you can fish with a friend not only for safety but also because you can cover more water and get pictures of your catch.
Whilst there is a huge amount of tackle available designed specifically for use in saltwater you can get by with reservoir kit or double handed rod rated #7 to #9 including an intermediate and full sinking line or even a little five weight and a floating line when fishing for mullet. The important thing to remember is that saltwater is corrosive and can destroy your rod rings, reel seats, reels and lines so don't forget to give all of your equipment a thorough rinse in fresh water. An additional piece of kit that you will need is a line tray that can be purchased from a good retailer or you could make your own from a washing up bowl and a length of bungee cord for a belt. Line trays or stripping baskets as they are sometimes know stop the line becoming wrapped around rocks, barnacles, weed and your feet so that your cast is not obstructed.
The leader should be eight to nine feet of mono-filament or fluorocarbon with and eight to ten pound tippet (six pound for mullet). Leaders can be tapered or made up from different strength sections, a 48 inch butt section of 30lb followed by an 18 inch section of 20lb and finally 18 inches of 10 lb at the tip. This may seem a little heavy for many anglers but it is a combination of the rod rating, the size of the fly that you are now using and the terrain that you are fishing over. Many of the flies that we use in the sea represent bait fish and sand eels measuring between two to four inches in length tied on size 2 through to size 2/0 hooks and if we were to use too light a tippet the fly would break off.
My preference for attaching the fly to the leader is a non-slip loop knot (an illustration for tying this knot can be found at www.carcharodonangling.co.uk/Book%20Excerpts.htm and at www.barracudaguiding.co.uk/fishing%20knots.htm as well as some of the flies used) and allows the fly to move freely in all directions. It is important that the loop in the knot is not too large because this can cause the fly to foul during the casting stroke.
Fly fish the sea as you would a lake of river fishing around likely looking structure with some saltwater flies and there is a very good chance that you will have a positive hook-up.

Review - A Fly In The Brine By Gavin Hurst

We at CudaFly have been lucky enough to read this before it has gone to print. Frankly it is the best book we have read regarding UK saltwater Fly Fishing. It takes you through all the steps necessary to become competent at saltwater fly fishing in the UK. Covering aspects from flies, casting, tidal flows, fish location and species migration. At last a book that covers the UK in depth.

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