Rossett & Gresford Flyfishing Club
The above is my local water, it is a small river, a tributary of the Dee. The club has about 4 – 5 miles of fishing & I have been a member for the past 20 odd years & a committee member for most of this time.
Historically the river has had to be stocked on a regular basis, at times monthly !! Over the past decade a program of major improvement of the habitat & water quality has been very successful, so much so that stocking is now no longer needed (for the past few years only a single token stocking has taken place towards the end of the season). Natural food is abundant & growth rate of the fish excellent, there is the full spectrum of fish size throughout the system, with Grayling making a welcome return.
All this sounds like an ideal river, but there are drawbacks, the first is the need for constant bank work. There is a dedicated team who work every Sunday throughout the year (not just the winter), to maintain habitat & remove trees that fall in or obstructions. Replanting of weed & bank side cover is a regular task along with the inevitable cutting back of overhanging trees & bushes.
The fish never appreciate these efforts & can be difficult to tempt, by not rising to the flies seen, a most frustrating problem due probably to the very high numbers of shrimp available.
The club has a turnover of 10% – 20% of its 120 (ish) members per year. This has a lot to do with Stillwater anglers wishing to “move on” to a river, some do get disillusioned or cannot cope with trees that move & catch flies on the back cast. The physical effort of getting in & out of the river or the distance covered along the banks also contributes.
To combat these problems for the past 5 or 6 years I have run an annual “River Day” for new members, to show basics of river fishing & flies. A little entomology of what is in the river & what to look for. At the end of the 07 season I put together my fishing returns with some pictures, this was shared on the clubs website to generate hopefully more members to try new areas of the river.
For the North West Fly dressers I thought it might be of some interest.
Eddie
16/01/08
2007 Season
Apologies, images still need to be added,
I thought it may be nice to put down my seasons fishing on the River (Alyn)
The season started very well with some very nice Grayling to 2lb being caught & browns to 11/2lb at the side of the island just upstream of the flyover at Rossett weir. These were all attracted to small weighted shrimp patterns. A good start especially as this was March !!! (5 visits)
April & may continued to produce fish, but not as many to shrimp, as the dry parraloop worked better & for wet, a pheasant tail. Best fish for this period a brown of 12oz & a Grayling of 11/2lb (4 visits). It was nice to have fish rising to the fly
Only one visit for June & none for July & Dace was fish of the month(s) as I had a Grayling & a Dace of 1/2lb. The wet weather stopped a lot coming out (myself included) But when the levels dropped, there were plenty of fish around.
August & September were excellent months, with September being my best for many years (7 visits for the two months) Notable fish were 11/4lb Grayling 2lb Brown & a small Chubb ???
The river above the sewage pool held many surprises for me, pools & small riffles held some very good fish. The large grayling was one of the surprises , it came from a small pool that I would not normally try to cast in. Two more browns came from the same pool on successive casts.
The Sewage pool caused me a few problems on fly choice as the fish were changing diet according to what came out of the sewage outlet i.e Bluebottle flies & bloodworm on one day or black buzzer on the next. Fish would not look at anything else ! Most frustrating ?
I was not the only one to be puzzled ! Guess who ?
Food examples on two separate visits
In August there were some terrific evening rises below the sewage pool
& as always this year the sewage pool itself.
Even the Sewage pool now has a population of Grayling
On the 16/09/07 I had 16 fish on an evening (18:15 – 20:00) – Sewage pool & below.
On the 15th I returned & fished above the sewage farm in the daytime (11:00 – 15:00) & caught 17 fish !!
Best fish of the year came on the last day (30/09/07)
For the year I had 18 visits for 118 fish with the average of 6.5 fish a visit. Now that’s what I call a good season.
With the habitat improving by the month (thanks to the bankwork team on a Sunday), prospects for the next season already look good. River survey work is now showing us the vast amount of natural food in our river & also give a clue as to the flies to use.
I hope to visit at least as much in 2008, so may see you on the bank.
Eddie
This feature is by Les Lockey.
Making Tin Head Hooks
Hooks - Any heavy gauge hook eg. Kamasan B110, B175, B800 or
Hayabusa FLY 387, depending upon fly pattern.
Mould - Piece of 6mm. flat aluminium with a depression made by pressing a 2 - 6mm ball bearing into the aluminium to a depth of just less than half the bearing’s diameter. This is critical since the bearing will become stuck in the depression if pressed in any further. The size of the bearing dictates the maximum size of the tinhead.
Solder - Omega fast flow 3%, Rosin free, 18swg, 63tin:37lead alloy.
Supplier – Warton Metals Ltd., Haslingden, Lancs. 01706 218888
Cost – approx. £8 for a 0.5kg roll, enough for over 2000 flies!
Soldering iron - Any fine tip iron.
File - Any small, fine tooth metal file.
METHOD
Use the file to remove the lacquer from just behind the eye of the hook.
Melt the solder with the soldering iron so that one blob drips into the depression in the mould. Hold the filed hook upside down in one hand while keeping the blob of solder molten in the mould, with the iron. Carefully position the hook into the molten solder, removing the iron at the same time. Very Important - keep the hook stationary until the solder forms a skin. Remove the hook from the mould and wipe the solder with a damp paper towel. Clean to a bright finish by polishing with a dry paper towel. Tip - Make tinheads in batches and store until required.
Tying Egg Flies.
Hooks – Kamasan B110 or Hayabusa FLY387 sizes 8 - 12. Wide Gape.
Thread – Gudebrod GX2, Kevlar or GSP.
Body – Wapsi Egg Yarn
Superglue or Varnish – I prefer Superglue but care is needed.
METHOD
Firmly secure the tin head hook in the vice and add a small drop of superglue just behind the soldered head. Start the thread in the superglue immediately behind the solder, wipe off excess glue with paper towel and remove excess thread. Cut 3, 1 – 11/2” pieces of egg yarn in your chosen colour(s). Place the 3 pieces of egg yarn on top of the hook and place 2 very tight turns of thread, one on top of the other, to secure the yarn. Keeping the thread very tight, pull all the ends of the yarn up above the hook shank and bring the thread up and around the base of the yarn and make 6 very tight locking turns, pulling the thread towards the eye of the hook after each turn. Whip finish immediately behind the solder. Finally, pull the yarn up as straight as possible and cut the yarn with a single cut of very sharp kitchen scissors. The height of the cut will determine the size of the finished egg. Smaller sized eggs can be made by using only 2 pieces of yarn. Coloured spots can be incorporated by adding a thinner strand of contrasting egg yarn on top of the main body yarn. The thickness of the contrasting yarn determines the size of the coloured spot and it must be positioned on top of the main colour.
Tying Flexifloss Worms
Hook – Kamasan B175 or B170, sizes 10 and 12.
Thread – Uni-Thread colour to match flexifloss but usually Red or Fl. Pink
Body, rib, legs – Fine Red Flexifloss.
(Green, Yellow and Magenta also work - thread to match).
Varnish –Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails.
METHOD
Cut 3 pieces of Flexifloss, 2 of which should be at least 6” long and will be used for the “legs” which can be shortened later if required; the other piece is for the rib.
Start the thread at the eye and wind the thread in touching turns to a point above the barb. Return the thread in open spirals to the eye. Tie in the length of rib leaving a stub protruding over the eye. Take roughly the middle of the two 6” pieces of Flexifloss and tie them in so that the long pieces extend in roughly equal amounts beyond the hook eye and the hook bend, with the rib also to the rear. In touching turns wind the thread towards the hook bend keeping the rear facing Flexifloss stretched and on top of the hook. Return the thread in touching turns towards the hook eye, making sure that all of the Flexifloss is covered. At this point, the stub of ribbing projecting over the eye can be stretched and cut off. Stretch the rib and wind it forwards in a slightly open spiral and secure behind the hook eye. Whip finish and trim the “legs” as required. Carefully coat the “body” with 2 - 3 coats of Hard as Nails varnish.
Tying the Alien
Hook - Kamasan B170, B175 or similar Size 10
Thread - None. Use Superglue instead.
Body - Red Version, alternate red and silver glass beads (Hobbycraft). For other colour versions use red at eye and silver for the remainder of the body.
“Legs” - Flexifloss in chosen colour. Usually red, green, yellow or black.
Thread a red bead onto a 2.5” length of flexifloss and feed the bead onto the hook. Place a small spot of superglue at the eye of the hook and feed the bead onto the glue and allow to set. Thread a silver bead onto a 2.5” length of flexifloss and feed the bead onto the hook. Place a small spot of superglue immediately behind the first bead and carefully, keeping the rear facing bit of flexifloss to the side, slide the second bead tight against the first and allow to set. Continue as before using alternately coloured beads until the hook shank is full, usually 5 or 6 beads. When the glue has dried, trim the flexifloss to length if required.
Tying the Glass Bloodworm
Hook - Any strong wire Grub or Sedge hook, size 8 or 10.
Thread - Red or Fl. Red.
Rib - 4lb clear monofilament / nylon.
Body - Red Magic Glass (Veniards).
Thorax - Red Ostrich herl.
METHOD
Fix the hook in the vice and begin the thread at the eye. Crimp the end of the nylon and tie it in at the thorax position. Run the thread in touching turns, well round the bend, securing the rib as you go. At the end position tie in the magic glass making sure the magic glass is on top of the hook but leaving a small stub protruding downwards and to the rear. Wind the thread under and just forward of the magic glass and tie in the ostrich herl. Wind the thread in touching turns back to the head position then wind the ostrich herl towards the eye, in open spirals and tie in at the head position but do not cut off. Gently pull the magic glass over the top of the hook and secure at the head with thread. Wind the rib in tight but open spirals towards the eye making sure the magic glass stays on top of the hook. Secure with thread and cut off the excess rib and magic glass. Wind the remaining ostrich herl in 3 or 4 close touching turns and secure with thread. Cut off the excess herl and varnish the head.
Tying RUB- A- DUB Beetles
Hook – Any lightweight hook eg. Kamasan B400 or B405 in sizes 10 - 14.
Thread – Any fine thread, Black, eg. Sparton Micro.
Body – Rub a Dub dubbing in Black or Olive.
Shellback – 3 to 6mm wide Black foam or Plastazote, depending on hook size.
METHOD
Run the thread in touching turns from the hook eye to the bend. Trim one end of the foam to a small point to reduce bulk and tie it in on top of the hook shank, with the main piece of foam projecting backwards. Tie down the foam point, and return the thread to the point where the foam was tied in. Dub onto the thread some Rub a Dub dubbing and wind it forward to just before the hook eye. Pull the foam over the top of the dubbing and carefully secure with the thread (too much tension will cut the foam). Lift up the foam which is now projecting over the hook eye and make several turns of thread immediately next to the foam which will cock the foam at a slight angle. Whip finish under the foam and varnish. Finally, cut the foam to leave a small stub representing the head projecting over the hook eye.
Most, if not all of the above materials, can be obtained from Mr. David Burke. He can be contacted after 6pm on 0161 290 1788 or on his mobile 07709 766709 or via his new web site at
WWW.STRIKEINDICATOR.CO.UK
 | Brown …… but no turkey !
A firm favourite for Sea Trouting on the Solway & Border rivers, (probably elsewhere), is the Brown Turkey Fly. In waters that can adopt that peat stained whiskey colour the pattern can often elicit that desired explosion at the end of your line from a lively fresh fish.
In preparation for a recent trip to the River Annan I was busily tying a stock of patterns for a weeks fishing and a friend had given me a locally tied pattern to replicate as a likely, ‘sure fire’, winner. This preparatory period coincided with the Chatsworth Angling Fair, but a visit to a favourite materials supplier (between demonstrations in the Fly Dressing marquee) found me out of luck. All of the brown turkey had been sold. Mooching through the stall I came across some Shoveler Flank feathers, and the idea hit me how to use this lovely chestnut brown plumage – a Brown Turkey, without the turkey?
The pattern emerged with all of essential ingredients of the original, those particular blends of colour. But with the addition of the new style over wing it moved beautifully, swimming well in the water, with a good profile and a little added zing. That week proved to be hard fishing and all of my takes occurred either between 11 & 12midnight, or as the light re-emerged at around 3am. Takes were on a variety of patterns, but the ‘stand in’ version of the Brown Turkey had its share.
I judge my successful patterns usually on profile, size, colour and movement. … oh yes, and moreover what the fish think of them. I think this has it all, and the old shoveler certainly dug me out of a hole. Maybe it should be called the Brown Shoveler?
The pattern:
Tail: Natural Golden Pheasant Tippet
Rear body: Amber Seals Fur (or sub)
Front body: Red Seals Fur (or sub)
Rib: Gold Oval tinsel
Hackle: Black
Under Wing: Natural Golden Pheasant Tippet
Over Wing: Brown Shoveler Flank, with a strand of Crystal Flash, or similar,on both sides
The over wing is lightly tied on the top of fly and then drawn through before fully securing it.
Variations include GP Topping for the tail, or no tail for those concerned with tail nipping fish, and various coloured heads. Most of my patters are tied on size 8 – 10 doubles, some black, some silver.
Dr. Simon Wright. |  |
SPENT TEA BAG SEDGE WINGS
A quick, easy, effective, and above all cheap way to make wings for an adult sedge fly.
1 Take a used tea bag, squeeze out all the liquid flatten back into shape and carefully cut around the edges with a pair of sharp scissors and empty the contents into the bin.
2 Open out the bag and rinse it under the tap to remove all remaining tea leaf fragments and leave to dry naturally flattened out on a piece of kitchen paper.
3 When totally dry you will see that the material has a nice pale sedgy looking colour
and is patterned accordingly, but you can add further makings if desired using a permanent marker pen.
4 With a pencil or fine ballpoint pen draw out the shape of your desired wing to imitate the typical roof shape and size this accordingly i.e. 10,12, or 14 etc. With care you should be able to get at least two wings per tea bag. Cut out the wing and fold the wing in half lengthwise. (I do several at a time ready for tying in)
5 Prepare your sedge body and any antennae/legs as normal. Offer up the folded wing over the body and tie in just behind the head and stroke the wing down to form the typical roof shape. If you have left any gap between the body and hook eye the wing will want to fly up at the bend so be aware of this, as the wing needs to be nice and flat.
6 Tie in and wind your hackle to represent the legs and whip finish.
Note: If you want your wing to be a darker shade then soak the empty bag in some strong black coffee before continuing with steps 3 to 6 above.
The finished wing will be absorbent but strong and not too stiff. If you want to make it more trout – proof still, then add a coat of thin clear varnish.
7 Now go fishing or have another cup of tea!!!
David Pollard
Full-time Treasurer and part-time fisherman!!
As the days are now showing signs of getting a little longer, I am beginning to feel the urge to get the rods out after a couple of months lay off during the winter. (I feel the cold too much these days.)
I was looking through my records of this past season and although I recorded the odd blank days I had a quite reasonable season I thought.
Flies I used varied from goldhead lures, buzzers in varying size and colour, traditional patterns and CDCs, but I think my favourite fly and the one I got much pleasure from fishing was the Shipmans type buzzer. I also managed to lose my biggest fish of the season on this fly pattern (a big blue trout) when the hook straightened out while playing the fish.
I tie these flies mainly in black, but also in olive and fiery brown on size 12 or 14 buzzer/emerger hooks. For the breathers tied on top of hook shank I prefer to use white baby doll wool and the seal’s fur tied on using the dubbing loop method as I think this has the finished body a more ‘spikey’ appearance than the usual method of dubbing. The rib can be either gold or silver wire but on the black ones I do also use fine pearl tinsel. (Note: tinsel can sometimes rip off or break when the trout get their teeth into it). The white breathers are then trimmed to length.
I usually fish this pattern as a single fly on the point. Occasionally I also fish with a buzzer on the dropper or as a dropper with a buzzer on the point.
After sitting here writing this I am now eager to get back to my tying bench.
See you on the water.
 Bernard Cotterill
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