I keep the fish in the net, submerged, until I’m ready to photograph it minimising its time out of the water for just a few seconds. Whatever you do, don’t dump them on the bank until you have organised your camera because apart from damage and infection to their sensitive skin, being out of water for any length of time will more than likely result in them turning belly up when you are back home enjoying a cold one. Flies and fly-tying. There are literally thousands of flies to choose from imitating the natural aquatic and terrestrial insects. You don’t need to know the Latin names of them all, unless you want to – it’s not going to help you catch more fish. However, flyfishers should be able to identify the difference between the insects, what they are and the various stages of their life cycle. It will ultimately help in design and choice of fly. The fly is the most important part of the web of illusion and deceit, designed to lure the wily trout into accepting a chemically sharpened piece of steel covered in feathers and fur. The creatures in our waterways come down to a handful of small insects. I favour a few generic patterns that cover a range of the naturals and tied with soft, flexible and barred materials, with a just touch of flash to reflect light on some, www.saflyfishingmag.co.za
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that help to create or give the illusion of movement in the water – simulating life. The insight gained from a study of the recognisable features of the insects and developing an understanding of their habits, will enable the flyfisher to create reasonable representations. Whilst some fly-tyers aspire to exact imitations and I admire their creative ability and skills, it is not necessarily the recipe for success — the fly should rather be simple in design using the principle always of ‘form follows function’, and representative in general shape with distinguishing features, colour and size. Generally, sizes 14 and 16s are my go-to sizes all barbless, but for when they are needed, a size 12 size or at the other end, 18s down to 22s can make a difference. I recall reading somewhere that flies should look a little like everything, but not exactly like anything. In other words, a bug of sorts. I favour starting with a dry fly because as I’ve said the trout in the fine, clear waters of our streams are seldom shy about rising to take flies drifting on the surface . I think this has a lot to do with the fact that in these waters’ food is a little scarce and competition is fierce. The trout will have a close look at anything resembling a bug, even if it means rising to the surface which, in these streams, is never that far away. Return to contents
