YORKSHIRE DALES FLY FISHING

Waterhen Bloa (£1.00) - The Waterhen Bloa is probably my favourite North Country Spider. It is "the only" spider needed early in the season when the large dark olives are hatching, of which it is a simple, but brilliant, imitation. I fish two Waterhen Bloas during a hatch and one at other times together with a couple of my nymphs. Size 14.

Partridge and Yellow (£1.00) - The Partridge and Yellow is my choice when the paler olive species are hatching from late April onwards. It imitates a large range of olives and other flies. Size 14

Black Magic (£1.00) - The Black Magic Spider is a good all-rounder to have tied to your leader at most times. It must represent a myriad of small black terrestrials and aquatic flies. A very good autumn grayling fly. Size 18.

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Nymphs are essential to successful fly fishing on the rivers of Northern England. I would say that perhaps 80% of my river fishing is done with a subsurface fly. River nymphs need to be small, with the correct silhouette and very importantly, carry the right amount of weight. The weight required might be an un-weighted nymph, a leaded underbody, a metal bead, a tungsten bead, or a combination of lead and tungsten bead. River nymphs with these qualities cannot be bought in shops. Below are the very nymphs that I use for all my river nymph fishing throughout the year.

Gold Head Pheasant Tail Nymph (£1.50) - this fly is nothing short of outstanding on the Yorkshire Dales rivers. It is a versatile nymph; I use it when upstream nymphing, as a point fly when fishing North Country Spiders and for fishing the 'duo' through shallow water. Size 16.

Czech Nymph, Olive (£1.50) - a drab fly that I has taken very many trout and grayling, particularly from clear water, when things get hard late winter grayling fishing. Works well in clear or coloured water. Size 10 and 12 available.

Czech Nymph, Hydropsyche (£1.50) - my number one Czech Nymph which takes the bulk of the fish when Czech nymphing. It is my quick tie version of a hydropsyche larva, which are normally very intricate and time consuming to tie. Again works well in all conditions. Size 10 and 12 available.

Czech Nymph, Pink (£1.50) - a bright fly for use in coloured water. Some days trout and grayling will completely ignore this fly, other days they take it very well indeed. Strangely, it also works for grayling when the weather turns very cold in winter and the water goes crystal clear! Size 10 and 12 available.

Czech Nymph, Hot Spot (£1.50) - at times this Czech nymph can be devastating. I have had days when the trout and grayling have singled out this fly from the others on the cast, even when I changed its position on the leader. Works best in slightly coloured to very coloured water. Size 10 and 12 available.

Czech Nymph Leader (£1.95 each) - I have used this leader design for many years now perfecting the all important exact distance between flies and overall length. They are tied by Fulling Mill to my exact specifications using 4lb Fulling Mill Fluorocarbon and are now available for the first time commercially. Overall length = 8' 3" with 2 droppers.

Copperhead Nymph (£1.20) - tied with a tungsten bead and lead under-body to get down quickly. I like to think that it is a representation of a cased caddis. Best used as a top dropper when Czech nymphing where it can be devastating! If I had to use just one nymph this would probably be it! Size 14.

Edwards Baetis Nymph (£2.50) - an early season nymph originated by my friend Oliver Edwards to represent the large dark olive nymph. Early in the season, through to about early May, this fly catches lots of trout, fished either upstream or in a team of wet flies. It is a very intricate tying (hence the price) and incorporates eyes, head, splayed tails, segmented body, legs, wing case and 'ripe' wing buds (see enlarged image). Size 16.

Mary Copperhead (£1.80) - named after one of the best fly anglers in the country, Simon 'Mary' Robinson. This fly uses a tungsten bead (hence the price) to fish at depth quickly and has a wing case of pearl to add attraction. Hook size is practically irrelevant; bead size determines which fly to fish in each situation. It is used almost exclusively for fishing the 'duo' and 'trio' methods. 2mm and 1.5mm beads available. A deadly fly on most days!

The Worm (£1.20) - A new addition to the range in 2007. I read about this fly a few years ago in the Grayling Society Journal, tied a few up and put them to the back of my fly box. Then one day, fishing a flooded River Nidd, I gave the worm its first wetting and the result changed my coloured water grayling fishing. It took every one of 16 fish I caught that day. It has since been used on all the dales rivers and even on the River Tweed and Teviot. I can confirm its effectiveness; it caught me my biggest ever grayling of 50cm in December 2006 on a flooded River Teviot. This is a very large 'fly'  tied on a size 8 swimming nymph hook.

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DRY FLIES AND EMERGERS

Dry fly fishing is one of the pleasures of flyfishing the Yorkshire Dales rivers. With the abundant fly life, both aquatic and terrestrial, the fish are always looking up for the next offering. Dry flies again need to have the correct silhouette, be the right size and float in the correct manner. Note that I didn't just say float. It is essential that a dry fly sits right, either on, or to varying degrees, in the surface. Below is a selection of the dry flies that I use most often, which will imitate a wide range is surface flies throughout the year.

Klinkhamer Special (£1.20) - Invented by the brilliant Dutch flytyer and flyfisher Hans van Klinken. The Klinkhamer Special has taken the river fishing scene by storm over the last 15 years or so. A 'must have' dry fly on any northern freestone stream. A great search pattern or at just about any time whether the fish are rising or not. Good also for grayling dry fly fishing. Size 14.

Pinkhamer (£1.50) - a big fly with a bright pink wing, used as a dry fly when fishing the 'duo' and 'trio'. The wing aids sighting and the generous hackling helps with floatation when fished with heavily weighted nymphs. Although used mainly as an indicator for the nymphs it takes its fair share of trout too. It is a variation of the Klinkhamer Special, again by Hans van Klinken. Size 12.

Para-midge, Black (£1.20) - another fly from the Klinkhamer family that fishes with its body below the surface. This is a midge imitation that will also represent a wide range of other small black flies that are so abundant throughout the warmer months from smuts to terrestrials. Size 18.

Paradun, Pale watery (£1.20) - a superb imitation of small, light coloured olives, particularly the pale watery olive that hatches from late summer to late autumn in abundance on the Yorkshire Dales rivers. Available in sizes 18 and 20 to match all the pale wateries

Paradun, Medium Olive(£1.20) - as above but slightly bigger and darker to imitate other upwinged flies. Good from spring to early summer. Available in sizes 14, 16, and 18 to imitate all the medium coloured olives throughout the season.

Paradun, Dark Olive (£1.20) - as above but slightly bigger and darker again to imitate other upwinged flies, in particular the large dark olive which can hatch in big numbers very early and late in the year. Available in sizes 14, 16, and 18 to imitate all the dark coloured olives throughout the season.

CDC Shuttlecock (£1.00) - a new fly for me in 2005, but one which gave my guests and I plenty of trout. I specify trout as it did not seem to interest the grayling at all. Good when the olives are hatching and anytime when trout are rising in riffles as opposed to smooth water.  Tied on the superb Tiemco 103BL hook. Size 17.

Hackled 'F' Fly (£1.50) - an imitation of many small flies including midges and micro sedges. As the name suggests this fly is a variation of the 'F' Fly with a hackle. The hackle is trimmed off level with the hook shank so that it floats low in the surface film. Size 20.

'F' Fly, Black (£1.00) - the 'F' Fly family of flies are now proven catchers of trout and grayling and the black version is probably the best of the lot. Imitates many different black flies that are so abundant almost everywhere. Available in sizes 18 and 20.

'F' Fly, Heron Herl (£1.00) - this version of the F Fly imitates many of the paler insects that are encountered throughout the fly fishing year, including many of the olive species and midges. A great fly when the trout are on small 'stuff', but you don't know what exactly. Available in sizes 18 and 20.

'F' Fly, Olive (£1.00) - as above but this time in olive for when an olive imitation is called for. Good during a hatch of upwings or as a micro sedge. Available in sizes 18 and 20.

'F' Fly, Aphid (£1.00) - the aphid is a very common fly and one that is available to the trout and grayling for a large part of the year. This imitation has served me well for a number of years now and I use it just about anytime that a very small fly is called for, regardless of whether they are taking aphids or not. It is particularly good for grayling fishing. Size 20.

Griffith's Gnat (£1.20) - the Griffith's Gnat is an American fly that works very well when trout and grayling are steadily dimpling the surface on the glides. It is, I suppose, a midge imitation, but it will imitate the vast array of very small insects on the fishes menu. Size 20.

Black Gnat (£1.20) - the black gnat imitates the natural of the same name and many other small black flies that appear throughout the season. This version is hackled the conventional way to sit high on the water. Size 18.

Full Set Of River Flies (£98) - 2 of every type and size of fly from above, which gives a total of 80 flies. Sufficient for the whole year through for trout fishing and grayling fishing. Bought separately the full set would cost £103. I would happily use this set of flies myself all year, not feel restricted by choice and be confident of catching in any circumstances. Makes a great gift set for any fly fisher.

Grayling Flies Set (£50) - a set of grayling flies that will catch grayling at all times from minute dry flies to Czech Nymphs. This set comprises of 40 flies that are capable of catching grayling in all conditions. Again, this set would be the ideal present for any grayling fishing enthusiast.

STILLWATER FLIES

Unlike river flies, good quality stillwater flies are now available from a variety of sources. For this reason I do not intend to sell stillwater flies individually and to compete with those companies selling them. I do however, by demand again, sell a beginners starter set of flies for those new to fly fishing. In my opinion the one area of fly fishing that beginners find most daunting is the flies we use, so I have put together a collection of the best known stillwater flies sorted into types i.e. lures, nymphs, buzzers and dries. These flies have been selected with the beginner in mind:- they are all proven good trout flies, well known, and are generally small flies without the addition of weight to hinder fly casting for the novice angler. They are supplied with full 'instructions' on how to use them and how to get the best from them. 30 flies in a good quality fly box - £30.

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