YORKSHIRE DALES FLY FISHING

Waterhen Bloa (£1.20) - 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 with a Baetis or Gold Bead Pheasant Tail Nymph on the point during a hatch. Between hatches I fish a single Waterhen Bloa with one each of the above nymphs. Size 14.

Partridge and Yellow (£1.20) - 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. A good fly! Size 14

Black Magic (£1.20) - 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 too. Size 18.

Snipe and Purple (£1.20) - The Snipe and Purple is one of the most famous North Country Spiders. Along with the Partridge and Orange, and Waterhen Bloa, it forms the 'famous three'. Many north country anglers fish these three flies together, on the same leader, throughout the season. The Snipe and Purple is generally considered to be an imitation of the iron blue, but it also does a good job of representing other flies, particularly midges and small terrestrials. Good early season fly. Size 16.

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Gold Head Pheasant Tail Nymph (£1.30) - 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.

Copperhead Nymph (£1.40) - 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 14 and 16.

Mary Copperhead (£1.40) - 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 (£1.30) - 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.

Millstream Strike Indicators (£3.95) - self adhesive, pinch on, foam bite indicators. These are by far the best strike/bite indicators to use for river fly fishing as they are virtually weightless, give little wind resistance and, therefore, cast well on light river rods/lines. I use them for upstream nymphing by attaching one to the leader where it is knotted to the braided loop. They do not peel, fade or suffer from colour run. The closed cell foam won't get waterlogged like yarn indicators. The aggressive, waterproof adhesive backing, stays on the leader until you decide to remove it - and will leave minimal residue when it is removed. Available in yellow, orange and red - I carry all three to cover all light situations. Each sheet contains 32 punch-out indicators in two different sizes. Why miss fish by not seeing the take? Also useful for Czech Nymphing.

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. Sizes 8 to 14 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. Sizes 8 to 14 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! Sizes 8 to 14 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. Sizes 8 to 14 available.

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DRY FLIES AND EMERGERS

Dry fly fishing is one of the pleasures of fly fishing 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 (£1.30) - 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, even in the middle of winter. This is my version of the fly, which differs only very slightly from the original. Klinkhamers only work well with a very tight body. Once the body starts to become loose and frayed they lose their effectiveness, so I rib mine with very fine monofilament, which helps keep the body tightly dubbed and the fly catching fish for longer. Size 14.

Pinkhamer (£1.40) - 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 aids floatation when fished with heavily weighted nymphs in fast water. Although used mainly as an indicator for the nymphs, the Pinkhamer takes its fair share of trout too. Be ready for an aggressive take immediately that it lands on the water! The Pinkhamer is a variation of the Klinkhamer Special, again by Hans van Klinken.
Available in 2 sizes - 12 and 14. Use size 12 in fast water and/or larger nymph and size 14 in slower water and/or smaller nymph.

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.

Pale Watery Paradun (£1.30) - a superb imitation of small, light coloured olives, which hatch from late spring to late autumn in abundance on the Yorkshire Dales rivers. It will imitate any of the small, pale, olives, including Pale Wateries, Spurwings and July duns. It can be devastatingly effective for rising grayling in early autumn. Available in sizes 18 and 20.

Medium Olive Paradun (£1.30) - as above but slightly bigger and darker to imitate other upwinged flies. Good throughout the entire season. Available in sizes 14, 16, and 18 to imitate all the medium coloured olives, e.g. Olive Upright, Spurwings, Medium Olive, etc.

Dark Olive Paradun (£1.30) - as above but darker again to imitate other upwinged flies, in particular the Large Dark Olive, which can hatch in big numbers early and late in the year. Available in sizes 14, 16, and 18 to imitate all the dark coloured olives throughout the season.

Yellowhamer (£1.30) - the Yellowhamer is another Oliver Edwards creation from his series of articles in Flyfishing and Flytying magazine. Tied in the "Klinkhamer" style it imitates the hatching Yellow May Dun, as above. It is easy to see on the water and can be an absolute killer some days. A fly well worth having in your fly box as it seems to work when all else fails - possibly because so few anglers bother to imitate the Yellow May Dun. Size 16

CDC Olive (£1.20) - This simple CDC fly can be an outstanding dry fly fished through riffles, either searching, or to fish seen rising. It works throughout the trout season, but is at its best in the first half of the trout season when the olives are about. Don't be put off by the sparseness - therein lies the secret. Tied on the superb Tiemco 103BL hook. Size 17.

Generic CDC (£1.20) - A fly invented and shown to me by my good friend Jeremy Lucas. Jeremy, one of England's most capped internationals, created this fly for fishing the Welsh Dee during the 2006 International River Fishing Competition. A simple, but very effective fly, which I have named "Generic CDC" as Jeremy didn't give it a name himself. I gave it that name as it really is a fly for every situation, because it can imitate mayflies (olives or upwinged flies), sedges, terrestrials, stoneflies, etc. Tied on the superb Tiemco 103BL hook. Size 17.

Evening Spinner (1.30) - When fishing the evening rise it is essential to have a spinner imitation in your box. If you can see fish rising and no obvious hatch taking place, the chances are the fish are taking spent spinners. You can't see them (unless you wade into the river, stop and look down onto the surface) as they lie completely flush in the surface film. In the past our imitations failed because they also lay flat in the surface film and we couldn't see them, or they were tied with solid wings which just spun the leader into a complete mess. This spinner imitation is another that Oliver Edwards wrote about in his Flyfishing and Flytying magazine articles. It is simply a traditionally hackled, quill bodied, dry fly, with the hackled trimmed so that the fly lies flush in the surface film, just like the natural, while the remaining hackle above the hook is seen by the angler. I have added a 'sighter' wing to help see the fly in fading light, however, this can be removed if you think it is putting the fish off. Fish take this fly without any hesitation in those warm summer and late spring evenings. Available in sizes 16 and 18.

Hackled 'F' Fly (£1.10) - 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. An outstanding dry fly. Size 20.

'F' Fly, Black (£1.10) - 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 (£1.10) - this version of the F Fly imitates many 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' and you don't know what exactly. It is a good general small dry fly that you can use anytime. Available in sizes 18 and 20.

'F' Fly, Olive (£1.10) - 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 (£1.10) - 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 (£165) - 2 of every type and size of fly from above, which gives a total of 126 flies. Sufficient for the whole year through for trout fishing and grayling fishing. Bought separately the full set would cost over £170. I would happily use this set of flies myself all year, not feel restricted by choice and be confident of catching in any circumstance. Makes a great gift set for any fly fisher.

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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