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for each pattern required. The next stage allows you to change quantities or
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Telephone your order on:-0776 176 2660Mail Order
Print and complete an Order Form:- PDF file
Excel file (adds totals for you)
and send it with a cheque, made payable to "Yorkshire Dales Flyfishing
Ltd"
There is a minimum order value of £20.
P&P is charged at £2.50.
I can put together a set of flies to suit your budget.
Gift certificates can be used to buy flies.
All orders include a full money back guarantee if not totally satisfied (if
returned in original condition and unused).
"Hi Stuart
Great flies and very
efficient service.
Many thanks.
Chris"
"Many thanks for the flies. The wet ones worked a treat and I caught 3 nice
trout (35cm) on them. My lack of skill prevented me from landing any with
the dry flies but got plenty of exciting takes.
Best regards
Mike"
"Stuart...the grayling flies I ordered have arrived ! Just wanted to say what
a great service . I fish on the Rye (member of Ryedale Anglers Club ) and
will let you know how I get on with them . I usually do not fish for
grayling but am going to give it a go this season.
Regards
Ken"
"Hi Stuart
Just a little feedback on the holiday in North Yorkshire and the flies I purchased from you...they all worked fantastic.
I think that I was lucky to find the Nidd and Wharfe in such good condition. On the Nidd the duo method using Pinkhamer with Copperhead was the deadliest combination for nymphing, whilst all the small dry flies were most successful
i.e. "F", hackled "F" and Para-midges all attracted good fish.
For the Wharfe at Bolton Abbey in a pool a little down steam but before the Island one I caught five good trout to 17" using
Klinkhamer Special. When it comes to fishing rivers and streams I am very
much on a leaning curve.
Anyway I had a great holiday, thanks for the advice on the flies to use I will be topping them up soon for the return to Yorkshire next year.
Kind regards
Chris"
The fast flowing rivers and streams of the
Yorkshire Dales require specific flies to fish them successfully throughout the
year. These flies, correctly tied in the right sizes (i.e. small), are not
available commercially. Also, fly fishing competition, at the highest level, has
revealed to me some outstanding patterns that are almost 'secret' and not available to buy. Many of my guests
want to buy the flies that they have used when fishing with me, or they want to buy
their flies before they travel to the Yorkshire Dales.
Because of this demand and because good river
flies are hard, if not impossible to find, I now supply trout and grayling flies.
Many of these flies are tied for me locally. They are tied to my exact specifications and
standards and are the exact flies that I use myself, whether pleasure fishing or
competition fishing. They will not fall apart after one fish, cannot be bought
anywhere else and most importantly they work! They are tied on top quality
hooks including, Tiemco, Partridge of Redditch and Scorpion, with the best fly tying materials
available and all are barbless/de-barbed.
Please click the thumbnails to enlarge the
fly pictures. All the pictures are of actual flies chosen at random from my
selection. They are not pictures of one carefully tied fly to seduce you, only to send you
sub-standard flies from stock. All flies can be supplied with my handouts that I
give to my guests learning river fly fishing; "River Flies and How to Fish
Them", containing pictures of each of the flies and how I fish them, and "River Fly Fishing
Methods", giving a full explanation of all the techniques and leader
set-ups used for river fly fishing. Please note £20 + P&P minimum order value.
NORTH COUNTRY SPIDERS OR YORKSHIRE WET FLIES
North Country Spiders - is the name given to wet flies tied in a particular style in the north of England. They are at the foundation of all North Country fly fishing and are
tied intentionally to be very sparse. They have been used for over a hundred years and are tied using, simple, traditional, fly tying materials, to represent the
full spectrum of insects available to the trout and grayling. I tend to use just
5 spiders; Partridge and Orange, Waterhen Bloa, Partridge and Yellow, Black Spider
and Snipe and Purple. These
wet flies are sufficient for me to represent insects throughout the year from
Large Dark Olives to Pale Watery Olives and everything in between.
Partridge and Orange (£1.20) - The Partridge and Orange spider is probably the
best known of all the North Country Spiders and dates back to the very early years of North Country fly fishing. It is generally thought to be a stonefly imitation, an early season and autumn fly, but the Partridge and
Orange is a good choice throughout the trout season and well into autumn. Size 14
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.
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 (£1.30) - 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 nymphing is one of the most successful methods you can use
on any rain-fed river for trout or grayling. The introduction of Czech
nymphing (or bugging) and Czech Nymphs in the 1990's revolutionised fly
fishing on fast flowing, rain-fed rivers, throughout the country. Czech
nymphing can be absolutely deadly when employed in the right places, at
the right time, with suitable flies on a correctly spaced leader. The
flies and leader used are all important and the key to successful Czech
nymphing. The flies used need to be slim, without legs, gills, etc (so
they sink quickly without resistance), and correctly weighted to fish in
the zone of water near the bottom of the stream, but not on the bottom.
Fishing on the bottom leads to frustrating false takes and lost flies.
Fishing above the zone means the flies will be quickly swept away by the
current and you will not catch fish. Hitting the zone is done by
adjusting the weight (size) of your flies so that they don't constantly
snag bottom, but also don't get swept away too quickly.
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.
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.
March Brown Paradun
(£1.30) - a paradun tied to imitate the
March Brown, False March Brown, Large Brook Dun, Turkey Brown, etc. Good early season on
rivers with March Brown hatches, but as this fly is getting increasingly
scarce, it is far better in May when the Large Brook Dun (LBD) is hatching.
The LBD is commonly mistaken for a March Brown, even by very good anglers,
as they look almost identical. This fly will serve you well when
any of the large, olive/brown bodied, speckled wing flies are about.
Available in sizes 12 and 14.
Yellow May Paradun
(£1.30) - from May into October the Yorkshire Dales rivers (and the rivers
in Devon, Derbyshire, Wales, North West England and Scotland) have good
hatches of Yellow May Duns. These fairly large, sulphur yellow mayflies,
will trickle off the river in ones and twos all day, rather than one
concentrated hatch. This is good for the angler, as the trout are always on
the lookout for the next one. This fly is another creation from Oliver
Edwards in the "paradun" style. Good for the beginner as they are easy to see
on the water. Available in sizes 14, 16 and 18 to cover size variations
between rivers and the male and female.
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.
CDC Sedge/CDC Caddis
(£1.30) - An outstanding fly through the summer months both during
the day and in the evening rise. A fly I discovered in Croatia in 2009. The original had a
single CDC wing, but I found it became waterlogged easily so I have improved
it with a double CDC wing. The CDC Sedge is simply outstanding at bringing
fish to the surface, even during the dog days of summer with low water and
bright sun, but it needs to be floating high on the surface to work.
Therefore I advise you to buy a minimum of 6 flies and change regularly to a
dry one if it sits low or takes dry up. I can't praise this fly highly
enough and guarantee it will work. Available in sizes 14, 16 and 18. The
largest size is good as the light fades in the evening or as a duo dry fly.
The smaller sizes work consistently day and evening, but if the fish just splash at the
size 16 without taking, drop to an 18.
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.