[Chris Guest]

Guys this is my favourite fly, I dress it from Frosty fish fibres & Crystal flash on a 4/0 and fish it on a 6wt clear intermediate on a "dead drift" with the occasional "twitch" it works really well for Bass & Pollack, I tried to mimic the local Sand eel population!
If anybody wants my tying pattern let me know.

A.T.B Chris

 

[Keith White]

nice.

on a dead drift does it ride horizontal.

Is it neutral to the fly line or a sinker ?

 

[Chris Guest]

Hi Keith its kinda neutral and slowly sinks with the clear intermediate on a slight "head down" plane yet with a pull or twitch it will ride up, that said I've had some good fish pulling like crazy just sub surface or especially letting it sink into the kelp then really pulling hard, there is an area that I fish that really gets blitz by birds and bass alike, they're always feeding on "white bait" defo not sand eels and it works equally well there so what do I/we know? thats what makes this sport so absorbing.

A.T.B Chris

 

[Andy Elliott]

Hi Chris

How does it cast ?

I find that flies tied solely with DNA tend to foul the hook a lot
Its is a great product , but I would mix it with Bucktail or a stiffer synthetic to alleviate this

 

[Chris Guest]

Hi Andy, your right mate it can tail wrap the hook, a tip I learnt is to tie in a loop of mason nylon horizontal on the arse of the top of the hook if that makes sense, this helps stop this ( I'll post a picture later) and I always have a cheap plastic hair comb at the ready, that works well when its fouled.
I'll take your advise and try some olive bucktail in there and give it a go......in May!! hey ho it will soon be round!!

 

[Chris Guest]

There you go, a tail loop, used a lot in the U.S

A.T.B Chris

 

[Keith White]

I must admit, I much prefer natural fibres.

These newer modern synthetics look cool but tangle like a bitch mostly and matt together.

A marriage of new and old though, that is something I quite like.

i guess I'm old fashioned.

I'd like to find some cracking spey flies (real spey patterns) to try this season.
We get alot of prawn in our gutters. I can't be bothered buying in matched feathers
and for such a simple looking tie, I'll bet they are quite tough to get right.

 

[Andy Elliott]

Keith

Whiting farms do an excellent spey hackle ... called bird fur

I've never tied a spey fly .. but this is the shrimp I use for sea trout .. the hackle is a natural whiting bird fur

it can also be tied to swim hook up like so

I have some heron feathers I collected from one of the islands on Strangford lough .. Must have a go at a spey

 

[Keith White]

That is a nice fly. I'd fish quite happily with that.

I'll check out that site, thanks.

If you are up for a few dozen Spey and Dee patterns let me know.
I need to get some flies from you anyway.

I don't find the time to tie much now. I love it but you need to
be on the water whilst you are tying IMHO to keep track of how the flies
ride in the water and the translucence I put great stead by.

I hate flies I can't see through.

 

[Andy Elliott]

That is a nice fly. I'd fish quite happily with that.

I'll check out that site, thanks.

If you are up for a few dozen Spey and Dee patterns let me know.
I need to get some flies from you anyway.

I don't find the time to tie much now. I love it but you need to
be on the water whilst you are tying IMHO to keep track of how the flies
ride in the water and the translucence I put great stead by.

I hate flies I can't see through.

I tied you a doz flatwings over Christmas . I'll throw in a few shrimps and you can test them

What size of hook do you want the shrimps on ?

Those are size 10 in the pictures

 

[Keith White]

8's and 10's are fine Andy.

Send me the details via PM but please put up any ties you do on here with pics.

There is nothing wrong with exposing what is after all, damn good quality gear.

I'll stick up an extensive test on here and my blog.

I think quite a few guys are very interested in fly fishing the salt but when I really tried
to promote it some 10- 15 years ago, people weren't ready.

Folk like Jim Hendrick picked up the ball and his blog is superb. He is a great
thinking angler. We both tried for a long time on various forums to get the word
out. In those days, saltwater flyfishing was more a chuck it far as you can and hope thing.

Based on what has been posted on here already in this section. It has changed.

Thank god or someone for that..

 

[Andy Elliott]

I have a report from a few years ago, written by my good friend Pat Boyle . We had a three day guided trip with Jim and what a trip that was

We had plenty of fish . two were over 10lb ..fish of a lifetime on the fly

I'll post the report in this fly section . might inspire a few to take up SWFF

 

[Retired]

...I think quite a few guys are very interested in fly fishing the salt....

Keith,

This must be a real potential growth area [edit: locally]. Mick was SWFF last summer and seemed to love it. I used to take my Cortland to France on hols for a few chucks but never did very well (struggled to get a popper out as far as a reservoir fly). Tried it from boats around the west and south west many years ago with mixed success. Found the boat's drift way too fast (does a drogue work in 3knots of tide? I don't think so - shouldn't have been chasing thinnies you know where!). Would love to try it at night when my casting deficiencies might not be so much of a handicap. And on triggers.

 

[Keith White]

Would love to try it at night when my casting deficiencies might not be so much of a handicap.

Can be arranged Paul.

Can you single hand spey cast ?
If not, shall teach you a few useful ones. makes night fishing so much easier.