Fly Fishing Lakes and Lochs

[shutz]

Just been dusting of my fly gear and been doing a bit of reading up. I will be fishing some of the cumbrian lakes and hill tarns plus the on odd occasion venturing north to scotland for trout when the season starts. I have done a fair bit on stocked waters where the lures or buzzers worked well but never really fished the fly in these "wild waters" for brown trout. It seem that fishing wets in teams seems to be worth a go but i am not sure what patterns people use. From what i can gather you use a bushy one on the top dropper but what about underneath and on the point. If any body can suggest some ideas it will certainly give me a starting point.
Thanks
Shutz.

 

[T1Viper]

I like the Phesant tail nymph on the point, usually i'll just fish a team of two with something like a Diawl bach, bloody butcher or royal coachman on the dropper with the ptn on the point, usually a gold head to help the cast turn over better, using a slow figure of 8 retrieve.

But if all else fails then its a blob on the dropper and a hot head cat whisker on the point with a fairly fast retrieve.

 

[Adze]

But if all else fails then its a blob on the dropper and a hot head cat whisker on the point with a fairly fast retrieve.

Philistine

Keep it simple, New Zealand style single dropper with a weighted hares ear or PTN and a dry/emerger which will counterbalance it and act as an indicator. While they won't usually be tackle shy, they will be fast with a capital F, survival dictates it. If it looks food like they'll have a go at it, but they're a lot quicker to reject and spit out an artificial when the deception is up.

Always fish the nearer water first - observe from a distance to spot rising fish and make your first casts from a long way back. Marching right up to the water's edge and piling out 25 to 30 yards of line is a good way to ensure you need to cast 35 or 40 yards to reach fish

Stay mobile. Wild fish don't take kindly to repeated presentation, sometimes they'll wear it for sure, but on most days you'll only get one or two careful presentations per fish before you'll put them down. If it's not interested now, move on and try later.

Have you got anywhere in particular in mind?

 

[shutz]

"Originally Posted by T1Viper
But if all else fails then its a blob on the dropper and a hot head cat whisker on the point with a fairly fast retrieve." I will save that for the fisheries although in despiration you never know

Cheers for that, i was wondering if the nymphs could be used on the point...and thats answered that one. Even better i am sure ive got the wets in the box when i got a selection a good while ago. Have you had any success with other types on the point, such a peter ross, dunkeld, cinnamon and gold.

Adam, I should be fishing ennerdale which is the nearest to me, but also really fancy some of the hill tarns where i can combine a bit of fishing with wild camping and hopefully get my supper But we do get about bit so anywhere really. Even fancy a bit of "loch style" off the canoe on ullswater/thirlmere.

 

[DavidJT]

Good tips above, don't forget to slowly drag the dropper along the surface of the water at the very end of the cast by slowly raising the rod.

 

[shutz]

Will do..Thanks. Is the idea to dapple the dropper on the water.

 

[Robbi]

New Zealand style

interesting, i've used this method ( much to the amusement of others at the club ) with very little success, using an olive damsel with a buzzer about 3 foot below it and a slow retrieve.......any tips ?

 

[spiritwalker]

once got told that if you fish red tarn then you can choose any fly you like as long as its small and black
black pennel and spider flies tend to work well on wildies along with PTN and shrimp flies

 

[Adze]

New Zealand style

interesting, i've used this method ( much to the amusement of others at the club ) with very little success, using an olive damsel with a buzzer about 3 foot below it and a slow retrieve.......any tips ?

If you've got a bit of a breeze, try a nymph or a buzzer under a big klinkhamar, fished around in the wind. Even that can be a little too fast at times - even a slow retrieve moves the fly a lot faster than the natural nymph moves. Certainly buzzer fishing I've had a lot more success using no retrieve than even the most careful of slow retrieves.

 

[Silverhill]

once got told that if you fish red tarn then you can choose any fly you like as long as its small and black
black pennel and spider flies tend to work well on wildies along with PTN and shrimp flies

Took the works right out of my mouth!
Buzzers or dries worked last year for me in the lakes, always black, although sometimes with a little green.
Remember....Brownies aren't stupid, just hungry!

 

[shutz]

Do any of you use a tapered leader after the fly line when fishing nymphs or wets. Or do you just use flouocarbon and save the tapered leader for dries if used at all.
Cheers

 

[T1Viper]

Philistine

I was expecting that

"Originally Posted by T1Viper
But if all else fails then its a blob on the dropper and a hot head cat whisker on the point with a fairly fast retrieve." I will save that for the fisheries although in despiration you never know

lol Very effective on the stockies


As for tapered leaders i only use them with dries, i have tried knotted and knotless and i prefer the knotless ones.

I used a knotless one with a parachute CDC to devastating effect on my club water last year during the early evening rise.

Tom

 

[shutz]

Well i've dug out my fly tying gear and will have a go at some of the types mentioned before the season starts. Thanks for the tips.

Heres another one for you. In the past i have mainly used just a floating line on stocked still waters which worked ok as the waters were not that deep. The lakes however can drop off quite sharply and i expect early in the season or on clear days the fish will be on or near the bottom . I reakon i could pobabably do with a sinking line as well (might be useful to for the river?). However i could do without spending a fortune on a selection, such as intermediate, slow sink, fast sink etc.. Which type do any of you use and with would get me by as a bit of an allrounder. Do you fish nymphs with a sinking line as in the past i have just used a drift?
Thanks
Shutz

 

[Trevlett]

Hi Shutz,
My passion is fly fishing so maybe i can help you out.
Tapered leaders are great for all setups, the thicker end helps lets the energy of the loop transfer down the leader helping "turn over" the leader in less than favourable conditions. You can get away straight leaders (e.g. 6lb straight through) but it can sometimes be harder to control.
Floating lines are great for a whole lot of fishing but if its deeper (Cumbrian) lakes you would be wise to take at least a slow sinker. You don't have to throw big money at lines, there are plenty out there for £5-£15 that are great (PM me for details as im not sure i should post links)
So to go with your floater id go for a slow-med sinker that will cover fish holding deeper during cold or bright conditions.
Im not sure the sinker will get a lot of use on rivers as they are usually fished with the floating line and sinking nymphs, some nymphs use tungsten beads to really get down deep!

Hope that helps,

Cheers
Trev

 

[shutz]

Cheers Trev, much appreciated.

 

[Calurix]

Hi Shutz,

... don't forget to slowly drag the dropper along the surface of the water at the very end of the cast by slowly raising the rod.

This is a great tip on still waters, if you are ok with your casting I suggest that you bring the bob fly across the water right up to almost the bank (I have taken a lot of fish this way). As to flies I am a big fan of "Spider" patterns I have spent many a succesful outing using a Black Spider sparsely tied (but I always put a black seals fur thorax on), I can also vouch for the pheasant tail nymph and for one not mentioned I have confidence in Greenswells Glory.

Regards,
Calurix

 

[shutz]

When using spiders do you fish them like you would when fishing buzzers or nymphs i.e. slowly!!!

 

[Calurix]

I mostly vary my retrieve speed, my standard speed would be about 1 second for my hand to go from the reel to being at my side (approx elbow to hand moving in an arc). I've more experience on lochs than rivers so when fishing I also try to fish wind lanes etc if they are there.

 

[shutz]

Thanks for the tips... Cant wait for the season to start..