Fly fishing in South Africa is dictated to by our limited conditions and so we develop into specialist in one or the other fields, either Small Streams or Still Waters.
I will admit that I am not a great still water fisherman and my boxes represent that in a big way, however I do have an addiction to fishing really big impoundments like Sterkfontien or Swartwater, but generally I will fish running water whenever it is available.
Although I enjoy fishing for Smallmouth Yellowfish, Trout in alpine streams, have a far greater appeal, whether it is the remoteness of the environment or the beauty of the mountains, or just the people you tend to meet, I couldn’t quite tell you.
Although the fly is simple in design, as many of Tony Biggs’ are, it is highly effective and if fished as it was intended, is one of the most effective patterns I have in my box.
Tony developed the fly while trying to find an effective pattern for fly fishing the crystal clear, freestone streams of the Western Cape. The extended hackles allow the fly to ride high through broken water and were developed from a Skater pattern he had seen. The overall red color is an example of his understanding of fish behavior, as it was later proven that in the late afternoon, most insects on the surface appear red. The white hackles in the front of the fly are for sighting the fly and the extended legs add movement.
In this sequence I will demonstrate my version of an Extended Body Mayfly. This pattern is highly customizable and can be tied with a conventional hackle, parachute hackle, or a CDC parachute hackle or any number of variations to suite a particular tastes or circumstances.
The fly works well both on rivers and stillwaters, and it’s been particularly successful for me on days when the fish have been selective, rising all around but ignoring many other patterns being thrown at them.
This sequence will also demonstrate a technique of creating an extended body created using a sewing needle.
I hope you will enjoy the sequence and look forward to any comments or feedback you may have.
The Copper John is probably the fly pattern John Barr is most famous for. Useful for fly fishing both rivers and stillwaters alike, it’s a pattern he attributes much success to; as do many other anglers who have gone on to adopt it.
Barr obviously put a lot of thought into the design of this pattern and has evolved it through much iteration over time. The pattern has a number of triggers built in, is well weighted, but still maintains a nice slim profile, making for a good sink rate, even in fast water.
Having tied many Copper Johns and applied a lot of thought as to its construction and choice of materials, I’d be hard pressed to try to improve on it. As such you will find that the sequence below is true to Barr’s recipe, save for the fact that I have substituted Partridge hackle for the legs instead of using hen hackle.
I hope you will enjoy the sequence and look forward to any comments or feedback you may have.
Dragonfly nymphs are well known to be high up the list of important food sources for stillwater trout, and imitations of these nymphs should be a staple in any stillwater angler's flybox.
A couple of years ago, I came across a description of a Dragonfly Nymph pattern by Tom Sutcliffe, in his wonderful book Hunting Trout. The pattern is called the Neutral Density Dragon. In his book, Tom describes the pattern's neutral buoyancy characteristics, the fact that it rides the right way up in the water when retrieved, the coffin shaped abdomen and thin waistline as some of the important attributes of the pattern's success.
I remember tying up a couple of these flies according to Tom's specifications and was impressed by the pattern. I quickly found it to be an excellent producer of large trout on our KZN Stillwaters, and certainly more successful from my experience than many of the other imitations that I have tried out.
The original fly is typical of Tom's suggestive, no-frills fly tying style. Over time I've evolved the pattern to suit my own tying style and preference for slightly more realism than the original pattern affords, and in doing so incorporated a number of aspects I liked from other pattern's, whilst still retaining those important attributes and characteristics of Tom's original pattern.
I hope you'll enjoy the tying sequence and trying this pattern out for yourself.
The original Muddler Minnow was first tied around 1936 by an American named Don Gapen to imitate sculpin, and was popularized by another American fly fisher and tyer, Dan Bailey. The fact that it is still around today, not having faded into obscurity like so many other fly patterns, bears strong testament to its success over the years.
The Marabou Muddler is one of many variations of the original pattern. It is an incredibly versatile pattern in that by varying certain characteristics such as size, colour and sparseness, this pattern can imitate many different food sources from grasshoppers to tadpoles and even minnows. My favourite colour combinations are black wing/black head and collar, black wing/natural head and collar, brown wing/brown head and natural collar, and olive green/olive green head and collar.
Adding to its versatility are the different ways in which it can be fished. Fished subsurface on an intermediate or sinking line, the waterlogged fly becomes almost neutrally buoyant but does retain some of the buoyancy created by the deer hair head. This allows it to be fished over weed beds and other potential snags without hanging up as often as other flies would. Where this pattern truly comes into its own though, is fished on the surface at last light retrieving in short, sharp bursts. Fishing the Marabou Muddler in this way has accounted for some of the most heart stopping, adrenalin fueled fishing I have ever encountered, with fish often abandoning all inhibitions and launching themselves clean out the water in their bid to catch what must look like a tasty meal.
Most versions of the Marabou Muddler I have encountered seem to be pretty bulky, with a thick marabou wing and very dense collar. Having tied many iterations of this pattern over the last few years, I have fairly consistently found that the fly seems to become more effective as bits of the marabou wing get chewed off, hence the reason you will see that my version of this fly is tied sparser than most, right off the bat. I hope you will enjoy the sequence and look forward to any comments or feedback you may have.
