Bead head nymphs

This is more of a class of fly rather than just one fly. A very generic representation of a caddis nymph tied on a Czech nymph type hook. A good buggy looking fly that also has a hot spot emerging wing of UV material. Caddis fly (or Sedge) are of the order Trichoptera and are common throughout the…

I subscribe to a couple of British fly fishing magazines so its not surprising that I have been aware of "Mary" nymphs for quite a while. They are a recurring feature of many of the articles. I had tied and used them on and off for  few years but they really didn't come into their own until I…

Designed to imitate a caddis grub this fly has additional weight so that it can be fished bouncing along the bottom or close to the bottom. It is very easy to tie and whilst it is not tied to represent any particular caddis grub it has a form and function and of course the hot spot added by the…

Flash back nymphs have been around for a long time but they still work. In my view the only trick associated with this fly is to select an appropriate flash material for the flash back. I favour several strands of sparkle flash or similar material rather than a single strand of flat Lurex or…

The Pheasant Tail Nymph is a New Zealand pattern designed to suggest a small "Deleatidium Vernal" Mayfly. Whilst that family doesn't extend to Australia I suggest you still carry Pheasant Tail Nymphs or one or two of its variants in a couple of sizes because they are very buggy and particularly…

Bead Head spider type flies are amongst the best flies for fishing fast rivers and streams. They are suggestive little flies and the combination of buggy shape,  the peacock herl body, the movement of the soft hackle and the trigger of the hot butt often produce a hit. This mid water fly is…

This is the lava of a Caddis fly (or Sedge) and is common from September through to December particularly in the flooded margins of lakes. The bead head version has been designed to be fished as an anchor fly when loch style fly fishing or as an anchor fly when fishing rivers. Materials Hook Bead…

The bead head  version of the Brassie fly has been around for a long time and certainly has a place in ever river fly box. It's a handy fly to have on hand if you need a buggy looking fly that sinks like a brick or an anchor fly for a team of two or three flies. If this fly is a little heavy try…

This fly whilst not being representational of any particular caddis is a good buggy looking fly that incorporates a hot spot in the form of a ultra violet (UV) emerging wing bud. Caddis are are common throughout the year but with the greater concentrations occurring from September through to March….

If your fishing in water with reasonably large numbers of caddis your going to want to give this small to very small bugger a swim. Caddis represent up to 70% of a trout's diet and whilst this fly is bigger than any caddis nymph I have seen trout love it. It is also a must tie on fly for…

I was introduced to this fly at the 2012 World Fly Fishing Championships during the trainin sessions by our guide Marko Gradnik. This was his "go to" fly for all the river sectors of the competition and produced fish for all the members of the team. Materials   Hook Weight Thread Tail Rib Body…

Jeremy Lucas was our river coach leading up to the 2012 World Fly Fishing Championships and one of the flies we fished was a flash back bead head nymph but it was unlike other flash back flies we had all fished in that the flash was very thin. Jeremy's view was that too much flash spooked the fish….

A very effective fly yet perhaps the simplest of bead heads to tie. I think it's all about form and function and of course the hot spot added by the collar. This is one of my heavier flies and as well as the tungsten bead includes 9 or 10 wraps of the appropriate size lead wire. Materials  …

This Joe Riley fly is a very generic representation of a mayfly nymph tied on a Czech nymph type hook. A good buggy looking fly that also has a hot spot emerging wing of UV material. Tied in a number of weights this is a must fly for any Tasmanian river fly box. Materials Hook TBH Thread Tail Rib…

A streamlined fast sinking fly that will anchor your team. Materials Hook Head Extra weight (optional) Thread Tail Body Thorax Coating Hanak 300BL #14 / #16 3.0mm / 2.5mm slotted faceted gold tungsten bead 0.010 lead wire Fl fire orange UTC UV thread Coq de Leon Fibres Brown Micro Glint Black nail…

In 2018 I represented Australia at the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships in N. Ireland and in the lead up to that event I was introduced to a fly called a Droz nymph that had skipped my attention even though it has been used for several seasons with great success in Tasmania, Victoria and even…

If your going to fish any faster flowing water or if you are going to fish running or still water where you may want your fly to get down then Bead Head or Cone Head nymphs are very useful. Beads and Cones can be made of various materials with tungsten being the heaviest. Whilst this nymph is not…

If you went back just a few years and you a asked an average fly fisher to name his for her favorite fly chances are it would be an unweighted, or lightly weighted probably with a few turns of lead wire, Fuzzy Wuzzy. The traditional Fuzzy Wuzzy has always been useful as a river and lake fly leading…

This is a hybrid of a spider fly and a bead head nymph with a tungsten bead up front  and are particularly useful in situations where I need a bit of weight to get a fly down yet still want the anchor fly to fish well and be enticing to trout rather than just being an anchor for other flies in the…

Stoneflies thrive in the rubble of cold well oxygenated rivers & streams. They are an available food source throughout the season and fish may feed on them to the exclusion of all other food sources particularly during hatches. The nymphs crawl along the bottom and exit the water at the stream…

This fly is a variant of the original prince nymph which has its origins around 1965 and in California USA. It seems that it was probably developed by western USA angler Jim Black as an extension of his fly collection that incorporated biot quills. His prince nymph was probably tied as a…

This fly has it's origins based on my non bead-head inch nymph fly that I started tying over 20 years ago. For about 10 years now I have been tying this bead-head version in in black, dark olive, Adams colours, claret and brown. It's a great buggy looking fly and one of the on-going inclusions in…

Orange is a colour that that seems to be quite attractive to trout and hot spots of orange are used very successfully in quite a few flies. This fly came about as an extension of the idea of using very popular carrot dry fly and has turned out to be a great weighted attractor fly to use on the top…

Squirmy wormy flies hit the market in 2014 with gusto. They were described as the new wonder fly. For my part I have to say that despite their emerging reputation I thought it just a fad and didn't embrace them. Over time they have endured and their reputation of, on the day, being an exceptional…

This is more a class of flies rather than just one fly and is a hybrid of a spider fly and a bead head nymph with a tungsten bead up front. I carry 4 different hybrid spider nymphs in two sizes and find them particularly useful in situations where I need a bit of weight to get a fly down yet still…

This as a good buggy looking fly that has the advantage of having its hot spot on each side of the fly. I like to fish it on my top dropper as an "anchor fly" with one or two lighter flies below. Materials   Hook Thread Weight Tail Rib Body Cheeks Thorax Knapek G #10 to #14 Brown TBH + lead…