Flies
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{{+1}}Shrek – original{{-1}}
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This fly was out of left field as far as I am concerned and when first introduced to it had no great expectation of it finding its way into my fly box. I was wrong. The bright tinsel body certainly stands out and rather than spooking fish as I expected it seems to trigger a response from trout particularly in “smelt” water or slightly discolored or tannin water.{{end}}
Last Updated: March 6, 2011
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{{+1}}Shrek- Chatto’s Fiona{{-1}}
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A similar fly is also known as a "Bloody Mary" but I use the name 'Fiona' (Shrek's lady) as this fly is the same fly as the Shrek just different colored materials. Both are basically Woolly Buggers by design and just as the emerald green is a great option in the Shrek the red works well in combination with the black tail of the Fiona.{{end}}
{{+1}}Zulu – Chatto’s variants{{-1}}
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I have changed the materials from the originals to include a couple of my fly tying favorites namely marabou for the tail, peacock herl for the body and a crow breast feather up front. If you swap the front feather to a blue feather such as swamp hen or a smallish peacock breast feather you have the also popular blue Zulu.{{end}}
{{+1}}Patriot{{-1}}
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I am not sure of the source of this fly but I have had the recipe in my system for a long time and certainly before the onslaught of Google and internet searching. In the interest of full disclosure I decided to get some history on the fly and so searched 'patriot fly'. That search gave me hits on a red and blue bodied dry fly but nothing on an olive green wet fly.{{end}}
{{+1}}Tom Jones variant{{-1}}
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It has nothing at all to do with the welsh singer by the same name. The original was tied with fur wings and fur body whereas my variant is tied with fur wings but the body has been replaced with peacock herl, which is one of my favorite fly tying materials, and an under-hackle and beard of brown hackle fibers has been added. They are a good buggy looking fly that work well in both prospecting and polaroiding situations.{{end}}
{{+1}}Egg{{-1}}
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Egg or roe flies are tied to imitate eggs that have been dislodged from their 'reds' and are are drifting down a stream. Weighted versions can be fished alone or in conjunction with an unweighted nymph or egg fly and unweighted versions are generally fished in conjunction with lead shot or some, a weighted nymph or some other form of weight that will get them to bounce along the bottom of the river.{{end}}
{{+1}}Free swimming caddis{{-1}}
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The third group are the free swimming caddis grubs. These caddis grubs move amongst the detritus matter and the rocks foraging for food and partners and of course drift in the current assuming the fetal position or free swim in the current as they migrate down stream.{{end}}
{{+1}}Czech nymphs{{-1}}
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The uncased caddis have quite a few similarities. They often adopt a curved fetal position and when they are free swimming they are more elongated still with a curved back but with a lifted head. The have short tail like filaments, have bodies of around seven or eight segments that may have abdominal gills at each segment, have darker heads with two or three segments and have 3 or more sets of legs below the head or toward the front of the grub.{{end}}
{{+1}}Sunset fly{{-1}}
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I am confident that my tie is nothing like the original tie, but in my defense many years ago, when I first wanted to tie this fly, a search of all my reference books just didn't uncover a copy of the original tie. My tie of this fly is however quite easy and delivers a useful and robust fly.{{end}}
{{+1}}Pregnant prawn – size #1/0 7 cm long{{-1}}
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An ideal fly for targeting bottom feeders such as bream, flathead, flounder, whiting, bonefish or tropical trigger fish. Because of the lead shot it sinks quickly, swims hook point up, resisting snagging up on detritus matter or bottom structure such as shells or small stones, and as it is retrieved, has the added benefit on soft bottoms of kicking up a little sand or mud in much the same way as the natural.{{end}}