Shipmans buzzer
Shipman’s buzzer was tied as a surface fly for Rutlands Reservoir in England. A great buggy looking buzzer that applications anywhere buzzers are emerging.
Flies
Magoo
Vern Barby’s Magoo is a very special fly and a great variation of a woolly bugger. Vern designed this woolly bugger variation specifically for use in ‘smelt’ rich Lake Purumbeet in western Victoria. It’s worth a swim in any water where ‘smelt’ whether they be Galixia, Gambesia or other small fish are on the trouts menu. In size #10 and #12 sizes they are also good damsel imitations.
Damsel bugger
This fly is a variation on the standard Woolly Bugger theme. It’s thinner than standard woolly buggers and the palmered hackle has been replaced with a fuzzeled thorax and body and just a front hackle. Because of its size it works well both on the point and bob.
Bloody butcher – Chatto’s variant
Most English wet flies of this type were originally tied as imitations of specific impoundment bait fish or to simply gain the interest of fish and illicit a strike. I have tweaked the original recipe by adding a thorax of claret seals fur. That breaks the harsh lines of the original tie and adds a little bit of extra movement.
Blue & teal variant
A variant of a old English wet fly this variant is in the same class as an Alexandra this fly as an attractor fly particularly when rainbows are the target. It is different to the original in that the dyed blue hackle has been replaced by blue barbells from the chest feathers of a male peacock and the body is “Glamor” thread fuzzeled with silver UV dubbing.
Alexandras – Chatto’s variant
Its a fly that has withstood the test even though it was apparently banned for a time in Scotland where it was developed because it was just too effective. It remains effective today and is an excellent middle dropper attractor type fly or tip fly when fishing for fast moving rainbow trout. My version is tied inverted making it much more stealthy.
Fat boy – Chatto’s original
This is a “Blob with attitude” and because it actually looks like a fly I find it a a little easier to tie on than its very basic second cousins. It has a place in my fly box because from time to time, and particularly in competition fly fishing, you find yourself fishing in the most unpleasant conditions. In situations like that a blob with attitude may save the day.
Diawl bach
I normally fish smaller sizes as a midge pupa and from time to time use larger sizes as a point fly in a team of wet flies on a floating or intermediate line. I tie it both with and without weight and find the addition of a small black tungsten bead makes it a handy anchor fly or a good prospecting fly in running water.
Doobry variants
Although I have never seen a natural of these colours these fly remain useful dropper flies. I lean toward to two red versions when midge are around and the green version works well in waters when midge are around but stick caddis and sand caddis are also on the menu.
Blae & black – Chatto’s soft hackle version
The Mallard & Claret was the first for me in this series. Whilst it has been tweaked at the edges a little this Mallard & Claret pattern remains remarkably similar to the original fly pattern that has its origins in England some 500 odd years ago except for the introduction of a fuzzeled body rather than a hackled body and a soft wing instead of feather slip wings.