Black buzzer
When browns and rainbows are feeding on hatching midges at the exclusion of all else it pays to have a few buzzers in your kit. This pattern has proven itself to be readily accepted in many countries.
Flies
Chironomid
hilst trout do search out lava amongst the detritus matter and eat lava that have been disturbed by wind and wave action it is generally the free swimming pupae that are most often eaten by trout. Whilst the lava is generally found in the lower reaches the pupa can be found in a wide range of depths from very shallow to up to 10 meters.
Chatto’s emerging alpine buzzer
When browns and rainbows are feeding on hatching midges at the exclusion of all else this buzzer chironomid pattern and when a little lead is added for weight in the tie I find is a good choice for point fly in a team of three flies.
Rising midge
This fly is designed to be fished on the drop and then on the rise. It was originally designed to imitate the action of lake Jindabyne olive midges as they hatched but it has proven useful in other fisheries.
Foetal caddis grub
My preferred colours are light brown, light olive and hares ear each with slightly darker thoraxes and sand with a touch of orange or pink. All are tied with olive backs and heavily weighted so that they get down to where the fish are sitting.
TBH dark magic – Chatto’s original
Hybrid spider nymphs are good buggy looking flies and the tail and soft hackle provide plenty of movement. One of these hybrid spider nymphs on the top dropper and two unweighted spiders or nymphs below can be a real tease for trout.
Snail – Chatto’s version
Snails are a food source for trout throughout the year. Having said that they are often overlooked by fly fishers. In colours imitating the naturals in the area to be fished they can be slowly twitched along the bottom or around the weed beds with great results. They are also a good ambush fly for trout foraging the margins. My standard choice of colours is a mottled brown and dark olive.
Dark magic – Chatto original
As long as there is a flow in a river to work a fly then English Spiders are an option. Particularly if you want to target educated fish in clear slower water. They land softly and are suggestive little flies. The combination of the buggy shape, the movement of the soft hackle often produce a hit.
Corixia / back swimmer
Given the similarity of form and function both of these aquatic bugs can be represented by the following fly. This fly is best fished on a floating line that has been greased to within a meter of the fly or under a dry fly. It generally works well just sinking in the water column or moving naturally with the water current. If unnoticed try a couple of short figure of eight strips punctuated by a long pause to represent the natural swimming action of both bugs or a gentle lift to mimic “the natural” rising to the surface to breath.
English spiders
As long as there is a flow in a river to work a fly then English Spiders are an option. Particularly if you want to target educated fish in clear slower water. They land softly and are suggestive little flies. The combination of the buggy shape, the movement of the soft hackle often produce a hit.