The BMS is a favourite fly at Lake Bullen Merri where it gets its name BM Special. Because of its history of success it is often regarded as a quintessential Rainbow trout fly by many Victorian fly fishers. This variant is tied with round tinsel which doubles up as a dubbing loop. In smaller sizes it has also proven itself as a great attractor fly for brown trout.
I was ripping the black tailed version of this fly through the chop with some success when my boat partner asked what fly is that ‘silver surfer’. I explained to him that it was just a woolly bugger variant tied with a black tail and silver UV straggle fritz. I tried to give it a real name such as ‘silver woolly bugger’ but unfortunately ‘silver surfer has stuck.
My standard Yeti variant is a very successful fly but every now and again you need something a bit mor flashy. This fly fills that gap in my fly box. In smaller sizes I prefer my Bag Fly or my Tom Jones.
I have fond memories of this fly from my early days of fly fishing. One of my favourite destinations was ‘Frying Pan’ which is the closest lake Eucumbene destination to Cooma where the TC was designed by Cooma resident Frank Tarlington. On one of those memorable trips to ‘Frying Pan’ I was introduced to one of the ‘gun’ regular fly fishers named Stan. When the mudeyes were on Stan would forgo all other flies and stick to a fly that he absolute confidence in , the TC. I have had a lot of respect for that fly ever since.
This fly is similar to a Craig’s nightime but in my view has a wider day time application. The Craig’s is highly respected as a night time fly when mudeyes are around whereas this fly works well in that situation but also more than holds its own during daylight hours during when either mudeyes or midge are around. Why it works when fish are on midge is any ones guess but it does.
Another old fly this little beauty has its origins on the salmon and trout streams of Ireland probably around the 1820’s. Its alternative name of ‘hares ear and red’ gives away its ancestry. Early versions of the fly presented were no more than a gold ribbed hares ear with a woodcock type wing tied on top. Over time the recipe has evolved.
The Dunkeld is certainly one of my top 5 middle dropper flies for lock style fly fishing. Until 18 months ago I was using a version of the Dunkeld that had a hackle Palmered along the body as in the original. At that time I was experimenting with “fuzzeled” bodies an an alternative to bodies with a Palmered hackle and applied that technique to this fly with immediate success.
The MK2 is a great alternative middle dropper lock fly to my tie of a Dunkeld for those bright full sun days and also a very formidable wee wet for faster or discoloured rivers.
The Bredbo fly is accredited as being the first Australian designed and made fly and whilst the originator is not known with certainty there is highly persuasive evidence that suggests that it was conceived around 1896 as a grass hopper imitation for targeting fish on the Bredbo river just outside of Cooma NSW. The evidence points to the fly being created by Mr C.R. Burnside and Dr A.J. Brady who along with Howard Joseland are amongst the pioneers of fly fishing for trout in New South Wales .
Woolly buggers and their variants would have to be close to the quintessential wet fly. This woolly bugger version is one of my favourate late season still water flies.
