Martyn White | Thursday, 12 December 2024
I've been out carping a fair bit recently, largely because the seabassing has been weird and unpredictable. It's been fine, if a bit chilly as temperatures are starting to fall and stay low, at last. But I have been spending a lot more time behind my vice. So I thought I'd look at another fly pattern this week.
I'm not really tying the flies that I need right now, more messing about and tying traditional loch flies. I'm not sure I have a strong purpose for it other than my own interest and general enjoyment. Maybe there's some nostalgia in there too, but I'd be better served sorting out my working boxes. Anyway this week I was tying some worm flies. The loch style worm fly is not a worm imitation, it's basically 2 red tags tied together. Traditionally it woud be 2 of them tied in tandem in size 10 or 12, latterly people started tying it on a long shank hook, which is definitely more suitable for catch and release-barely anyone ties them anymore. It's a really weird looking fly and I'm not clear why a fish would eat it, maybe if I squint I can see it being a cased caddis, but that doesn't really square with how I've ever fished it. Regardless of that it is a very productive fly, inexplicably on the top dropper.
It's a fly I can completely understand people not tying on. There's not much in the way of movement or life in the pattern, for its size it doesn't push much water, and doesn't really look like food. And yet, it works. Not only that, it works well especially on dark days with a chop on the loch. In the 80s and 90s it had a bit of a reputation for producing better fish, although I supect that's more to do with Stan Headly catching a couple of nice fish and sticking it in a magazine than any real trend. I've certainly caught plenty of small and average size fish on it.
If you fish still water trout, it would be worth putting a couple of these in your box and trying to get past the weirdness. If for no other reason than it's something a bit different.
Here's the dressing
Hook: 2x long size 8-10
Thread: Black or brouwn
Tags: Red wool (sometimes viva green)
Body: Peacock herl
Rib: Oval gold
Hackles: Brown, redgame or black hen