When the water is low, cold, and crystal clear, and the fish are inactive and “attractor” nymphs stop working, I switch to very small flies tied in a minimalist style. I’ve been tying this fly for over 15 years, and it has always been effective in exactly these conditions. Over time, I refined the pattern: I ...
When I’m fishing pressured rivers and the trout have seen everything, I want a nymph that looks normal, behaves naturally, and doesn’t scream “artificial.” That’s exactly where my Yellow Swimming Baetis Nymph works—especially when I’m fishing nymphe à vue (sight nymphing). This pattern is built around subtle realism: a slim, clean silhouette, a translucent yellow body, ...
We all know mop flies. Just like Squirmy Worm nymphs, they created a real wave in the fly-fishing world: “Those aren’t flies,” “What even are these things?”, “They’re weird,” and so on. In the end, what matters is that they catch fish—no matter what some people say. Personally, I’ve never fished mop flies. But I had ...
Today I’m tying a simple caddis larva pattern that I keep coming back to again and again. For me, caddis larvae have always been a confidence fly—especially on small mountain streams—so every now and then I get that “caddis tying fever” and I just have to sit down at the vise. Normally I tie this model ...
Sometimes I get a “fever” for tying caddis larvae. I don’t know why—probably because a long time ago, when I was a kid fishing small mountain streams in summer, these flies were the most effective ones for me. I also simply enjoy tying them. They have a very distinctive shape, and it’s genuinely fun to build ...
Most modern nymphs include a strong orange or pink hotspot just behind the bead. It works very well, but in clear water or on pressured rivers this bright collar can sometimes be too much, especially when grayling and trout inspect the fly closely. In this variation, I prefer a more discreet approach which I learned from ...
The classic Walt's Worm is already a simple and effective nymph, but this version brings two important upgrades that make it even more reliable on the water. First, the ribbing is made with UV Peacock Tinsel, which adds a fine sparkle and increases the fly's visibility in deeper runs or slightly colored water. This subtle ...
Today I had to tie a few streamers. A good friend of mine asked me to make some in rusty brown, as he fishes in Austria for big rainbow trout — over 60 cm — and told me that this color works really well in autumn. Since he was in a hurry, I decided to tie ...
Autumn is the season when grayling feed intensely, preparing for the winter ahead.You’ll find them in the slower, deeper sections of the river, swimming in gentle currents and waiting for the last small mayflies to hatch. During this time, if you’re fishing on a beautiful autumn day, look for the middle of the day — when ...
About fifteen years ago, while fishing the San River in Poland, I met a local fisherman who completely changed the way I looked at emergers.He was one of those rare anglers who seemed to hook fish on every cast, while the rest of us could only watch and wonder how he did it. During a short ...
