Couple of beaded flymphs

[GlassJet]

Hi folks,
Tied these up for the grayling:


Gold beaded flymph reds and browns by GlassJet, on Flickr

Reds and browns:
Hook: Dohiku #12. Gold bead. silk: pearsall's orange, well waxed with cobbler's wax. Rib: fine gold wire. Tag: fine gold wire. Body: blend of natural hare's ear and dyed argentinian hare's ear, mix of red shades to very dark ruby colour. Twisted into split thread, sparse to thicker!. Hackle: partridge.



Gold beaded flymph greens and olives by GlassJet, on Flickr

Greens and olives
Hook: Dohiku #12 Gold bead. silk: pearsall's yellow, well waxed. Rib: fine gold wire. Tag: fine gold wire. Body: blend of natural hare's ear and dyed argentinian hare's ear, mix of green and olive shades. Twisted into split thread, sparse to thicker!. Hackle: partridge.

It is very (prematurely) cold where I am now,the snow is down, edges of the river frozen and the grayling have gone into deeper water, so it is time to go down for them. I've done my fair share of Czech Nymphing, and it is certainly a very effective method of catching, but I find the process a bit mechanical, and - well - boring really, so I thought I'd try a different tack than scraping the bottom of the river with a couple of lumps of lead.

Not fished these yet, but the thinking is, catching grayling at this time of year is all about finding the fish, which shift around a lot, and then getting a fly down to them at the right depth. I'm not convinced the pattern is that important, from comparing experiences, as long as it doesn't 'frighten the horses' of course.

Thinking here is to cast a longer line ahead of target, and so give it time (hopefully) to get down low enough in the likely haunts. My river isn't that deep - (3.5 - 4 ft?) so hopefully in with a shout. Hopefully these look like something good to eat!

Can't decide whether to fish these two as a team, or one on the point and a smaller spider on a single dropper.

Out either tomorrow or Thursday hopefully - work providing.

Andrew.
ps - nicked the ribbing tag idea off a fly of softhackle's I saw on here, which I thought was very cool. Not quite there yet with it, but getting there...

[chase creek]

Very handsome flies. Colors on both outstanding.
Thanks for posting.

[willowhead]

i like them VERY much.....depending on wether or not the beads seem to be frightning/spooking the fish, (and how would you know? not to mention i have no experience with Grayling), you could just dub right over the bead, so that brightness doesn't even show. Another thing.....if, as you say, you river is quite shallow.....you might want to try using silver linned glass beads instead sometimes.....they won't help as much with sinking the fly, but they have a great affect with creating the illusion of an air bubble.....and they come in alllllll kinds of colors. i can send you a small selection if you like. p.m. snail mail address.....

btw.....not that you'll have the opprotunity.....but for those who might.....the best place to find silver linned glass beads at great prices, is at a Native North America Indian Pow Wow.....that's where i got mine.....i bought a ton in tons of colors at a Pow Wow in West Yellowstone the day after Conclave was over in 2004. i also got a ton of skins there that day.....they had EVERY animal (huntable in North america) skin you could think of there. i got Wolverine, Badger, Bobcat, Skunk, Coyote, Mink, Beaver, Rabbitt, etc., etc.....the thing about a Pow Wow, is that there are SOOO many tents (tee pees).....and you just go from one to the other bartering........"but this guy over there told me....."

you heard bout the guy who went to the psychaitrist for help bout his nightmares....."Doc you GOTTA help me.....every night i have the same nightmares bout wig wams and tee pees, wig wams and tee pees.....".....Doc says, "nothin' to worry bout. Your just a littel two tents."

[GlassJet]

Hi Willowhead - thanks, I am very self-conscious about my head now!

Glass beads is something I have been meaning to try, I can imagine them being very effective, as you say - air bubble.

Re shiny bead putting them off - Grayling seem to like a bit of bling. This is quite a good grayling river, and one of the most effective flies is a weighted pink shrimp kind of thing. Why I have no idea - it cannot resemble anything they naturally feed on, but it does seem to work. Clearly, to para-phrase Mr. Wilde, grayling can resist anything but temptation!

[William Anderson]

Andrew, those are perfect for this time of the season...here (Johnno can ignore this completely. ) Pestering the guys where they are is the only way to hook up as it gets colder.

w

[letumgo]

Another welcome addition, Andrew! I am especially drawn to the color of the first fly. Your dubbing blends are great.

[Soft-hackle]

Andrew,
I really like the dubbing mixes. They make these flies really super.

Mark

[Otter]

Look good Andrew, some nice dubbin mixes.

Beadheads are a real conumdrum.

These are my views

Do they scare fish... at times, but so does a lot of stuff we fish at times.
Do they catch a lot of smaller fish... Yes
Do they catch better fish....Sometimes
Are they a reliable option for getting down deep.....YES
Should you fish a more subtle pattern in tandem with them....Probably
Do beadheads account for a lot of fish.... Definitely
Do more subdued coloured beads scare less fish....I don't know the answer for certain, many claim they do.

As the season progresses it does become notcieable that they are more or less ignored most of the time. The last few weeks of the trout season if conditions are suitable they will work again at times.

[GlassJet]

Should you fish a more subtle pattern in tandem with them....Probably

I am coming to that conclusion, having thought more about it. Two flippin' big Christmas baubles coming down stream in tandem, just a few feet apart, has got to look suspicious! Water is crystal clear at the moment.

Will hopefully be trying them tomorrow now, and a pair of thermal wading socks have arrived in the post today, which will be very welcome - minus 11 forecast here tonight.

One puzzle I have is tippet size. The water really is clear at the moment, and when this clear in trout season, I'll use a 6X or pref a 7X with the smaller spiders. (I found the switch to the 7X really seemed to make a difference to my catch rate this last season.) But for these bigger, weighted flies, I'd usually go for a 5X, but with the water this clear, I am a bit concerned that will spook them.

Anyone any thoughts?

Andrew.

[hankaye]

GlassJet, Howdy;

Great looking beadheads...

did a quick search and found this at KillRoys Fly Fishing;

Tippet – Fly Size Balancing
Click Here to Return to Main Charts
tippet size fly size
6/5 .015 6/0-3/0
7/5 .014 5/0-2/0
8/5 .013 3/0-2
9/5 .012 2/0-2
0X .011 1/0-2
1X .010 2-8
2X .009 6-10
3X .008 6-14
4X .007 6-16
5X .006 8-18
6X .005 10-22
7X .004 14-26
8X .003 18-32

chart information borrowed from Soucie’s Field Guide of Fishing Facts

Can not speak from experience, haven't got a 'real' mentor, just all of ya'll. So, if the chart is wrong it would be nice if someone would correct me before I start getting the wrong ideas.
Thanks as always,
hank