FLY OF THE MONTH – OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2023

THE WHITE WOOLY BUGGER

HOOK: Size 10 nymph or long shank
THREAD: White 6/0
HEAD: 3mm silver bead
TAIL: White marabou, 6 strands of silver flashabou under
RIB: Silver wire
BODY: White chenille
HACKLE: Silver badger cock, palmered
COLLAR: UV Pearl ‘Ice-dub’

Bright white lures have done well for me in the past at this time of
year so here’s one which is worth a swim. As the weather gets
colder and the season draws to a close, the fish seem more keen on
chasing a lure. If it resembles a small fish all the better. The silver
bead at the head will help it to sink and you can expect to catch
using a floating or sink-tip line from the bank or an intermediate or
slow sinker from a boat. In addition, the palmered hackle and the
flashabou strands help to prevent the long marabou tail from
wrapping around the hook bend when casting. My alternative lures
for this time of year would be black fritz, Dawson’s olive, cat’s
whisker and humungous. Booby versions of all these lures are worth
a try, from the bank use an intermediate line or slow sinker. From a
boat a Di3 or Di5 may work better. This method will often put a fish
in the bag but is not appropriate for catch-and-release fishing since
the fish tend to swallow the fly and removing the hook could be
difficult and cause severe injury.
If the lake is calm, I will always be on the lookout for rising fish and
will try to get a line to them if possible. At this point in the season,
rising fish could be taking money spiders, small beetles and small
hatching midges. The spiders are very small and I wouldn’t try to
imitate them but foam beetles and top-hat buzzers in size 14 and
16 should produce a fish or two. A size 16 black gnat is also one to
try. Watch for the rise so you can figure which way the fish is
heading and get your fly a few feet ahead of it. In a light breeze,
the fish will usually be heading upwind so it is not too difficult to
position the fly. Unfortunately, this can be a bit tricky when it is
calm as the fish tend to meander about, changing direction
frequently which can be very frustrating. If this is the case, cast into
the general area of activity and leave the fly stationary, hopefully a
fish will find it eventually.
Nymph fishing should continue to catch fish but be prepared to fish
deeper than during the summer months. A midge tip line can be a
good line to try, especially off the bank. The sunken tip helps to
slow the line down in a cross wind and this keeps the flies at a
reasonable depth. For a point fly, my choice would be a gold-head
hare’s ear with midge pupae, crunchers, diawl bachs etc. on the
dropper(s).

Gold-head hare’s ear nymph, a touch of orange sometimes helps.

Red holographic diawl bach

Finally, don’t forget that brown trout are out of season in November
so if you do catch any, please return them carefully to the water.

Phil Bilbrough