Fly Fishing for Coarse Fish

[Phil Arnott]

I’ve had a strong desire to go fly fishing recently but haven’t had a chance to go after trout yet so I’ve been fishing for coarse fish. I’ve had some rudd from two still waters and a roach from a nearby canal. I’ve stuck to dry fly up to now.

I bought my first fly rod after failing to catch dace on a day when they were feeding on the top. Since then I’ve taken many dace on fly and I used to fish the Yorkshire Derwent on really hot days. If you fished with bait on these days, results were very poor but fishing with fly it was possible to take some excellent catches of dace and bleak with the odd chub.

I’ve have a number of species - roach, rudd, dace, chub, bleak, carp, grass carp, perch and ide. There’s still a few to go at including pike, which should be fairly easy.

Fly fishing for coarse fish has been covered in a number of books and I am aware of three books specifically on the subject; one by Faddist, one by H. Bell and one by William J. Howes in the “How to Catch Them” series.

I was wondering if any members fish or have fished for coarse fish with the fly rod?

[Tengisgol]

I have!

On the Wye I have caught quite a few chub on dry fly and nymph, including some quite big ones. I have also taken a fly rod, with some big streamers, down on the local Chelmer and caught perch and pike.

Great fun and I agree with you, a thoroughly fine way to spend a few hours (but on the rivers, mind that you only do so within the correct season/rules - you won't persuade an EA bailiff that you were after trout in the Chelmer in May!).

[Beresford]

Yes. I've caught some cracking perch. I've used a deer hair fly for catching carp on the surface.

[Santiago]

I've had a few perch on the fly. But my son's a dab hand at it and has even caught a gudgeon on the fly to win a wager! Bleak are quite easy to catch on the fly, especially using small black spiders.

[Olly]

I have & remember the late Bill Howes! Angling journalist & photographer in the late 60's. I still have some pictures somewhere he took of me & my angling colleagues back then for the angling press/papers.

Pike, perch, dace & chub I remember catching. One day long ago I had about 15 - 20 chub on fly from the Surrey Mole at Old Cow Common, to about 2lb. As a kid - fantastic - hence I recall the event!

[AshbyCut]

Something to look out for, Gentlemen All.

http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu24 ... z3pcv9.jpg

[ReelMaker]

Dear friends,I have had some good roach and small dace on the fly in the small streams around South Cambridgeshire ,good style of fishing ,travel light in the warm weather and keep on the move.Reelmaker.

[Penninelad]

I used to fly fish for roach as a lad on the Grand Union Canal in Warwickshire and caught plenty,although from memory nothing very big.I currently fish for pike with a fly,mostly in Ireland when the trout have gone off the boil.I have caught lots of Rudd in Ireland on the fly and one notable evening on Lickeen Lake,County Clare caught some whoppers and had some real fun as on a number of occasions i caught two rudd on different droppers and then three!Landing two fish at the same time can be hair raising,three even more so.I regularly catch small perch on the fly on my local Ladybower Rservoir,and have had one good sized fish, a 3lb er about four years ago

Off To Lough Corrib for the week on Friday hoping the mayfly has arrived or there is some duck fly left.

[Phil Arnott]

This 4lb chub was caught by a friend of mine. He was well pleased.

[Dave Burr]

A mate of mine has targeted barbel on the fly and has had plenty to 9lbs and I've heard of some big bream taking flies on trout reservoirs so all species can be caught though quite how long it would take to notch up a full set is a difficult one. There was another chap (probably on another forum) who was trying to get all species on them and it is certainly a worth challenge.