Dry flies for river trout

[Iasgair]

Josh, you can't go wrong with a Pheasant Tail. They catch fish all around the world.

If I were to cross the Atlantic and fish over there, this would be my choice.

1, Pheasant Tail Nymph
2, Hare's Ear Nymph
3, Stewarts/Bailey's Black Spider. You can't get more traditional than that.
4, Adams dry fly. Traditional or parachute style.
5, Renegade dry fly / RS2. Either one should work.

But take the advice from your countrymen. They know your waters better than I.

[Nigel Rainton]

My choice would be a dry Pheasant Tail, Walkers Sedge, Olive, Adams and a Mayfly.

I tie all my flies on size 12 or 14 barbless hooks. A couple of each size fits in a small box.

[Paul F]

What naturals are on your river?

Early season, if your river has a hatch of grannom, you will need a sedge pattern to match the hatch.

Adams is a great generic sedge pattern.

An F-fly in various sizes is a great imitation of upwing flies i.e olive patterns.

If some said i could only use one dry fly & one nymph throughout a season, my choice would be a simple deer hair sedge & pheasant tail nymph.

[Moley]

Dry Flies of most use to me are:

The French Partridge Mayfly.....all fish love it; Rudd especially.

Grey Duster tied small and seems to work everywhere. This fly should be in every fly fisher's box.

Klinkhamer tied grizzle style, usually the go to fly when not sure what flies are about and fished in the meniscus.

GRHE adaptable and can even work as a sunk fly.

Griffith' Gnat when the river is littered with small dark flies.

Nymphs:

Killer Bug just catches and always works for Fatty.

BBWON invented by the seriously crazy Peter Hayes just works .

PTN either in original Frank Sawyer tying or the modern beaded versions....all work.

Black Betty tied by Fatty, an old faithful that just keeps catching.

Hare's Ear Damsel in brown or green, various sizes works well later in the season. Good on rivers or Stillwater.

Like most fly fishers my boxes are filled with a variety of flies for every situation but if truth be told the ones listed are the ones used every season with the rest never seeing the light of day

Hope this is of use?

As ever,....

Moley

[Mole-Patrol]

For surface flies on the Dearne and Don I used elk hair caddis, Adams and brown / grey / cream Shipman's very successfully for trout and chub. Usually I would hang a small PTN under the bend of the hook New Zealand style.

For sub-surface I'd recommend PTN, GRHE in natural or grey, Sawyer's Killer Bug and epoxy caddis flies in brown or green. For chub add a large brown Woolly Bugger to the list.

On the Dearne you'll probably catch roach on the dry flies. There are plenty trout and grayling in the stretch upstream of Smithies Lane especially around Darton and Barugh. There were always shoals of dace under or near to the DVP bridge and in the large pool where the Dove enters. That was all free fishing when I used to go there. On the Don the stretch behind Owlerton Stadium down to the industrial estate at Hillsborough had loads of grayling and a few large trout.

[Nigel Rainton]

Breadflake,

Whatever you do, please don't buy a starter kit ! They contain a rubbish vice and loads of materials you don't need. Buy a lever / cam operated vice, the screw ones are not very effective. You need sharp scissors. Start picking up feathers, you can find most of the stuff you need :-)

[Liphook]

The 5 traditional patterns of dry I would not be seen without are the Greenwells Glory, Kites Imperial, Knotted Midge, Grey Wulff and Beacon Beige. Parachutes, Klinks and F''s are also carried but to me at least are classed as modern styles. Add nymphs, spiders, emergers and wets and the list grows considerably!

[Mole-Patrol]

I would be wary of fishing the Dearne and Don for trout below Barugh and Hillsborough respectively during the coarse fish close season.

Oughtibridge and Green Moor are a different prospect altogether. Up there you'll need smaller flies including grey Klinkhammers and GRHE nymphs. And a pair of waders as you have to get into the river to be able to wade and cast upstream under the tree canopy. Just a simple roll cast suffices most of the time. If you see a rise that leaves a bubble, that will be a grayling. Trout tend to more splashy rises. It may have changed now but Stocksbridge Steelworks had a good stretch and season tickets were not too expensive. You'll need some insect repellant in the evenings and damp weather and a pair of amber coloured sunglasses are useful to lighten up dark evenings.

[Barbelseeker]

think one of the must dry flys - i.e floating on the top - would have to be a Crane fly - daddy long legs. Obliviously during the summer/autumn months

[Mole-Patrol]

Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear. Those in different sizes along with PTN Pheasant Tail Nymphs are two of the most important wet flies for the South Yorkshire rivers.

Klinkhammers imitate a hatching nymph and are somewhere between a dry and wet fly. I found them very good on the upper Don in small sizes and with a grey body. You can substitute a Cul-de-Canard Buzzer or sometimes a Shipman's Buzzer but I found the Klink's worked the best in the Green Moor / Wortley / Deepcar areas. The fly life up there is small and predominantly dark coloured.