The Walker’s Myfly Nymph is a weighty fly that mimics a fledgling mayfly before crawling out of the water and flying away. So it is not dry and sinks. They are tossed upstream in front of a fish and ‘tweaked’ or gently retrieved often with great success – perfect on a chalky stream when the fish are not rising. This is usually the only acceptable form of wet fly fishing on major chalk streams.
Trout fishing is generally practiced in fast waters when the current is doing the work or in still waters when the fly is thrown downstream and slowly retrieved.
Wet fly trout fishing involves lighter flies that are cast downstream into ponds or located where fish are expected. This method is used at night for trout, or string salmon as it is known in Wales.
Wet fly fishing in reservoirs and still waters involves larger flies being repelled from long distances and retrieved, and the flies mimic many insects and even perch grubs that float rainbow trout in large quantities in the spring. The backwaters are stocked with rainbow trout which feed on insects and fish fry and in the larger tanks such as Bewl Water, Chew, Blagdon, Rutland Water and Grafham Water they grow to a large size and are very robust – therefore great for fishing. In these large waters, wet fly fishing is usually done from boats because the levels will fluctuate and this leads to muddy banks when the water level drops.
In the natural lakes of the Lake District, Scotland and Ireland, brown trout give a good sport on retrieved wet flies; They are often hunted in groups of three. These lakes also contain large brown ferox trout which are cannibals and feed on their smaller brothers – usually caught with bait and deer rather than flies.
Trout fishing downstream on a fast-moving river on a summer evening is really fun, as the brown and gray trout will be right there to trigger your wits. Fishing for trout and grayling in the rivers and streams of western Wales is particularly good.
Wet fly fishing in Ireland has many opportunities. Most rivers and streams contain brown trout and there is plenty of free fishing. Irish lakes have some very large trout, and boats and ghouls are available on popular lakes such as Corrib, Conn, and Mask.
There are large numbers of man-made “lay and take” fisheries across the country. Some are excavated specifically for trout fisheries and others are gravel and chalk pits that have been stocked. Mainly, this water is stocked with rainbow trout which are not indigenous but hail from the Rocky Mountains in the western United States. Rainbows can tolerate higher water temperatures and lower oxygen content in the water than the original browns and can also grow very quickly. Some waters are stocked with fish over 15 pounds.
The flies in this still water mimic all kinds of insects and fish that live in the lake and some of them are unlike anything that lives there but they still catch fish!
These fisheries provide great opportunities for the wet fly angler to improve casting, select the right fly, and catch very large fish.
We plan to provide information about these fisheries which will be a free service for fishery owners – so keep visiting us.