Rude Awakenings & Staying Seine

by Richard Fieldhouse

I'm not one to always practice what I preach - I'm usually fishing a water I know really well so just go with what worked last time. But, over Christmas last year, I had a rude awakening ...

I had a day planned to fish for Grayling on a small North Yorkshire river with a good friend (it's probably one of the few waters locally which holds a good head of Grayling). A customer had sent me a seine net which fits onto my scoop net, so I thought I would give it a go.

After a good minute kicking the gravel, I peered into the white netting.

-- Intermission --

Please check out the very end of this email - we have a few 'Parish Notices'  which we'd love you to read - all about what we have planned for the coming season, and a new product launch next week!

-- Intermission Ends --

At first glance there didn't seem to be much life in there, just a mass of grey detritus, but at second glance it all seemed to be moving!

I emptied it out onto my hand, to see what looked like hundreds of small shrimps.

I swiftly reached for my fly box from my vest and tried to 'match the bug' - it was something similar to this (one of our Bacchus Bugs - which were partly inspired by that trip):

This week I am turning my attention to one of the most overlooked fly patterns - the humble shrimp (or Gammarus to give it its correct genus).

Read the full email for loads of tips for fishing shrimps at this time of year.

Gammarus (or the freshwater shrimp) forms the basis of the Grayling's diet in the colder months. They may not be the main food source every day but they do make up over 90% of the diet at this time of year.

The freshwater shrimp is usually found in all our UK rivers throughout the full year, making a Shrimp / Gammarus / Scud pattern one of the first to try when the going gets tough - especially at this time of year.

Freshwater shrimp are much more abundant in waters with higher pH values (for this read - chalk and limestone streams).

As a part of the Riverfly Partnership's Monitoring Scheme on a local North Yorkshire beck, it's not uncommon for thousands of freshwater shrimp to be captured in a short 3-minute kick sample. These shrimp are a fantastic indicator of how healthy the river is - as they are very sensitive to pollution.

One of the most popular (and VERY successful) fly selections we've done recently is our Bacchus Bug Selection - because they seem to work everywhere, and at all times of the year ...

I know that we only launched these at the beginning of last month, but the Silver ones sold out almost instantly, we've just got them back in stock, so we can now make up the full selection again:

As you've come to expect from any of our Artisan range of flies, they're all tied on the best scud/shrimp hooks available, the AHREX FW541 in sizes 14 & 16.

Each of our Bacchus Bugs have been tied with:

  • A weighted underbody (covering the middle 1/3rd of the hook).
  • Semperfli Classic Waxed Thread - The same colour as the bug
  • A 0.1mm Wire Rib in the same colour as the bug
  • A 3mm Nymph Skin shellback - colour-matched to the bug
  • A UV/Synthetic dubbing for the body

And, we have them in 4 very fishy colours - more detailed images of each can be seen below:

  • Dirty Pink
  • Olive
  • Rainbow; and
  • Silver

Please Note: These bugs are unusually heavy for their small size:

  • Size 14 - Length: 9.9mm, Gape: 4.25mm - Weight 0.18g
  • Size 16 - Length: 8.0mm, Gape: 3.44mm - Weight 0.10g

These Bacchus Bus are a derivative of the popular Disco Shrimp, which in turn is a variant of the well-known Czech-style nymphs. A typical characteristic of a Czech-style nymph is the slim profile (to allow it to sink quickly), a back covered with latex/shellback and a wire rib.

*** Go on, treat yourself, it's Christmas! ***

Our NEW Bacchus Bug Selection contains 16 Bacchus Bugs (4 different colour variations, 2 of each in sizes 14 & 16) all tied on specialist AHREX FW541 barbless shrimp/scud hooks.

Our full selection is now available again for only £26.

We like to cater for all budgets, so we've also made these Bacchus Bugs available to buy individually, for:

 

  • £1.80 each, or
  • £5.00 for a pack of 3, or
  • £9.00 for a pack of 6

*** All orders from Barbless Flies are shipped FREE of charge to anywhere in the UK ***

During the Grayling season and once the river trout season opens, it is essential that you have a selection of shrimps in your armoury - these are the most common invertebrates in the water at all points of the year - but especially the spring and early summer.

Gammarus Shrimps Behaviour:

  • Shrimps do not like really bright daylight - the become docile when it's really bright.
  • Fish with them during lower light levels - when it's overcast, dawn or dusk, this is when they will be more effective.
  • Shrimps are very good swimmers (but their sense of direction is appalling), they swim in really short bursts (often around in circles), so there's no need to worry too much about presentation, just make sure you fish them on the river bed.
  • Shrimps need to be fished as close to the river bed as possible - in deeper rivers try a sinking line with a short (4ft) leader. On shallower rivers use a floating line and longer leader.

How to fish Gammarus Shrimps:

  • Try casting around gaps in any weed beds and to the heads of pools which are just below the weed
  • Gammarus shrimp love weed, rocks and silt
  • Try using 2 x Gammarus shrimps of different colours (one bright & one dark) on droppers spaced 2ft apart
  • Cast these above the target area, let them sink and then track them back downstream
  • Keep in touch with the shrimp at all times by raising your rod tip as the fly comes back towards you
  • I usually fish these using an indicator (as my nymphing skills still need a bit of work!).

Typical Nymphing Leader Setup:

Shrimps are fished as you would any other nymph - just remember the golden rule "if you're not getting snagged on the bottom, you're not fishing deep enough".

A normal nymph leader setup would be to add a short (12") indicator tippet section to your fly line, to this add 1.5 x the depth of the water you are fishing of tippet (4x or 5x), then the shrimp (or a team of 2 or 3).

Xmas Parish Notices

Last Posting Dates For Guaranteed

Christmas Deliveries

As we are now ever nearing Christmas, we always experience a rush of orders (and numerous phone calls), from anglers wanting their flies, books etc for Christmas.

In order to receive your order for Christmas, our last posting dates are below (based on which postal service you prefer):

  • FREE Delivery (2nd Class) - Wednesday 18th December
  • 1st Class Tracked - Friday 20th December
  • Special Delivery (Guaranteed) - Monday 23rd Decembe

Our collections from Royal Mail are usually around 3pm, so we would ask that where possible please order before 1pm and the Fly Fairies will make sure your order goes out the very same day.

Please Note: I am planning to give the Fly Fairies a few days off in the break between Christmas and the New Year, therefore any orders placed between the 27th December and 1st January will be shipped to you on the 2nd January.

 

Tight lines.

 

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