9 Flies To Try On Your Local Trout Water This Spring
Published: 17th January 2020 | Author: Guido VinckI am a fly angler and I love it. It’s one of the only things I do that allows me to focus on one thing at a time. My mind rarely wanders to the 1,000 things on my ‘bucket list’, because in the fly fishing world, there is always something happening or something to do. Fishing itself takes an incredible amount of focus and mending of techniques. Some days you are incredibly successful, and other days… not so much. As an international competitor for many years I fish a lot with the Belgian team in big UK competitions such as the AWAI-final, GrandMax, etc. and in international continental bank competitions. The results of any team depend highly on the spirit of the members, especially during the preparation and the practice days ahead of the competition days.
We all have different fly rods, fly lines but the most important question during all the fishing days is “which flies to use”? In nearly every fishing lodge or fly fishing shop there is a large assortment of Fulling Mill flies, not only is it convenient to stock up on high-quality trout flies, but a great way of finding out what’s working at the fishery… Tip: have a look at the almost empty boxes in the fly display, fly cube system or even the fly of the week board that is present at many fisheries. This gives a good indication on what flies to use with the adapted techniques (different fly lines, etc) that lead to success, and one me and my team members often use with great confidence. There are several techniques but also very important are focus, adaptability, passion, desire and continuous improvement. For non-competitors, the same applies when you go fishing for a day out with club members or just a couple of good friends.

My Preferred Springtime Fly Fishing Method
During the spring I like to fish three buzzers equally spaced on an 18ft, 5lb or 6lb fluorocarbon leader. As with any manner of fly fishing, if your casting cannot withstand multiple flies on such a long leader simplify to two or even one fly on a shorter leader (at least two is better if you can manage it). Generally, when fishing with nymphs and buzzers, you are looking to fish as slowly as possible. A slow figure of eight retrieve is usually the order of the day when fishing buzzers or nymphs. It is good to fish across the wind when bank fishing, this allows your flies to swing around in an arc with the wind. Sometimes no retrieve at all is required. Often when fishing buzzers from a drifting boat, the figure of eight retrieve will just take up the slack line produced by the boat drifting towards the flies, without the flies themselves actually being moved.
Check out this great article from Rob Edmunds on How To fish Buzzers
The selection of flies will dictate what depth at which you are fishing. For example, with an 18 ft leader and 3 heavy epoxy buzzers, your point fly can easily be fishing at a depth of 10 ft or more below the surface after your flies have been on the water for a few minutes. However, a team of Diawl Bachs or Hare’s Ear nymphs will fish in the top 3ft, unless tied on heavy hooks.

9 Nymphs & Buzzers to Try This Spring
The following patterns are my go-to flies when it comes to early season trout fishing, one thing to remember is that the fish are hungry, half a dozen buzzers in various colours is ample, along with a handful on nymph incase the fish are sitting higher in the water…
Traffic Light Buzzer – A great top dropper fly for buzzer fishing.
Red Neck Olive Buzzer – Fish this on the middle dropper of a buzzer cast as it represents the colours of an ascending buzzer.
Claret Buzzer – Use this on the point in a size 10 to imitate a bloodworm.
Red Holographic Cruncher – A wonderful fly for both small waters and reservoirs, use this anywhere on the cast with a team of flies.
Red Holographic Nemo Cruncher – A great fly devised by Rob Edmunds, and extremely effective when fished on a washing line.
Black Nemo Cruncher – Use this fly in slightly coloured water to best effect.
KJ Black ‘n Red Diawl Bach – Designed by Kieron Jenkins, this fly has been deadly for me on all the U.K Midland Waters such as Rutland and Grafham.
Diawl Bach Hare’s Ear – A drab but super effective diawl bach. The dubbed body slows it’s sink rate and is a great pattern to fish on the washing line or as a single fly to rising fish.
Original Diawl Bach – The original red-head diawl bach, a super effective fly wherever you fish – Don’t leave home without one!