Dries & Emergers from New Signature Tyer Gareth Lewis (ROW)
Published: 6th February 2026 | Author: Fulling Mill
We are excited to announce Gareth Lewis as a new Fulling Mill Signature Tyer for 2026. Gareth brings a number of his top-performing trout and grayling dries and emergers to our catalogue, available to all customers outside of the US. Read about Gareth’s roots in fly fishing and fly tying, and see the patterns from him that we now offer. Find them at your local dealer or head to our website for more!
About Gareth Lewis
Signature Tyer Gareth Lewis hails from the base of the beautiful and picturesque Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park in South Wales, UK. Gareth Lewis is a professionally qualified game angling instructor and fly fishing guide, author and contributor to various fly fishing publications, fly dresser, and member of the Fulling Mill Signature Tyer and Pro Community programs.
Introduced to fly fishing by his father when he was ten years old, Gareth caught the fly-tying bug a few months later. In the thirty-plus years that have followed, Gareth has passionately guided and taught fly fishing and continues to demonstrate fly dressing at a range of international shows (British Fly Fair International, Irish Fly Fair, Fly Fest, etc.), as well as supporting numerous Fly Dressers’ Guild and fishing club events. Gareth is also an ardent environmentalist and a passionate writer and author. He contributes to several international publications (including Fly Culture Magazine, Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, Trout & Salmon, etc.)
Gareth’s fishing is firmly rooted in the small stream tributaries and larger free-stone waters of South Wales, UK. He considers the Usk and Monnow his home waters, but he happily fishes any moving water where trout live. Likewise, Gareth’s fly dressing and design match these wild waters, with Gareth preferring generalist, all-and-nothing patterns. Gareth’s ethos in fishing, fly design (and life) is ‘keep things simple’.
Lewis’s CDC Midge Emerger
Offered in sizes 22 and 24, The CDC Midge Emerger is one of Gareth’s favourite patterns when fishing his home waters. Although anglers know it as a ‘midge’ emerger, this pattern perfectly embodies what an all‑and‑nothing fly should be. It is suggestive of various emergers one might find trout eating, making it a go-to pattern in Gareth’s fly box.
This fly is made up of a thread body, Parapost Yarn wing buds, Eco Warrior Dub thorax, and CDC wing. Gareth has been fishing this pattern for over two decades, and it is often the first and last fly pattern on his tippet each time he ventures out. Adding the outstanding Czech Nymph hook to the mix, the pattern can pierce the film perfectly thanks to the hook’s wire gauge, as well as being able to offer the angler a brilliantly strong hook when targeting bigger fish. If Gareth were to choose a single dry fly pattern, this would be the one.
Lewis’s Cripple Midge
When summer fishing gets tough, the Cripple Midge is a pattern Gareth gravitates to. Small and simple, yet holding several key ‘triggers’. This small pattern is visible at a distance, especially when greasing the hackle and wing before fishing. Offered in sizes 20 and 24.
For those ever inspecting, ‘educated’ trout and grayling, this is a perfect pattern to use on those hot summer evenings. Even when the fish are scrutinising every thread wrap and turn of hackle, Lweis’s Cripple Midge simply works. The pattern uses the Tactical Midge hook model and scales down easily to tiny sizes. This midge hook is plenty stout and gives the angler confidence in a solid hook-up when targeting larger fish. Without doubt, this is a ‘killer’ pattern and perfect for those long, slow glides where trout appear to be rising to nothing. Gareth opts to trim the bottommost hackle fibres to ensure the pattern sits perfectly, every time.
Lewis’s Mayfly Emerger
Like Gareth’s original March Brown Emerger pattern, the size 12 Mayfly Emerger creates a big footprint when trout and grayling lock onto Danica. As Gareth sees it, why present a Chicken Nugget when you can attract them immediately with a Big Mac?
Unlike the March Brown Emerger pattern (below), Lewis’s Mayfly Emerger is tied on the Fulling Mill Tactical Big Bug hook. This hook is perfect for the more violent takes sometimes experienced during Danica hatches, or when targeting larger fish, which have become a little weightier after gorging on Danica for weeks.
Lewis’s Paradun Emerger
This proven small fly is easy to spot at a distance—thanks to Fulling Mill’s fluorescent Parapost Yarn—and remains visible even in fast, broken water. It’s available in sizes 20 and 24.
Gareth gravitates towards selecting his Paradun Emerger when fishing the fast broken runs and pocket waters of his beloved small streams. Giving a perfect silhouette, hold on for those smash-and-grab guerrilla warfare tactics employed by those opportunistic small stream trout, as well as the slow sips from their larger mainstem cousins.
Lewis’s RS2
Developed by Rim Chung in the 1980s, the Rim’s Semblance mkII is one of Gareth’s favourite ‘smaller’ patterns, which imitates emerging baetis nymphs caught in, or just under the surface film. Greasing the tails and wing buds will help keep this pattern where it needs to be; however, in smaller sizes, tied behind a larger, more visible fly has given Gareth a get-out-of-jail card more than once. Offered in size 20, Lewis’ RS2 is a must-have emerger for when picky trout just aren’t having anything else.
Lewis’s M/Brn Emerger
Developed to imitate the emerger stage of the UK’s March Brown (Rhithrogena germanica), this pattern features a large footprint that will not be overlooked by voraciously feeding trout during early-season hatches. With that said, this pattern will imitate any emerger trapped in the surface film by simply increasing/decreasing the pattern size.
Highly buoyant thanks to Fulling Mill CDC wing and Ultra Dry Yarn shuck, tied on the size 14 Living Larva hook, the pattern has the perfect profile for imitating any upwing emerger. Gareth opts to lightly grease the shuck and leave the CDC do what it does best. A highly resilient pattern from the get-go. When it eventually gets wet (ideally from catching plenty of fish), a quick shake of desiccant powder dries it, and it’s ready to get back to work.
More New Flies for 2026 (Outside the US)
Interested in seeing the full range of new flies for 2026 available? See what’s new on our website here!
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