'Most vulnerable and easiest to catch.' (food source reference) Music to my ears.
Fishing with Bob a few years back was a kind of 'Eurika' moment for me. I was heading along the right lines, and a similar way of thinking, but listening and learning from his simplified straightforward approach made things all the clearer, took away a lot of the surrounding mental 'noise' and meant i could concentrate on the task at hand. Catching fish the easy way.
Ok doesn't work like that all the time, more often than not though, and when it does come right then happy days.
And yes the DHE was, for me, a revelation on running water.
It's actually pretty handy on lochs as well, and is a little bit more versatile than it's given credit for. (try pulling it)
On running water try also hitting surface hard (well above fish to avoid spooking) and running it dead drift through rough water. Watch like a hawk? Nah surprisingly the fish often just crunch it.
Fish two of them (one full wing, one behind NZ style with most of wing removed) gink only the full wing (bob position fly) and let the other run through in a kind of emerging nymph type role. Often you'll see the fish take sub-surface before the 'bob' flee registers.
However this fly is totally superseeded by another of Bob's patterns (well once the LDO's and Olive Uprights have given way to the smaller brethern (BWO's etc). The Dirty Duster.
Possibly one of the most versatile patterns in my armoury (sp?)
Great as a dry (aye i still fish that two flee set up) but a pretty handy spider pattern, good when used like the DHE in rough water (hit hard and run through) and, in black body and grizzle hackle guise, a brilliant loch buzzer dry.
Cheers Bob, you might not have set me off on the right direction, but you gave me a huge boost along the way, and i really don't think i'd have as many simple flees in the box if i hadn't bumped into you.
Bit of a laugh chasing those upland troots with you and your 'team' as well.
Allan L
