[wendy]

Hi guys Wow what an awesome experience fishing the rivers with a fly is! Last week i had my first river brownie and my first river rainbow, i loved it! I am totally hooked into fly fishing the rivers now!

I am having one problem, what flies to use, can anyone guide me, i know someone told me to use goldheaded hares ears. But what else

[Rob Brownfield]

What river is it as you would use different flies in say a freestone river from a Chalkstrem.... :

[wendy]

It's the Goyt in Stockport lancashire, i don't understand what you mean about chalkstone. :

[Sandy Nelson]

Hi Wendy

Rob is reffering to the type of water the river has, Chalkstreams run through chalkland and as such are very clear and often fairly slow, freestone rivers run off hills and tend to be quite quick flowing with stony bottoms, the water is usually clear although will colour up with rain.
I dont know the river you mention at all, but as a general rule some basic flies are good for most rivers.

Black spiders 14-18
Black pennells 12-16
Greenwells glory 12-16
Waterhen Bloa 14-16
Hares ear 12-16
Adams 12-18
Orange quill 14-18
Butchers 10-14
Klinkhammer 12-16
Pheasant tail nymph 12-16
Goldhead Hares ear nymph 10-14
Black buzzers 14-18
Snowshoe emergers in olive and hares ear 12-18

These are all suggestive patterns that in different sizes will match most of the hatching insects you are likely to encounter, however there will be specific patterns for the river you are fishing that the locals use to match some of the fishes preferred morsels in that particular stream.

Hope it helps a little.

Sandy

[wendy]

Cheers Sandy for that info i will order myself a few of these, on Sat i had a goldheaded nymph, hares ear thing  :  and i used a black spider on the dropper. It obviously worked because i caught fish.

But i only had one of them flies and when i lost it, i used something that looked like a shell on  it's back , all muliti-coloured, it caught me a grayling : I want to be able to know what type they are. so thank you very much! :

[Rob Brownfield]

Wendy,
Sorry, I should have explained  :

Like Sandy said, the rivers vary in character and as such, contain different types of flies. It also depends where about on the river you are...upper, mid or lower reaches as the fly life can vary as well. For example, Chalkstreams tend to have a big hatch of large Mayflies and so at certain times, the only fly you need is a big old mayfly immitation.

The list he has given you is, as always, spot on I think I would add to that some leaded caddis imitations, stonefly nymphs and possibly something "Shrimpy" for fishing in tumbling, streamy water.