November confusion?

Literature concerning this time of year and the eco-system of the lake tells us that life has slowed down to a snails pace. The trout have apparently descended to the depths of the water column and will not rise until April next year. We are told that to stand any chance of catching these creatures that forage in the detritus of decaying plant and animal matter on the bottom of the lake we should fish a bloodworm pattern static under an indicator within six inches of the lake bed. I guess I was lucky that no one told this beautiful brown hen that. She fell to a detached bodied crane fly (daddy long legs.) This is a Davie McPhail pattern and if you ever need inspiration in the fly tying department you will have check out Davie's YouTube channel by clicking the link below:



http://uk.youtube.com/user/PeatyMann



I am also in debt to another of Davie's patterns for my second hen capture that afternoon, although this lovely lady had read the rule book as she was taken on a Czech nymph, on a short cast drifted into the leeward bank. The heavily weighted hares ear Czech nymph was pitched into the 20 to 30mph wind with an immediate mend. This allowed me to get the fly down close to the bottom, but the small bow in the line, created by the wind, meant that the fly didn't actually catch the bottom but skirted over it. The only down side to this technique was that if you struck into the wind, or directly upwards you would pull the fly out of the fishes mouth. After a couple of missed bites I realized that I needed to strike with the wind to remedy the problem and I was rewarded with a hook set in the scissors of another awesome brown hen.



At the last count there were 66 fly pattern video's on Davie's channel. I have scouted YouTube extensively for a better produced fly tying video, but I have been unable to find any that can compete with quality or range of flies tied by Davie. For anyone out there who is looking for a regularly updated fly tying resource packed with valuable tips, hints and useful information to help improve your tying, you will have to check out Davie's channel. I realize that we all have different styles of learning and that Davie's videos obviously suit my learning style, but I would be interested in hearing from you if you know of any other resource which you feel surpasses this channel...



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