The early season cast
by Mark Sandison
During the fist half dozen weeks or so of the brown trout season the majority of fly fishing in Shetland will take place from the bank with a floating line. Most experienced anglers won’t even get their boots wet for a first run down the shore of the loch as they search the margins for feeding trout. The theory being
that the shallows are the first areas of the loch to warm up, beginning to encourage activity among the tiny creatures which live there and make up a large
percentage of the trout’s diet at this time of the year. The cautious angler may even see the backs of the trout out of the water as they mooch around in inches
of water among the stones in search of a snack. And caution is the keyword as very often the bank angler can spook wary fish out of the shallow margins
without ever realising that they were there in the first place.
So what flies to mount on the cast in order to attract one of these early season fish after a long hard winter?
An old favourite fly in Shetland for decades has been the “Black Zulu.” The “Zulu” has spawned many variants over the years, all of which will fish well in the
early season. It is one of these variants which I have selected for my top dropper. The “Gold Coch Zulu” differs from the original in that the head hackle
is “Cochy Bondhu” rather than black and the original silver rib is replaced with holographic gold. This in an excellent general attractor fly as well as being
suggestive of the freshwater shrimp which will feature high on the trout’s menu in March and April.
Temperatures in the middle of the day might encourage the sporadic hatch of black buzzers or midge. With this in mind I have chosen the “Hutch’s Pennell,” the creation of top Orcadian angler Ian Hutcheon for the second fly on my cast. This pattern has several trigger points which cleverly suggest elements of the hatching midge pupa and is a great all rounder for the middle dropper position.
In recent years the old winged wets of the past have tended to fall from favour and been replaced by marabou winged mini lures in bold colours. The tail
position on my cast then, and the fly that will fish deepest on a floating line, goes to the “White Cat.” This is a fantastic fly for March and April and is an
excellent attractor pattern as its lime green body and white wing are easily seen in the coloured water which is so often a feature of early season angling. The black and lime colour combinations of the “Viva,” “Christmas Tree” and “Black Cat” are also indispensible in this role.
If you’ve exhausted the shallows and feel the need to go a bit deeper then an intermediate or “Ghost Tip” line can work well. When using these lines I would
tend to switch about my tail and bob flies so that the mini lure was now on the bob where it will be fishing deepest due to the line density. In this situation
trout will often be attracted to the gaudy mini lure only to turn away and take a more subtle and imitative fly farther down the cast.
Other flies which might be given a swim in the first weeks of the season would include Bibio, Hot Spot Peacock Palmer, Black Pennell, Diawl Bach, Blae &
Black, Doobry, Norski Lad, Peach Muddler, Fluo. Orange Palmer, Soldier Palmer, Cormorant and Wormfly.
Gold Coch Zulu
Thread: Black
Tail: Glo-brite Floss No.5 (Fire Orange)
Body: Black SLF
Body Hackle: Black Cock
Rib: Flat Gold
Holographic
Head Hackle: Furnace Hen
Hutch's Pennel
Tying Thread: Black
Tag: Two turns flat silver under tail
Tail: Slim bunch of dyed hot orange G.P. tippets.
Body: One Peacock Herl wound in butting turns.
Rib: Fine oval silver or wire.
Head Hackle: Two turns black hen with two turns white hen in front –both sparse.
White Cat
Tying Thread: Fire Orange
Tail: White Marabou with a few strands of pearl crystal hair over.
Body: Lime green chenille. (Many variations of this material available)
Wing:White Marabou.
Head:Build up of tying thread.
Christmas Tree
Tying Thread: Black
Tail: Mix of Glo Brite No.11 Phosphor Yellow and No. 12 Lime Green Fluo.Floss.
Body: Black SLF dubbing or similar.
Rib:Holographic silver.
Wing: Black Marabou with a few strands of something “flashy” followed by a tuft of Glo Brite No. 1 Neon Magenta Fluo. Floss.
Fluorescent Orange Palmer
Tying Thread: Black
Tail: Fluorescent Orange Wool
Body: Fluorescent Orange Wool
Body Hackle: Furnace (Greenwell) Cock
Rib: Oval Gold
Head Hackle: Furnace (Greenwell) Hen
Peach Muddler
Tying Thread: Fire orange
Tail: Mix Glo Brite Floss - No.7 Orange with No. 8 Amber.
Body: Mix Glo Brite Floss - No.7 Orange with No. 8 Amber. Chopped & dubbed.
Rib: Medium Holographic Gold
Head: Spun Dear Hair with a few
fibres left as collar hackle.
Hot Spot Peacock Palmer
Tying Thread: Black
Body: In three parts. First and last third – Peacock Herl or Peacock litebrite. Middle third – Glo-brite Fluo floss No. 4 (Scarlet) chopped and dubbed.
Body Hackle: Natural Red Game cock.
Rib: Oval Gold or wire.
Head Hackle: Brown Hen.
Bibio
Tying Thread: Black
Body: In three parts. Black, red, black SLF dubbing or similar.
Body Hackle: Black cock.
Rib: Oval Silver.
Head Hackle: Black Hen