CAST OF THE MONTH- MARCH- 2016- Tony LI
March cast of the month comes from Tony Li who sums up nicely his experience of early season fishing. 'The time of the year again. When you arm yourself in neoprene waders with at least 4 tops and 2 pairs of socks and trousers. Where you go outside in near freezing temperatures for up to 6 hours at a time. With gale force wind battering waves of water over the top of your hooded jacket when you are standing still, doing a slow figure of eight retrieve with a glass line across "The deeps." Hoping that one fish silly enough to like you offers and make your day.
Surely there's a better way for us to enjoy ourselves in March right? I know that we have been deprived from catching these spotted beauties for several months. With nothing to do but to sit in front of the tying vice, creating you next biggest killer pattern that you could almost swear that it will slaughter any fish that's unfortunately to come across it.
Of course there's an easier way to catch trout. , but in most of us, it’s the only and most satisfying way to catch them. On the fly! It doesn't matter if you go on for hours or days (In my case) without getting a single offer or seeing a fish move. It also doesn't matter when the situations gets so bad you start doubting equipment, your flies, fluorocarbon thickness, your sanity and your life decisions etc. It only takes one fish whether big or small to change the mood you've been in. It is then with a big smiley cheesy grin on your face that you know you can still catch trout on the fly.'
With Shetland sitting at 60 degrees north and sharing the same latitude as Alaska, St Petersburg and southern Greenland, March is never going to be a warm time of the year. Insect hatches are almost non existent and if any thing hatches it's likely to be small buzzers so any feeding fish is forced to scavenge what ever food is available such as blood worm, snail, cased caddis and shrimp. The margins of the lochs warm up first and this is where the aquatic eco system kicks back into life after the winter slumber. Target the margins first being careful not to scare the fish, which may be in very shallow water.
Toni’s cast is geared towards the semi dormant fish that might be laying in slightly deeper water, and he says ' With limited naturel food and cool water temperature leading to less active fish the trout doesn't move around as much preserving energy to survive the times of winter famine. Hence my March cast is mostly made up of lure type patterns and I adopt a mobile approach to search for them. A challenge can that a cold angler sometimes speeds up the retrieve to stay warm, however a deep slow retrieve is usually more productive. Another challenge is that in order for the flies to get to the required depth you have to be in the same place thus restricting the amount of water you can cover. Eexperienced anglers head for their favorite spot first and fish it slowly and carefully, hoping to take a fish or two instead of wasting time covering the whole loch.
To get the flies down quickly I usually opt for a sink-tip line, and occasionally a Di3. I avoid weighting my flies with metal beads after a mistimed cast broke my favourite rod a few seasons back. In conclusion. Wait till it's warmer!! Or if you must get that "wet a line" urge out the way fish your flies near the bottom and retrieve slowly. Tight lines!! Tony
Surely there's a better way for us to enjoy ourselves in March right? I know that we have been deprived from catching these spotted beauties for several months. With nothing to do but to sit in front of the tying vice, creating you next biggest killer pattern that you could almost swear that it will slaughter any fish that's unfortunately to come across it.
Of course there's an easier way to catch trout. , but in most of us, it’s the only and most satisfying way to catch them. On the fly! It doesn't matter if you go on for hours or days (In my case) without getting a single offer or seeing a fish move. It also doesn't matter when the situations gets so bad you start doubting equipment, your flies, fluorocarbon thickness, your sanity and your life decisions etc. It only takes one fish whether big or small to change the mood you've been in. It is then with a big smiley cheesy grin on your face that you know you can still catch trout on the fly.'
With Shetland sitting at 60 degrees north and sharing the same latitude as Alaska, St Petersburg and southern Greenland, March is never going to be a warm time of the year. Insect hatches are almost non existent and if any thing hatches it's likely to be small buzzers so any feeding fish is forced to scavenge what ever food is available such as blood worm, snail, cased caddis and shrimp. The margins of the lochs warm up first and this is where the aquatic eco system kicks back into life after the winter slumber. Target the margins first being careful not to scare the fish, which may be in very shallow water.
Toni’s cast is geared towards the semi dormant fish that might be laying in slightly deeper water, and he says ' With limited naturel food and cool water temperature leading to less active fish the trout doesn't move around as much preserving energy to survive the times of winter famine. Hence my March cast is mostly made up of lure type patterns and I adopt a mobile approach to search for them. A challenge can that a cold angler sometimes speeds up the retrieve to stay warm, however a deep slow retrieve is usually more productive. Another challenge is that in order for the flies to get to the required depth you have to be in the same place thus restricting the amount of water you can cover. Eexperienced anglers head for their favorite spot first and fish it slowly and carefully, hoping to take a fish or two instead of wasting time covering the whole loch.
To get the flies down quickly I usually opt for a sink-tip line, and occasionally a Di3. I avoid weighting my flies with metal beads after a mistimed cast broke my favourite rod a few seasons back. In conclusion. Wait till it's warmer!! Or if you must get that "wet a line" urge out the way fish your flies near the bottom and retrieve slowly. Tight lines!! Tony
Coral marabou muddler.
Size 10 long shank hook
Simple gold tinsel body
Coral marabou wing
deer hair muddler head.
I fish this as slow as possible on the top dropper as an attractor pattern. The movement from the marabou when fished slowly seems to works well to entice the more aggressive fish in these cold months. The down side to this fly is that you will often get offers/nips but no actual hook-up due to it long wing/tail, this can be sorted be shortening it wing but the movement in the water created by long marabou gives me confidence, and when things are slow confidence in a pattern is vital.
Size 10 long shank hook
Simple gold tinsel body
Coral marabou wing
deer hair muddler head.
I fish this as slow as possible on the top dropper as an attractor pattern. The movement from the marabou when fished slowly seems to works well to entice the more aggressive fish in these cold months. The down side to this fly is that you will often get offers/nips but no actual hook-up due to it long wing/tail, this can be sorted be shortening it wing but the movement in the water created by long marabou gives me confidence, and when things are slow confidence in a pattern is vital.
Clan chief muddler
Size 10-12 B175 hook
Tail Glow brite red no5 and yellow floss
Black and red cock hackle over silver tinsel body,
Yellow goose biots for cheeks and finally a deer hair muddler head.
The Clan Chief and its variants is the go to fly of many Shetland anglers and there's always one on my cast usually on the second dropper as it catches fish most of the time on most of the lochs.
Size 10-12 B175 hook
Tail Glow brite red no5 and yellow floss
Black and red cock hackle over silver tinsel body,
Yellow goose biots for cheeks and finally a deer hair muddler head.
The Clan Chief and its variants is the go to fly of many Shetland anglers and there's always one on my cast usually on the second dropper as it catches fish most of the time on most of the lochs.
Mr Li's Cat
Size 14-12 b175 hook
Glo brite No1 neon magenta tail
Mirage under body with yellow edge bright over body.
White marabou wing with a red thread head.
There are a myriad of white cat variants and every angler has there favourite combination of materials and this fly has given me a lot of success from the very beginning of the season till the end of the season and I fish it on the point or 3rd dropper.
Size 14-12 b175 hook
Glo brite No1 neon magenta tail
Mirage under body with yellow edge bright over body.
White marabou wing with a red thread head.
There are a myriad of white cat variants and every angler has there favourite combination of materials and this fly has given me a lot of success from the very beginning of the season till the end of the season and I fish it on the point or 3rd dropper.
Dragon House muddler
Size 10-12 B175 hook
Yellow floss tail.
Mirage under body with red edge bright over
deer hair muddler head.
A variant of the Dunkeld muddler that was a favourite fly of top competition angler Billy Reid. This works well for me in dark peaty water or when a loch has been stirred up by wind or in the sometimes-murky water of Spiggie that in recent years has suffered from algal blooms.
Size 10-12 B175 hook
Yellow floss tail.
Mirage under body with red edge bright over
deer hair muddler head.
A variant of the Dunkeld muddler that was a favourite fly of top competition angler Billy Reid. This works well for me in dark peaty water or when a loch has been stirred up by wind or in the sometimes-murky water of Spiggie that in recent years has suffered from algal blooms.
And if the above flies fail don't neglect the pattern that in Shetland that used to be known as everyone’s favourite fly
Loch Ordie
Size 12 B160 hook
Two/three turns of brown hen hackle and two/three turns of white hen hackle.
Hen hackles for pulsating while underneath the water.
Very simple to tie and here tied small and skinny.
This was my first original go to fly when I first started fly fishing and I've no idea why I’ve shied away from it as it used to catch me most of my fish and indeed it still catches loads of fish. This is the most natural imitations of this cast this cast of flies and I usually fished it on the point, even though most anglers would usually gink it up and pull it through the waves early season I fish it deep and slow which proves the versatility of this timeless pattern.
Loch Ordie
Size 12 B160 hook
Two/three turns of brown hen hackle and two/three turns of white hen hackle.
Hen hackles for pulsating while underneath the water.
Very simple to tie and here tied small and skinny.
This was my first original go to fly when I first started fly fishing and I've no idea why I’ve shied away from it as it used to catch me most of my fish and indeed it still catches loads of fish. This is the most natural imitations of this cast this cast of flies and I usually fished it on the point, even though most anglers would usually gink it up and pull it through the waves early season I fish it deep and slow which proves the versatility of this timeless pattern.
