contents

Contents

Next month’s issue on sale May 10th

24

24Drifting On Giant Waters At times, the UK’s largest stillwaters can be daunting places for even seasoned reservoir fishers, let alone the novices. However, May and June bring with them a window of opportunity for the dry-fly angler and, with a little know-how of where to look, they can be faced with rise after rise from grown-on rainbow trout. Armed with a never-seen-before selection of killer dry flies, Jim Crawford takes to a rippled Rutland Water and explains how to make the most of the action!

36

36Vital Skills Charles Jardine brings his instructional series to an end, describing the hours that every fly fisher longs for… the evening rise. The last couple of hours of light don’t always offer the chance of rising trout, eager to take any dry fly that lands in their direction; it can be just the opposite, explains Charles, and knowledge and preparation is the key. Read this and learn all you need to know about the location, tackle and tactics for turning those risers into takers!

8Agent X TFF’s undercover fishery reporter takes a rain-drenched trip to Lancaster to experience a day in a boat on Clevely Mere.

14In The Loop All of the latest news from the world of fly fishing, revealed in this month’s TFF.

18Letters The pick of the TFF postbag, airing your comments, your suggestions and, this month, your ideas of “fly fishing heaven!”

COVER STORY!

24Drifting On Giant Waters Jim Crawford takes a boat out on Rutland Water with the deadliest dries in his fly box.

30Q&A Our panel of experts answers a host of your questions on the fine art of dry-fly fishing.

COVER STORY!

36Vital Skills Make the most of the back end of the day! Charles Jardine tells us how to get the best out of the evening rise…

COVER STORY!

44The Key To Success In the last part of his series, top small-water angler Fred Bainbridge meets overcast skies and rising trout – perfect for the dry fly!

50Head To Head When the going gets tough… we make it a dry-fly-only challenge! The Hammerlands

Centre in Dumfriesshire is the venue as two new challengers battle for trout!

COVER STORY!

58The Dry Fly – Turned On Its Head! The dry-fly revolution is here. If you tie your own flies, you HAVE to read this!

65Tyer’s Tackle Shop TFF takes a trip to the tackle shop to reveal four great new products to improve your flies.

COVER STORY!

67Featured Tyer The godfather of modern lough flies speaks! Learn how to tie his latest mayfly pattern, as we get inside the mind of Rod Tye.

04

08 Today’s flyfisher May 2007 50Head To Head TFF takes a trip to Dumfriesshire this month where we meet up with super-keen anglers Kevin Smith and John Cameron. Faced with cold, wet conditions, our challengers’ faces soon drop as we announce that it’s time for the very first dry-fly-only Head To Head challenge! With a massive target of seven fish, the lads’ skills are put to the ultimate test to see who, if any, will come out on top.

50

contents

58Dry Flies – Turned On Their Heads This tip from writer and fly tyer David Fynsong impressed us so much that we’ve dedicated a feature to it. What could well be the answer to the dry-fly angler and fly tyer’s prayers, Two Para is an easy way to produce stunning parachute-style patterns. As we explain, it can be utilised to imitate a limitless number of bugs that take but a few minutes to tie, sit perfectly on the water and prove irresistible to trout!

50

58

72Tying Challenge Following much deliberation, cogitation and hair pulling our judges have now managed to pick out the cream of TFF readers’ mayfly patterns!

76The Flies To Catch Fish As part of TFF’s dry-fly special, we bring you four super surface patterns that will catch you more trout, wherever you fish!

84Wild Rainbows Of The Rangitikei TFF’s globetrotting editor in chief, Jim Foster, reports back to us on his latest farflung trip. He’s been sampling the crystalline waters of New Zealand.

91£1,000 Distinction Competition Get geared up for the summer. Here’s your chance to win a selection of top-notch clothing and luggage!

92Tackle Monster A dozen of the latest fly fishing products that you’ll soon be seeing in the shops receive the once-over from the TFF tackle tarts.

96 To 101Used And Abused Only tackle that stands up to months of abuse at the hands of the TFF team arrives here – this is the gear that matters! Well, at least it does to us.

106Fly Lines Up Close There’s much more to it than meets the eye when it comes to fly lines, as we take a sneaky peek into the manufacturing process at Airflo’s HQ…

110The Trout – Part Two Don’t knock the stockies says John Bailey, as he tells the story of the imported species that has changed the face of UK fly fishing – the rainbow trout!

114Grumpy Old Man Travelling with a fly rod brings with it some chance encounters, says Steve Parton, who warns Liverpool FC just what lies ahead!

May 2007 Today’s flyfisher

05