Light weight streams for fishing with a two weight spey rod. Note the Mickey Finn is not the conventional colour because I did not realise I was tying with Chartreuse.The final category of flies I am trying is for when there isn’t much insect activity and I am fishing near the bottom trying to get the attention of fish. A mate who is a really effective fisherman told me about fishing the Tuki in the autumn with a rabbit fly, so I have tied up some natural rabbits in red & yellow, and some black and green rabbits.
I’ve previously resisted tying woolly buggers because I have felt leeches are an effective substitute, quicker to tie and rougher so look natural. As a compromise for this season I have tied some black woolly buggers, but I also have tied black leeches and I have a huge number of olive leeches that are going to get used regularly.
Black Woolly Bugger #10 & 12
Green Rabbit #10 & 12
Red Rabbit # 10 & 12 & 14
Yellow Rabbit #10 & 12
Black Rabbit #10 & 12
Olive Mohair Leech #10
Mickey Finn #10
My preference for a very simple Hare & Copper has led me to want representative flies, not replicator flies. I want a fly that always looks right no matter how it drifts, rather than a fly replicates an insect perfectly but could easily drift wrong. Replicator flies are also way more complex to tie, so I stick with the basic, traditional New Zealand patterns that have caught so many fish for me over the years.
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