DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Index

Andy’s Olive Emerger Organza Cats Whisker Black Cruncher Grayling Nymph CDC Daddy Suspender Buzzer Corixa Roach Fry Green Perch Fry Irish Bumble Mini Booby Magenta Hog Montana Nymph Pin Fry Red Arsed Snatcher Silver Cruncher Yellow Owl Buzzer Bibbio Wet Fly Agapatus Emerger Diawl Bach with Jungle Cock Black and Claret Shuggie Black and Orange Blob Booby Shuggie Red And Claret Booby Ladybower Booby Buzzer Small Silver Dabbler Melvin Octopus Black Buzzer Rabbit Organza Zonker Olive Damsel Muddler Klink and Dink Ladybower Buzzer DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

A Toft Newton favourite first tied by Andy Hutson. A small amount of thin muscilin can be added to the antron to assist with floatation although this fly will float without it. Fished static on a floating line in reasonable conditions when there are a few fish showing, the fly represents a hatching olive. Can be tied with different coloured body and thorax to represent different fly species, black is a good alternative. Try to keep the body slim though, so it sinks into the surface film. Strike as you would with any dry fly, give the fish time to take properly. Watch the video from the link below. Tying The Olive Shuttlecock DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

A great fish catcher, the Cruncher is a general imitation of many flies and can be be tied in any colour, olive, orange and claret are good examples so just change the colour to suit. Fished in teams of two or three, on a floating line with a slow figure of eight retrieve the Cruncher produces time after time when the fish are up in the water. This fly, will however, catch fish on any line, a popular method is to fish on a slow sink or intermediate, sandwiched between two Blobs or weighted fly on the point and an attractor on the bob, fish will take the Cruncher on the middle dropper time after time. The front hackle is Badger, soft hen, keep it small, Partridge hackle is a good pointer to the size of hackle you need and can obviously be used too, on the brown coloured versions. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Autumn is the best time of year to fish the Daddy Long Legs of course, but in modern times this fly catches throughout the year either fished as a sunken lure or floating fly. Some versions even have weighted beads, here is a tying of the floating version. Tied with a detached deer hair body and a CDC looped wing this version floats as well as any other but has no hackle and so, sits lower in the water. The detached deer hair body can be substituted with good quality foam which is easier to do, make sure the looped CDC wing has air space underneath as this helps the fly to float a lot better. Fished static as a floating single fly on it’s own usually brings up a fish or two, sometimes fish will try to sink the fly before taking so leave a bit of time before trying to set the hook. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

The Corixa is a fly we have all seen in the margins, it needs an air bubble to survive under water and we often see them coming to the surface to gather that bubble before returning to the depths. This action is what the fish love and will readily take the Corixa whilst it rises and falls through the water. I tie a floating and a sinking version, in the floating version the pheasant tail thorax cover is substituted with a strip of foam to assist with floating the fly although you may have to apply a small amount of muscilin from time to time to keep the fly floating. It can work though by not greasing at all and just letting the fly sink slowly, this imitates perfectly the action of the natural. Fish on a floating line close to any marginal weed and inch along the bottom if you can. Keep a low profile so as not scare any fish that may be close into the bank. Watch the Corixa video from the link below. Corixa Video DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

The Diawl Bach is a go to fly for a lot of anglers and, in it’s many colour guises catches lots of fish for many anglers. It can be tied in many colours and has probably been bastardised, as is the one above, from the original but still they all catch fish. The name Daiwl Bach is Welsh for Little Devil and, in all essence, that’s what it is, a fish catcher. Floating line tactics with a slow retrieve are best but this fly catches fish on any line, retrieved slowly or pulled fast, it doesn’t seem to matter at times. Simple to tie,you need some of these in your box in various colours, black with a green rib or red rib, orange with a green rib does well. The original fly had Peacock herl body, brown tail and beard hackle and a copper wire rib and these still work today. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

The Irish Bumble flies, a series of flies used in the big Irish Loughs to great effect and they also catch a lot of fish in the English reservoirs and, in smaller sizes, on the smaller still waters. Usually fished from the boat they are good bob flies and bring up the fish with monotonous regularity, leave the fly close to the surface at the end of the retrieve for a few seconds and, when fish take, this makes for exiting . Tied in different colours including Claret, black, green and this olive one. The tying is not as complicated as it looks an, with right materials is relatively easy. Try to balance the hackle and hook size to the size of the water you intend to fish keeping the hackle smaller for smaller waters. The front hackle should be a softish hen hackle with only two to three wraps. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Hogs, as they are called are a popular floating fly and catch plenty of fish when they are up in the water. Usually fished on a floating line, they are one of the best flies for pulling across the surface of the water with their inherent floating abilities. The Hog can be tied in many colour combinations, this one is magenta because of the colour of the body dubbing and I have included a at the rear. You can, of course, also change the colour of the deer hair to suit but I have found that this makes little difference to the flies ability to catch. The hardest part in the tying is the deer hair, try to keep the deer hair on top of the hook and only tie in small bunches at a time, you should be looking at six or seven bunches on a size 10 hook. Before varnishing the head, use your dubbing comb to comb the dubbing up into the deer hair from both sides, you will be surprised at the difference this makes to the look of the fly. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Introduced from the USA in the mid 1950’s, the Montana Nymph has had a few transformations and the one you see here is the modern version. Apparently the original was a representation of the Stone Fly, had a forward facing wing and was used in rivers in the USA. The nymph can be fished on any line although floaters and slow intermediates are favoured, you don’t need sinking lines as the fly you see here is weighted. Fairly easy to tie on the longer shank hooks but more difficult on the short shank hook you see here. Try to keep the lead wire weighting within the limits of the thorax or the fly will look wrong, use the smallest size chenille you can and try not to make the hackle too long, gape of hook is about right. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

In June and July most waters in the UK abound with pin fry and this fly tries to replicate that, it’s a very good fly and just “looks right” for the job. Fish on a floating or intermediate line with short little pulls around weed beds and other obstacles where you would expect small fry to congregate. An easy fly to tie, the white marabou gives it a bit of life when in the water, wind the tinsel over wet varnish and carefully apply UV resin or two to three coats of varnish to the body before completing the beard hackle. Take care not to varnish the marabou tail. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

A fairly modern fly, the Snatcher can be tied in a variety of colour combinations, the two most popular are the red arsed and the green arsed ones, so named because of the colour of the tag. Very popular on the bigger waters when boat fishing, the fly makes a great top dropper and works particularly well when pulled or hung in the surface at the end of each retrieve on a floating or intermediate line. Reasonably easy to tie as long as the material proportions are followed, the red or green tag should be varnished and the fly completed when the varnish has dried although, you could use UV or wind the tag over super glue to hasten the tying. The front hackle should be soft hen and the Jungle Cock cheeks shouldn’t be too big. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

I thought I would include another Cruncher, this one, although in looks, the same as any other Cruncher is different to tie. Invented and used by Rob Denson, the Silver Cruncher is more difficult to tie because of the use of the flat pearlescent tinsel and stripped Peacock herl. This is a lovely looking fly and should be fished the same as any other cruncher as described page 3. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Well, what can I say about the Yellow Owl buzzer? It catches fish, it catches more fish for me than any other buzzer and I love buzzer fishing which represents the Chironamid fly. Fish on a floating line with the breeze blowing from left to right, or the other way if you are left handed, let the line drift and bow in the wind and get ready for some savage pulls. Fish as part of a team of three on the point or use the washing line technique with a couple of Yellow Owls on the droppers. Tying, as with any buzzer, is easy as long as you get the proportions right, finish with three coats of varnish or a coat of UV and a coat of varnish and leave plenty of time to dry. You can, of coarse tie buzzers in any colour you like, this is my favourite but black and olive are also excellent, black in particular in early season. Watch the video Tying An Epoxy Buzzer from the link below. Tying an Epoxy Buzzer Video DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

A great wet fly that catches everywhere, the Bibbio produces fish when other flies fail. Simple to tie with few materials and works on a variety of lines and depths from floaters to fast sinkers. One of the old flies that have stood the test of time and still work well today. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

A Stuart Croft flu for the rivers. Tied to represent the tiny Agapatus Emerger as it swims across the water surface in it’s attempt to climb the river bank. This is a reasonably easy fly to tie as long as you get the proportions right and can manage the smaller hook sizes. A touch of muscilin to the wing will help it float better. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Tied and fished as the Diawl Bach on page 6. I thought I would add this so we can see what a difference the Jungle Cock makes. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

The Shuggie, or Humongous is a great reservoir lure and can be tied in many colours. Fished on any line it can and does catch fish on a lot of venues and is highly regarded. The Shuugie name is of Scottish origin and the fly is known in England as the Humongous. The eyes are tied on first with figure of eight wraps and a drop of super glue, if you are tying a few, tie all the eyes on first and then dress the flies. If you want to stay within international rules, nip the Marabou tail off until the fly fits inside the gauge. You can use a different colour for the front hackle, the one in the picture is two wraps of blue hen. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

The Blob, not something that a lot of people go for when they think of , but in it’s various guises, it catches loads of fish for a lot of anglers from a lot of waters so, I can’t ignore it. The one in the picture is two tone which is popular. They can be tied in a variety of colour combinations, Marabou tails can be added and so can foam, the fly then becomes the FAB, (Foam Arsed Blob), which floats. The fritz I use is from FNF and is called 15 mm Jelly fritz. It’s easier to use than normal fritz because of its construction which places the fibres on one side of the material making it easier to wrap. Keep it wetted when tying and get as tight as you can. To keep proportion start tying from opposite the point of the hook. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

An adaptation of the Shuggie or Humongous from page 17. This one obviously floats but can be fished on any line. Most tyers prefer to tie the eyes on before tying the fly, I always tie mine on last as I think they hold better this way and give a better finish to the fly. Only use top quality foam. I make the eyes myself using core bits which are readily available and shape the end of the eyes with a Dremmel tool. The eyes on the example above are cut to 10 mm long and are 6 mm in diameter. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Another Booby, this one in Red and Claret. Boobies can be tied in any colours you wish to try, certain waters have favourite colours so do your home work before visiting. Obviously not tied to represent anything, Boobies are however, a very versatile fly indeed. The original style of fishing involved using a sinking line and very short leader to suspend the fly 18 inches or so above the lake bed, this is now frowned upon and indeed, banned on many waters because of the deep hooking it provokes for taking fish. Boobies can though, be used in many other situations, fishing the washing line with a Booby on the point suspends your droppers close to the surface and used on the top dropper, dictates the depth at which you can fish. Pulled on a slow sink line they pop up to the surface when the retrieve is stopped and fish find this very tempting indeed. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

A variation of mine on the original Ladybower Buzzer brought to us by Iain Lindsay, this one incorporates the booby eyes and floats or pops back up when fished sink and draw style with sinking line. Easy to tie, the booby eyes on the example above are 6 mm but you can go bigger or smaller to suit. Being awkward, I tie the booby eyes on last, my thinking being that they stay more secure that way and don’t twist around the hook as much. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Brought to us by John Steel from Toft Newton this miniature Pheasant Tail catches fish when nothing else does. Fish on a floating line and just leave it. Simple to tie but make sure the proportions are right, tied short like the one above make it seem even smaller than it is. If you haven’t got Cock De Leon, use Pheasant tail Fibres or brow cock hackle but keep it to a minimum. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Another cracking Irish Lough fly the Silver Dabbler is typical of all Irish dabblers and is fished the same as the Bumble described on Page 7 Not the easiest of flies to tie but not that difficult with quality materials, particularly the Bronze Mallard. Good when there are small fry about. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

This fly is used in May, June and July. This fly was first designed by Stan headley for Lough Melvin. It is a great top dropper fly on a team of wets at Mayfly time. It is now fished all over Ireland and has acquired a number of variants eg Green Octopus and some with muddler heads. The original had a more golden olive front hackle but at the time of tying I only had the natural. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

The Black Buzzer, one of the most popular buzzers we can tie, fished early and late season and anywhere in between really, this fly can be a great fish catcher. Fish in teams of three on a floating line with the Black Buzzer on the point. If it’s not too windy try to get the wind from left to right (or right to left if you’re left handed), cast out and let the wind do the rest. Takes can be savage buy try not to get too big a bow in the line, if space allows you can walk down the bank to stop the line bowing, a good tactic at Toft Newton. The example above is tied with hot orange flat tinsel cheeks but you can change the material and colour to your taste. Watch the video HERE DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Zonkers are a favourite lure with many anglers on many venues, they do especially well at fry time in the Autumn. This example is a bit different in that it has an Organza ribbon body and a hot orange butt. Works on any line with most retrieves but is particularly good with a slow sink or intermediate. Details on tying in the Organza can be seen HERE DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Pull this across the water when there is a wave on, the follows will drive you mad but you will catch fish on it. A great exciting way of spending a few hours fishing. Two bunches of deer hair are used, one with the points facing the hook bend for the skirt and the second one with the stubs facing the hook bend. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

An alternative to the normal with the post tied facing over the eye and a normal hackle. The mono “tail” is to tie the “dink” to so the post sits straight up. Simple to tie and worth the effort if you fish the rivers. The colours can be changed to suit, olive with a yellow post is good or you could use the more traditional white post. The jig hook helps to keep the leader away from the fly. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

My take on the Ladybower Buzzer as introduced to us by Iain Lindsay on the War of the Roses match a few years ago, quite where he got it from I don’t know but the fly is still proving successful at Ladybower and many other . Simple and straightforward to tie, make the tail as long as you like and keep the fritz to a maximum of two turns. Catches fish on any line with a variety of retrieves. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Simple to tie, the Cats Whisker is a great fish catcher and this Organza one is no different. Fish on any line density. What more can I say, as lures go this is as good as it gets. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Simple and effective, this little nymph is one of my favourites during the colder months when gratling are the quarry. Klink and dink or used on the point in larger sizes. Simple to tie and very effective. Try not to overdress the fly and wrap the Peacock Quill over wet varnish or Superglue to prolong its longevity. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Fished on a floating line with a little dab of floatant on the foam thorax, this fly has caught me loads of fish, a couple of light Daiwl Bachs on the droppers would complete the set up. Perfect for Sutton Lake and other shallow waters where we tend to get some weed in the summer. Really easy to tie, there are only three materials, tie the body up to about two thirds of the way up the hook, tie in the foam facing out the back, form the thorax, pull the foam over and tie off. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Roach Fry by Andy Hutson from Toft Newton . Based on a typical Pike Fry pattern but much smaller, this is a great Roach Fry imitation that catches a lot of fish at fry feeding time in the autumn. A few simple ingredients make this fly easy to to tie if you can master the tying techniques with the craft fur. Pentel marker pens are used to colour the craft fur body so some artistic talent may be required. The eyes are stuck on with Superglue or Gorilla glue which is a bit thicker and helps form the head, they need a few minutes to dry before the UV resin can be applied to complete the head. Fish on a floating line with slow figure of eight retrieve and wait for the line to go solid. If you don’t have the materials or think the tying is beyond your capabilities, give Andy a ring on 07850 351695 and I’m sure he will sort you out. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Perch Fry by Andy Hutson from Toft Newton Trout Fishery. Based on a typical Pike Fry pattern but much smaller, this is a great Perch Fry imitation that catches a lot of fish at fry feeding time in the autumn. A few simple ingredients make this fly easy to to tie if you can master the tying techniques with the craft fur. Pentel marker pens are used to colour the craft fur body so some artistic talent may be required. The eyes are stuck on with Superglue or Gorilla glue which is a bit thicker and helps form the head, they need a few minutes to dry before the UV resin can be applied to complete the head. Fish on a floating line with slow figure of eight retrieve and wait for the line to go solid. If you don’t have the materials or think the tying is beyond your capabilities, give Andy a ring on 07850 351695 and I’m sure he will sort you out. DCAC Flytying Catalogue © DCAC 2020

Mini Booby A versatile fly which can be used in a variety of ways, my own favourite is as the point fly on a washing line set up with a couple of nymphs on the droppers. Also works well with the same flies fished on a fast glass or even heavier line when fishing from a boat. Materials can be substituted for anything you want and the eyes can be made larger if you want it to float higher, or sink and rise up in the water, as you retrieve it will sink, as you stop retrieving the Booby will rise back up to the surface. I tie the eyes in differently to most people, you can watch the video to see the method from the link below. Mini Booby Video