18 - Top Tips: Best Fry Patterns for Autumn Fly Fishing
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Top fry patterns and tips for autumn fly fishing After another hot summer, the edges of so many of our reservoirs are teeming with fry! Here are five excellent fry patterns to catch on in September and October, along with some handy fly fishing tips to catch predatory trout! The sight of scattering fry and sudden carnage at the surface has to mark one of the best times to go fly fishing in the whole year. It’s no use having skinny buzzers or fine dry flies once the trout are really smashing up the fry, however. In fact, you may as well wave a salad leaf at a tiger! It’s time to stock up for the onslaught with some proven patterns, such as these five highly recommended killers: |
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Catch fry bashing trout isn’t all about stripping and wild chase sequences. In fact, much of the time, a floating fry fly, left static, is the way to get those fish polishing off juvenile roach and perch that have been stunned and are just lying there in the surface film. This fly is simply excellent to fool those fish mopping them up |
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TIP: Rather than stripping flies, try twitching in small bursts with long pauses. Floating fry patterns are ideal for this style of retrieve. |
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| 2. Floating Fry (£0.65) | |
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How do you make your fly stand out from the masses when there are swarms of prey in the water? Changing from a neutral white to a contrasting colour is one trick to try. Black is one obvious option, but we also stock this pattern in red yellow and other attractive colours. |
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Tip: Another great way to fish a floating fry pattern is to use one on the point, washing line style, with two nymphs on droppers. Little sparkly Diawl Bachs or even old fashioned flash-bodied flies such as the Butcher, are a good choice for fussier feeders if there are fry about. |
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| 3. Janssen's Minnow (£0.75) | |
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Epoxy minnows are something of a forgotten favourite for trout, but they still have the same appeal as ever. Durable little flies, these are easy to fish and ideal for presenting on the edge of fry shoals; perch love them as much as trout. |
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Tip: Fry time is not just about trout these days. Wherever there are clusters of baitfish, you can often expect perch and pike also to attack a suitable fry imitation. Do be prepared to go a bit bigger and possibly use a wire trace if there are bigger mouths on the scene! |
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| 4. Appetiser (£0.60) | |
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Talking of old school flies, they don’t get much more classic than the Appetiser. Specifically designed to mimic small fry, this favourite still wins its place in any autumn trout fly box. |
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Tip: Although most anglers opt for the typical fisherman’s knot, a better way to attach any mobile streamer or fly pattern tends to be the non-slip loop knot. This will give your fly less stiffness and more natural movement for a better presentation. Here’s a guide to tying it from Fly Life Magazine. |
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Other flies and ideas… |
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Or, should you be heading to the southern hemisphere note that the temeratures are changing. Colder winter waters are giving way to warmer summer waters. This increase in temperatures brings extra activity in close shore species such as Baracuda and Trevally. Stock up on Saltwater Flies.
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