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Flys for chub, roach ect....

Andy Shaw

Andy Shaw

Senior Member
After years of saying im going to do it, I have started to get a small fly kit together and going to try and get amongst some of the Chub, Roach and hopefully the odd Trout on my local river (The Wandle).
I would also like to try for some small perch on the Thames, but will have to bag a few small ones first and get the casting a bit more up to scratch!!

I was in my local shop today looking at flys and never realised how confusing it could be, so so many different types and to be honest it just totally baffled me.
Can anybody suggest a few to start with that you would recomend for chub, Im not trying to catch anything big just chublets up to 1lb and small roach.

Any help would be great,

Andy...
 
Fishing a clear-water river like the Wandle, you should be able to scout for and spot fish. If you can find the fish (chub, roach, dace), then a size 14 or 16 Sawyer Pheasant Tail nymph will work fine if the fish are lying in shallow water (cast upstream [and sometimes "square"], with the fly landing above the "victim/s" and allowed to sink down to them, with you (with the aid of polaroids) watching every move the fish make - tighten immediately if you see the fish make a move that looks like a feeding action (sometimes a mere flicker of fin, at other times an open-mouthed, across-the-current gulp). A selection of leaded Czech Nymphs in sizes 10 to 16 will come in handy for fish lying deep. Chub and dace (and, on occasion, roach) will take the dry (floating) fly, so get yourself some size 18 - 14 Parachute Adams flies, some tiny Griffiths Gnats (for when the fish are eating flies so small you can barely [not] see them), some Black Gnat-type flies (14 to 18) and some large, 12 - 8 longshank, dry Mayfly patterns for the early season when there are often Mayfly about and which chub will wallop on occasion.

Above all, read up about "chalkstream trout fishing" first - to get the essentials about what you will doing (stalking, casting, presentation etc) for coarse fish in your case and not trout.
 
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Andy,

Time of year will effect what flies will give you your best chance. This time of year is awkward but as soon as June comes around the chub/roach/dace will happily sip flies from the surface. This is my prefered way to fish for them.

Fly Fishing is often over complicated in my opinion and people tend to forget the term 'match the hatch'! If you see small upwinged flies dancing on the surface, pick a a fly that will imitate this the best and chances are the chub will take it! They dont tend to be particularly picky, especially if you are fishing into a shoal where there is competition.

The flies that Paul has mentioned is a good start, I'd add Tups Indespensible to the dry fly list. Small chub seem to love them! Also good for chub are bugs & beetle imitations, both floating and sinking versions.

As for Perch, a more 'unnatural' looking fly usually works. Black and Pink small fry imitations have produced for me in the past, but anything that looks like a small fish will tempt them. Bigger perch will readily take flies tied for pike on 6/0's and upto 6-7" long!

More than anything, just enjoy it and have fun!

Cheers
Adam
 
There aren't many fish that swim in our waters that wont take a PTN or a GRHE in my experience. For chub I have had brilliant fun in Summer using large sedge patterns on the various Wessex rivers as the light levels begin to fade.
 
Thankyou guys, very helpfull.
So much to choose from and so little time left, will practice a bit I think then get myself ready for the new season.
Have found a few spots that hold a good head of small chub and dace so will have a little dabble for them, also found a few small perchy spots today on the thames, they were actualy following my feeder in and was sitting pretty much under my bank so fancy a go for them aswell.

Thanks again can't wait to start building up a new kit, much to the wifes dislike lol.

Regards,

Andy.
 
Only just noticed this:eek:

All above is good advice:cool:, however if i was heading out for Perch and Chub there are three flies i would make sure were in the tin.

1) A slow sinking beetle pattern for Chub, i take it you dont tie your own...... yet, but something in the 12s-6s size, black and insect looking will do. Plop it in a yard ahead and 45 degrees off to one side and let it sink slowly, there's not many Chub that dont fall for this, but as Adam rightly said it can work best when put in amongst a shoal...

2) A big Foam and deerhair dry fly, with some rubber legs thrown in for good measure!;) 10s-6s Something like this: http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=fo...&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1264&bih=603

This is a great pattern that can be fished many different ways. Cast it way upstream of fish and let it come to them dead drift, plop it right in front of them as with the slow sinking beetle, twitch it and even strip it across the surface for some really savage takes(this also works for Perch with this fly;)) Try it dead drift first and if it's refused animate it a bit at a time, truly fascinating stuff. I took more chub on a similar pattern last year than i did on bait, fish from 8oz to 5lb, 30 in a morning is not out of the qestion if you want to cover the distance, fantastic sport!:)

3) And for general Perching a Beadhead damsel 10s-6s in olive is heard to beat. Drop it into deep holes, let it sink then twitch it back up nice and jerkily with the odd pause they usually just hammer it. It'll take palm sized privates to 2lb sargeants, just fish it like a tiny lure, which it is;) You'll take the odd Chub on this too, but they dont like it quite so lively...

All these should be fished on a leader ending 6-8lb line, obviously you're spotting the fish to cast to so you know the dangers, just up the tippet strength, especially around roots, weed, sunked trees etc...

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For the Dace i like a Greenwells glory or Tups 16s, go light with the tippet strength and degrease the leader for a better presentation. Dace can be lightening quick when taking a fly, be ready!...

Roach love to chase small (emerging) Nymphs, fish a 16s beadhead Pheasant tail nymph as described for the damsel for Perch, let it sink then twitch it back up. Steer clear of the gold beaheads unles the water is carrying some colour, i prefer copper or black coloured beads for my flies...

Just realised i had summer in mind for all of the above, the beadhead damsel and small streamers will take Perch and Chub this time of year but the sport is much slower than in the summer, so i stick to the Pike when it's cold;)

Hope this helps, you do have the advantage of coming from a Coarse background and therefore already "know" the fish, fly fishers sometimes struggle going from drag free tiny dries for trout to "huge" twitched bugs for Chub but half the fun is learning!...

All best, try not to get addicted!:D

Cheers,


Graham
 
I like foam hoppers and rubberlegs, with them having taken for me, besides British rubadubs, all makes of domestic and overseas trout (including big, South American, daylight-caught sea-trout to 22 pounds), and, in Britain, tied BIG, bass and river pike. Have a drawerful of Funky Foam and other types of foam in all colours just across the room from where I am writing this.
 
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