Caledonia Deer Hair Roach Fry

Our new fry patterns have come from Mick Connor, a highly respected angler and big fish specialist from Rutland Water. They are proven fish catchers on a variety of waters, from smaller still waters to big reservoirs. From mid-summer to the end of the season, fish feed heavily on fry. They start off feeding on the pin fry in mid- late summer, and as the fry grows our patterns need to become bigger too. By the autumn, fry are several inches long, and this is when the bigger fish we are targeting become preoccupied. Now is the time for the larger floating fry patterns as the big trout scythe through the shoals, then come back and pick off the dead and any injured, often found floating on the surface motionless. Let your fly drift naturally and wait for fish to find it. When they do, this is the time to hold your nerve and not lift the rod too soon. Give the fish time to take the fly, turn and then lift the rod - fish on!