Although there are a few fly fishing options in the winter months such as Grayling and Pike Fly fishing, or even some lure stripping on trout fisheries with sinking lines and big lures, the anticipation of the beginning of the traditional Trout season is what most trout fisherman dream of through the winter months.
The early season can be hard work as we still get frosts, snow and freezing cold winds, but you know better times are not far away. The first days when you feel some heat from the sun makes some early season buzzer fishing a possibility, or even a dry fly, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The next day we could be back to the DI5, but you get the feeling the worst of the cold weather is almost behind you and not long till you could be fishing in t-shirts and not 5 layers of thermals!
DISTANCE?
As we wait for the new season, inevitably we distract ourselves with shopping for tackle. I'm sure you like me think if I had that new rod, I could maybe just manage that extra few feet on the cast to reach those rising fish that always seem to be just beyond your casting range?
We offer an excellent range of faster action fly rods for these situations, such as these popular ranges below.
Hardy Ultralite X Sintrix Fly Rods | Vision Stillmaniac 2 Fly Rod | Greys Wing Stillwater Fly Rod
PRESENTATION
If you're dry fly fishing or nymphing you may be thinking, if I could just get that fly line which is a little more delicate that may just get me a more subtle presentation. These are some popular options that may just help you get the presentation your need.
If you use lots of different lines then cassette reels offer the best and most economical solution. These are our most popular cassette reels, and as these type of reels are so popular there is a cassette reel to suit all budgets.
Greys Fin Cassette Fly Reel | Airflo Switch Black Cassette Reel | Greys Cruise Cassette Fly Reel
Leeda Profil Cassette Fly Reel | Hardy Ultradisc Cassette Fly Reel
Maybe you want to get a new boat bag that will take everything you need, and of course all the bits and pieces you don't need, but can't bear to leave them at home just in case. These larger boat bags may be the answer.
The seatbox is becoming an increasingly popular option for stillwater trout anglers, as they keep everything dry and protected as our weather becomes increasingly worse every year. They are also handy as a seat, if like me your knees are starting to feel a bit achy when your standing for a few hours on the bank. You can even sit while you fish especially when buzzer fishing, or fishing the bung and even slowing twitching back a dry fly. Here are some of our more popular seatboxes and some new additions which give you some additional options for organising your box.
This is the most popular box, and there are many additions that can be purchased including trays and cushions.
The Tronix Big Beach Seat Box is very similar to traditional plastic seat boxes, and you can also purchase an additional Top Boxx which may be useful for items you want to keep at hand, rather than having to rummage through the box. They also offer additional dividers so you can customise the Top Boxx to your specifications.
There are also many cheaper options we offer in Seatboxes:
Stillwater Super Seat Box | Stillwater Super Seat Box With Shoulder Carry
If you want to really keep everything tidy in your your bag or seatbox then we have many reel cases available to organise your reels and spools.
Wychwood EVA Large Reel Case | Wychwood NEW Competition Reel Case | Wychwood Eva Compact Reel Case
Stillwater Super 10 Reel Case | Scierra Kaitum XP Reel Case 8 reels | Fishpond Honcho Reel Case
Now everyone's favourite subject, the flies. Early season is generally the time when your waiting for some heat to kick in to get the nymphs and buzzers out. At this time of year lures are popular as they are easy to fish and keep you actively searching for fish when there isn't much fly life around. Fishing a lure with some smaller patterns on the droppers and the lure on the point means you are giving the fish a few options, even if the lure may be a bit too bright for the fish to take, it may attract the fish to take one of the smaller flies on your leader that aren't so in your face. Other popular patterns are damsel patterns and bloodworm patterns. Damsel fly nymph patterns can work really well most times of the year even when there isn't much natural food. They are probably not taken as a damsel nymph by the fish most of the time, but they work really well when fished early season more as a lure than a nymph. Blood worms patterns are also an excellent pattern for the colder months and can be fished static in a similar way to a buzzer on the point of your cast or allowed to sink very slowly and just twitched close to the bottom on a slow figure of eight for example. They are also a great pattern to use with Bungs or indicators.
We have many comprehensive fly selections available to keep you catching during the early part of the season.
Boxed Fly Selections | Damsel Flies | Fario Fly All Year Stillwater Collection - Rhys Wadley | Bloodworm Flies
Apps Worm Flies | FAF Blobs #2 Selection | Stillwater Blobs x 20
Fishing "The Bung" or using an indicator is also very popular and can produce when fish are not in the mood to chase flies. Flies fished under a bung static, or moving with the wind can produce very well when the water is still very cold or the fish are lethargic.
Fario Fly Bungs | Fario Fly Blobs & FABS | Fario Fly Bugs
Fario Fly All Year Stillwater Collection - Rhys Wadley | Fario Fly Worms | Apps Worm Flies
...and, if you need somewhere to store your flies of course we have an extensive range of fly boxes to choose from.
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