Martyn White | Thursday, 21 November 2024
This week I had my first batch of cold water carping now that winter has arrived following a week of autumn. It was OK and I caught a few fish there's not much to report on that front, but it'll get better once the fish have acclimated to it a bit better.
Meanwhile my wet fly tying is continuing here. The loch box will be more than ready whenever I manage to get to Harris. Before this week I noticed a lack of muddlers in the box which had to be rectified. I love muddlers but I often think that there's an impression or generally accepted "rule" among large numbers of loch fishers that muddlers are only really top droppers for pulling across the top of a big wave on windy days. I remember often hearing people years ago saying, things like “it’s a muddler day today” and the negative. It's nonsense of course. As excellent and exciting as it is to see fish bow-waving up behind a short-fished muddler it's far from the only way to use them. You certainly don't need to wait for the odd warm, cloudy windy day to fish them.
For me, a muddler can go on the leader in almost any conditions from blowing a hoolie to flat calm. Not the same muddlers, but still muddlers. Like all the wets, they need to be matched to the conditions; the bigger the wave, the bigger the muddler. The POD illustrates what I mean here, 2 flies tied on a size 8 short shank and essentially the same Peter Ross scheme. But considerably different in terms of water displacement. One has a palmered hackle and a big blocky head for pushing water, the other has no body hackle and a smaller triangular head-and not the smallest you could put on there either. The smaller one would probably do a job in a decent wave but would be better in a ripple, while the big job is basically the kind of thing I'd keep for a real windy day or for sunk lines.
They don't just belong on the top dropper either. They perfectly fill the role of an attractor top dropper that draws fish to a couple of smaller more imitative flies fished behind it, and are great top dropper fish takers in their own right. They can however go anywhere on the cast, kind of. You'll get fankles if you put one on the middle, unless you fish three. Some might think that's a ridiculous notion but wouldn't think twice about fishing three mini-boobies on a rainbow stocked reservoir. In fact, for those of luddites and traditionalists who have an irrational dislike of the booby, a muddler is fair substitute that won’t offend the sensibilities. Muddlers make a great imitative option for a washing line style presentation too. A wee natural, leggy looking muddler on the point with a couple of snatchers or duckfly type patterns on the droppers is hard to beat in the scum lines on the right day. Deep daphnia feeders or hard fish? Put a fluo-peach muddler (acceptable to traditionalists for some reason?) on your fast sinker and pull a couple of bright palmers behind it, you’ll almost certainly do better than if you just fish bright, “normal” wets.
Basically, what I’m saying is, muddlers are great and contrary to traditional received wisdom, every day can be a muddler day if you want it to be.