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North Country Flies

17 posts

North Country Flies are the traditional wet flies which form the foundation of all North Country flyfishing. Read about tying these trout patterns from author and angler Robert L Smith who has written extensively about many aspects of history, dressing and fishing a large range of north country spider and wet fly patterns.

North Country fly patterns such as the Waterhen Bloa, Partridge & Orange and the Waterhen Bloa have long been regarded as the “Holy Trinity” of north country spider patterns and have a rich history of being fished by some of the world’s best fly fishermen. These simple wet fly patterns have been used for many centuries and are dressed using simple materials to represent the full range of insects found of the freestone rivers of both northern England and southern Scotland.

These spider wet flies though very relaxing and enjoyable way to fish, nevertheless, often require a high level of fly skill and watercraft to fish effectively. With various presentation methods being used such as the Down & Across, Across & Down and Upstream Presentation.

Read about fishing and dressing many of these wet fly patterns on these Sliding Stream blog pages and also learn about the history of dressing and fishing a range of north country spider patterns on the many of the Yorkshire Dales rivers. Follow in the footsteps in many of the finest and most notable north country anglers such as T.E. Pritt, Francis Max Walbran, Oliver Edwards, Eobert Smith, Harfield Edmonds and Norman Lee. Visit theslidingstream.net

Fishing North Country Spiders
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  • 3 min
  • North Country Flies

Winter Brown

Invariably, when the trout season opens in Yorkshire, many a river angler will be seen fishing a team of north country wet flies through the cold and often low and…
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north country spider summer goose
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  • 5 min
  • North Country Flies

The Summer Goose

A Curious Case Of A North Country Spider Dressing In the wide gamut of curious names ascribed to north country spiders, the old fly-fishers of Wharfedale had it appears a…
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  • 3 min
  • North Country Flies

A Manuscript Of Flies

It immediately intrigued me when the catalogue for an upcoming auction first appeared in my inbox. When amongst the usual lots of fishing reels and assorted bric-à-brac, I spied a…
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  • 7 min
  • North Country Flies

Fishing The Upstream Wet Fly in Pocket Waters

Fishing The Upstream Wet Fly in Pocket Waters The upstream presentation of traditional soft hackled wet flies on rivers is a subject close to my heart. It is a presentation…
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  • 4 min
  • Flydressing
  • North Country Flies

Smoke Fly

Smoke Fly Back in the dim and distant past when I penned The North Country Fly. My purpose was to illuminate lesser known north country fly patterns. Hoping a modern…
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Brown Owl Spider
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  • 4 min
  • North Country Flies

The Brown Owl

This classic spider found in numerous north country manuscripts and publications has been one of my favourite patterns to dress for many years. And features as one of a small…
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  • 7 min
  • Flydressing
  • North Country Flies

Pearsall’s Gossamer Silk

It is safe to say that for the past century a certain brand of silk thread has become synonymous with the tying of traditional north country spiders. I am of…
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  • 11 min
  • Flydressing
  • North Country Flies

A Guide to Choosing North Country Hackles

A Guide to Choosing North Country Hackles It goes without saying that to dress the finest of flies, you need the finest of materials. And now thankfully, with the growth…
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Fly Fishing Leaders
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  • 6 min
  • North Country Flies

Horsehair Casts

Horsehair Fly Casts A number of years ago I set out to dress a selection of traditional North Country spider patterns in the most authentic manner possible. With a degree…
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The dressing on the Smoke Fly found in An old notebook of north country spiders dating to 1900. And a modern example.
The last trout of the day. Small but perfectly formed…
Wharfedale brownie taken on a north country spider.
An evening prospecting for trout.
Two precious commodities.
Early morning trouting before the temperatures rise.
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North Country Hackles
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The Sliding Stream
  • North Country Flies
  • Flyfishing
  • Flydressing
  • Dry Flies
  • Fly Fishing For Grayling
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