Blue Scud Fly Fishing Fly Pattern is an ideal choice to entice the bigger shrimp eating rainbow and wild brown trout that lurk in the deeper parts of the river lake or loch.

SCUD FLY PATTERNS. (also a great freshwater shrimp or louse imitation) Hook size 14 16 18 - $US each

If you are flyfishing for rainbow or brown trout in the more mountainous regions you should be ready to cope with the weathers of all four seasons on the same day. This is especially true in Northern Ireland, the Highlands of Scotland, and the mountainous regions of the Lake district and Wales. These different climatic changes will also affect at what depth the trout will be feeding. Colder the weather the lower they go to seek for food.

If it is warm and the trout are feeding in the top 6 inches of the water when the trout will be looking upwards. Flies fished in front of a drifting boat either with a short line just stroking the flies through the surface layers next to the boat or casting out further can bring very good results. I love watching an expert fly fisherman with a high Rod point and a team of flies dancing in the ripple. The excitement grows as you wait the take.

The bigger silver flanked trout inhabit deeper waters then you find in the shallows near the edge of lochs and post glacial mountain lakes. They need space to hunt and do not want to run aground on gravel or sand beds where they are easy prey to fish eating winged predators. The larger wild trout have growing big because they feed on shrimp and small juvenile fish fry. This food source does not normally swim around just under water surface.

They use the camouflaged and security offered by large rocks and reedbeds near the bottom. You need to fish your flies at different depths to find out where they are feeding. Use a shrimp or baitfish streamer patterns to search for the larger trout. The Blue Scud pattern is an ideal choice as a freshwater or saltwater shrimp imitation pattern. A three or four fly team each fished at different depths will help you with your research. Use a mixture of shrimp and streamer patterns to entice a take from these bigger fish.

imitation pattern. A three or four fly team each fished at different depths will help you with your research. Use a mixture of shrimp and streamer patterns to entice a take from these bigger fish. Obviously if there is an insect Hatch going on then switch to an imitation dry fly for the top dropper and imitation emerge buzzer fly patterns for the point and middle dropper positions.

An ongoing Hatch will grab the attention of most hungry fish in the surrounding area because of the abundance of easy to catch food. In the summer and early autumn a daddy longlegs dry fly or a Hopper can bring a large wild Brownie from depths because it offers a substantial meal

Trout love fresh water shrimps

Shrimps can be found in most freshwater systems. They are a common readily available trout food source which is often over looked by the fly fishing angler.

In rivers or streams that have a strong current, shrimps often get dislodged from the comfort of the rock they were sheltering behind. They will be pulled into the flow of water and now at peril of becoming fish food.

Eventually when they drift into calmer waters they will sink back to the shelter of the river bottom and start feeding again. Whilst they are suspend in the current they are easy prey for any nearby fish. They do not have the strength or swimming ability to dart away from danger.

Now the following fact is very very important for the fly fisherman to understand. When the freshwater shrimp is dislodged it is drifting. It is moving at the same speed as the water.

It is vital that your artificial fly does the same. Any deviance from this will result in you returning to your car without having caught a fish. Blank days are not as good as those where you have had lots of hook ups.

A trout does not expect to see a drifting shrimp suddenly possess superpowers and start swimming against the current as you retrieve the fly. It is not natural normal behaviour and will spook the fish. Your flies must drift with the current.

I find it is best to have flies that are too light rather than tying on weighted flies that are in danger of sinking to the river bottom too quickly. It is good to carry a variety of patterns that can be used to imitate shrimps on different hook sizes, beaded and un-beaded to match the speed of the river current and the natural insect.

You have to experiment with the right type of fly for the river conditions you find yourself fishing on a particular day. Freshwater shrimps are bottom dwellers and when they are ripped away with the current they generally drift one or two feet away from the bottom. If the current is strong and your fly is too light it will not get down to the required depth.

Many fish species search the bottom of a river or lake for tasty shrimps. They are on the lookout for movement that will indicate life. On days where the water is clear and the river is moving slowly use a weighted shrimp to get it to the bottom. Allow it to sink in front of a cruising fish and leave it alone. They are often taken while it is lying motionless.

If the fish looks like it is going to swim past and ignore your offering, give your rod tip a jerk and this will often induce a take. When fishing blind it is best to use an intermediate line and a small jerky retrieve to imitate the natural insects movement over the river bottom.

Freshwater shrimp patterns like the Scud are ideal for imitating natural shrimps. I have had a lot of success using the traditional natural, the white or olive gold ribbed hairs ear nymph, beaded and un-beaded as a shrimp imitation fly.

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