Beginner Flyfishing,The Wet Fly

[@xaquinlopezgomez1028]

Hi, from Galicia. I enjoy your vids a lot. And the sound of your Gaelic !!! Started fishing wets couple of years ago, after 30 yesrs of dry fly fishing. Love it. Tight lines !!!!

[@springerspanielful]

Thanks a million amigo..

[@gerardwoods1529]

Great to see the more traditional art of fishing the wets Great video by the way and cracking fish .

[@springerspanielful]

More to come!

[@karlnoonan5597]

Great video, George, thank you. I haven’t finished the wet fly in years and really would like to get out and give it a go again, if only just for the relaxed nature of that style. Learned to fish with my grandfather in north Cork in the early ‘80s. I recall the Orange Grouse was his go to pattern.

[@springerspanielful]

Welcome back to the wet fly Karl,enjoy.

[@brendan8621]

Very informative George thank you. I'm new to fly fishing and have ignored wet fly fishing untill now. I'll try get out this evening and swing a few flies! Also like the vlog style intros at the start good production quality - Brendan

[@springerspanielful]

Thanks a million Brendan,let us know how it goes with the wets.

[@christhomas856]

Thank you for a KISS reminder of how simple and effective this method can be!

[@springerspanielful]

Glad it was helpful!

[@chealsea25]

Great video George, just came across you on the Ireland on the fly podcast have tried your wet fly tips since and had 6/7 trout yesterday evening on my local river. Look forward to more content.

[@springerspanielful]

Welcome aboard!

[@peterlaidler3895]

Hi George, considering we are only entering Spring, those fish are in lovely condition. Just goes to show the quality of the water and food that must be available to them over the Winter. Totally agree with your thoughts on using the wet fly. Lovely video

[@springerspanielful]

Many thanks Peter,and best of luck to you for the coming season.

[@paulhaderlein5854]

Thanks for sharing. Do you weighted wet flies? If so, do you use the weighted fly as the point fly or the dropper fly?

[@springerspanielful]

I just use heavy wet fly hooks..

[@mikeney5113]

Another great video well done George! Great advise as always.thanks for sharing

[@springerspanielful]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@grahamlonergan8964]

Lovely video George

[@springerspanielful]

Appreciate it Graham.

[@Natn0se]

Nice simple video - good job

[@springerspanielful]

Glad you liked it!

[@Beardedfurflinger]

As stated a reminder of how simple yet fun our sport can be,here in the US we call those soft hackles & tied in a variety of different colors & sizes,but still an effective fly,tight lines & bent rods 🤟

[@springerspanielful]

Right on

[@davidgregg6703]

Great video, your right George no need for this tactical stuff, just keep it simple, people forget anglers where catching fish many many years ago before all this new expensive stuff came out

[@springerspanielful]

Fact.

[@liampenny9016]

Wet fly fishing brings me back to where it all started for me. Great video but one question is how to set the hook?. I feel I'm pulling the hook out of the fish and miss a lot (like >80%) of takes. Any advice George gratefully received.

[@springerspanielful]

Most fish hook themselves, best to hold the rod high and let them hook themselves.

[@robertgreen5217]

Fantastic love the wets 👍.

[@springerspanielful]

Glad you liked it.

[@mikelundrigan2285]

When I approach the water to fish, either river or pond, I never go walk straight out into the water. I stay about 20 feet from it and make my fist casts only few feet from the bank. I have discovered that often there are trout near the bank and if I walk out into the water, I scare them and they flee, alerting the trout further out to be wary! Sometimes the trout near the banks are the bigger ones! Something to consider! Good luck!

[@springerspanielful]

I constantly preach just that..

[@wingman2646]

Great video thanks! You seem to unhook fish very quickly while holding the fish in one hand and the rod in the other. How do you do that? thanks.

[@springerspanielful]

Barbless hooks and much practice.

[@brianscully6227]

Great video George ,must invest in a new fly rod,the river I fish its not very wide does the length of the leader make a difference.

[@springerspanielful]

It's not essential but it's best to use the longest leader you can, the flies swim better the longer the leader.

[@brendanryan6363]

Great channel mate, happy to have subscribed. Do you do any lough fly fishing or all river? Cheers from Mayo

[@springerspanielful]

Done some lough fishing,doesn't ring my bell at all,much prefer running water.

[@rodlawson160]

Great video ! Do you ever use any of the magnificent beard for fly tying ?

[@springerspanielful]

Not yet!

[@kennethmidwinter982]

Another great video. I have a question on the wet fly presentation. I usually use a sinking fluid on my floating leader to take the wet fly down below the surface about a foot. I notice you haven’t mentioned and sinking fluid on the leader. Are you using the weight of the fly to take it sub surface? If you are, and I can understand if you have a relatively “heavy” wet fly, then how do you sink a light wet fly. I have to mention that I fly fish mostly at the moment on Rutland Water but I am fishing the Tweed in Scotland in August. Your videos are so helpful, bearing in mind I’m 67 now….. or something like that ! Kind regards as always.

[@springerspanielful]

Good question Kenneth, I rarely if ever fish a sink tip or sinking line, I find them overly heavy and cumbersome to use, I tend to use my casting to get the maximum value from my wet flies, mending best I can to gain a little depth when needed ,best of luck in Scotland.

[@kennethmidwinter982]

@@springerspanielful George, thank you for that. I’m going to try your method that makes complete sense of course. Kind regards Ken.

[@alexanderjoyce3305]

Hi George, very informative content, thank you, what method of retrieve do you use here?

[@springerspanielful]

I just retrieve the line over the index finger of my right hand,or altertatively use the reel.

[@fiestamans]

Great video George , I must tie up a few dark greenwells and try on the nore. A question for you, a man of many talents, how do you repair your breathable waders, especially seams leaking and pinholes???

[@springerspanielful]

Waders would break your heart, aquasure will fix most leaks, but it's an ongoing problem.

[@fiestamans]

@@springerspanielful do you ever thin it out to make it more runny

[@springerspanielful]

@@fiestamans I put the tube in hot water for a few minutes and that makes it quite runny.

[@neilmason158]

I enjoyed this video sat with my wife, who has been out on the bank with me catching Brownies fishing spiders in the last couple of days, looks like I have lost my 5# McKenzie rod to her.

[@springerspanielful]

Hope she catches a sack of fish,you'll just have to buy a new rod now Neil,oh bother.

[@neilmason158]

@@springerspanielful George still have 4# Sage SLT and a 5# XP

[@springerspanielful]

@@neilmason158 I think you still need a new rod.

[@neilmason158]

@@springerspanielful Any suggestion's ???

[@springerspanielful]

@@neilmason158 Sage LL 7' 9'' 3weight.

[@dannymcg8300]

Great video and your 'dark Greenwell' is a magnet for the fish. Interesting choice of rod being a 9' 3wt. I was advised by many to go with a 5wt around the same length as a starter. What decides when you either 'reel/wind in' the fish or pull the line in by hand ? Many thanks.

[@springerspanielful]

A 5 weight would do just fine,I play bigger stronger fish on the reel as I have better control,though it's not a hard and fast rule,thanks for the great questions.

[@dannymcg8300]

@@springerspanielful Thank you for your reply. It's very much appreciated.

[@Tommyfecky]

Thank you ! Lifting the mystery :-)

[@springerspanielful]

Good to hear from you Tom.

[@jctralee]

Thank you so much, for this video , delighted haha

[@springerspanielful]

My pleasure.

[@laurenceoreilly5533]

Hi Great video thanks, make thinks easy to understand, Lar

[@springerspanielful]

Very welcome

[@ghislaindesrosiers8074]

Thank you!

[@springerspanielful]

Welcome!

[@davefarrell4214]

Enjoyed the video thanks , will wet fly work all through the season or is it more an early season method?

[@springerspanielful]

It works anytime, however it excels in higher water conditions.

[@davefarrell4214]

Go raimh maith agat George

[@davidgregg6703]

What’s the average size of trout on your local rivers u fish George?

[@springerspanielful]

The average trout weighs around half a pound,however the average size increases as the season progresses.

[@chrishirai6813]

Do you use a split shot or any weight? And how long is your total leader?

[@springerspanielful]

I don't add any additional weight as it would interfere with the swim of the flies, leader is generally 12 to 14 feet long.

[@johnlaudenslager706]

Why 14' leader? Wouldn't 5' or so of 6# or 4# spinning line fish as well and be cheaper and easier? It's not like upstream dry fly fishing where you have to try to avoid lining the fish you are after.

[@springerspanielful]

As I explained in the video I already had a tapered leader attached..

[@mikelundrigan2285]

I always carry a net….find I lose fewer when I bring em in close to land em!

[@springerspanielful]

I despise nets,they seem to be forever in the way,although I do use them at times.

[@mikelundrigan2285]

Yes, they do tend to catch the bushes, etc.! I carry mine in a very narrow tube type bag with a shoulder strap, Cures the issue and keeps it handy! I avoid touching any fish I do not intend to keep, use haemostats to remove the hook with the trout still in the net and in the water! If I am going to release it, I want to maximize the chances for survival! Otherwise it is one for the table! Everyone has their own preference on this!

[@kevd2908]

Class ☘

[@springerspanielful]

Good man Kev.

[@kevd2908]

@@springerspanielful do sell flies George?

[@springerspanielful]

@@kevd2908 I do indeed..

[@kevd2908]

@@springerspanielful great , can you send me your email address so I can order some flies from you please ?