Cratg Rist tinds new ways to fish an old favourite. or many people, fly fishing and fly tying go hand in hand. It,s trale you can sometimes purchase flies a little cheaper, but for me, tling flies goes beyond simply re,stocktnga fly box. It provides iln {)})l)orllllllh' to create a fly to suit lhI r",,nclilion,s and possiblycrack the r:r-,,1 ltlsr fish tl"ratappearto be .:'. :r:' llit: r.r'

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mg pattern, tying your own flies can be a very rewarding and useful skill that can enhance any day or night on the water. TAILING TROUT On9 of the early season highlights in Tasmania is fishing to tailing trout in the many shallow lake margins. Dawn and dusk are reliable times, with overcast days prolonging the time fish spend in the shallows. Just seeing fish feed like this is an experience in itself. The need to catch larse numbersof fish is soon replaceawittr the challenge of catching just one of these browns, teasing you with their back and fins out of the water. Wtren they have their heads dovrn and tails up, flies can go completely unnoticed.

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Shollwr toiling shores ore greot plocesto float on EmergingWoolly Bugger.

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Tbe Ancug@Wool/y and would have surely spooked. At first I thought the floating fly would be totally ignored, until a snolt lifted out of the water and took it. Shocked, and unprepared for a surface take, I struck way too soon and pulled the fly from its mouth. Instead of being disappointed, my mind went into overdrive with the sudden realisation that I could modif\r the Woollv Bugger to make it look like a baittisir struggling at the surface. Back home, I went about modifuing this already proven pattern. The fly wasn't going to be made to float consistently by merely adding Gink. Some positive floatation was needed at the head to suspend it at the surface like a baitfish taking its last breath. With an earlier FlyLzfe article about Brett lVolfs 'Snail Thong' at the back of my mlr'd (FL#14), and after a few failed u'ater tests, the right amount of foam rvas tied in to hold the fly at the surface. much like an emerging nymph. Hence the name, Emerging Woolly Bugger. or E\\:B.

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SEA TROT]T After some promising results on tailing trout, the EWB was an obvious fly to try on trout actively feeding on whitebait. Trout often charge into a school of whitebait and then return to pick up any stunned or wounded bait. This would be the perfect time to use the EWB. Trout feeding on whitebait can be exciting and frustrating at the same time. They seem'to switch on and of{ feeding only when they are ready.

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range. My cast still managed to fall short by a couple of metres, so I gave the line a short pull to draw attention to the fly. The fish responded by charging over and taking the EWB without hesitation.

The sight of that trout rising to the fly was priceless. As the season proFIELD TEST gressed I continued to use the EWB h rtas srill darli rthen I sn'itched off with some interesting results. At times nn headlamp ar the lalie and waited the fly would lie flat on the surface frr the mornrng hght to come. The and was quite often refused. It defi, ras br'el hed dmpped srnce m_r-last nitely took more fish when it w€rssusrrn md drelr uere no egrls of tailing pended at 45 degrees. fish I hild betn *frcfiulg a lone trout Tyi"g i" a few winds of copper wire dftfliu; h*-fi$ cr urde all mornat the bend of the hook solved this q $hmfi$ndaercryooltl pmblem. pulling the buoyant marabou b wd? q: b rdm ensang under the surface on every cast.

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Keeping track of the fly in rough conditions also proved challenging. To make it easier to see, a piece of Hi-vis or CDC feather was pulled through a small hole in the foam head to form a visible post. Happy with the results, I introduced the concept of lhe EWB to some of my fishing mates during a trip into the Western Lakes. The tails out there can be quite large, and just the sight of these big fish in shallow water will bump up the heart rate. As I handed out the flies I was quietly confident that, with a little perseverance, it would do the trick. The fly didn't disappoint. Several big brovms were landed on the EWB.

HOOK: Kamasqn8170 # 10-B '? TAIL: Marabou ., BODY: Chenitle HACKLE: Palmeredouer bodg HEAD: 2 mmflatfoam POST: Hi-uisor CDC Some schools of bait are ignored, while others are hit with a savage attack. When they're refusing to eat the real thing, it makes you wonder what chance your fly has.

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Peter Broomhall has successfully targeted whitebait feeders for many years and was interested in the prospect of using the EWB to induce a surface take. Down on the river we soon found a fish feeding on bait in a flooded backwater, hidden under a canopy of willow trees. Peter chose to stay high on the bank to keep track of 'nervous its location by watching the water' given off by fleeing whitebait. Making my way down the steep bank amongst the willows to position myself on its beat, I rolled out a short cast in the confines of the backwater to set a rap uith a small light-brown EWB. The fish pushed a bow wave as it rlacle another attempt on the small school it had on the move up ahead r,,fme \\hen I sau' the nervous bait !n/r\1r1gdo\\-r'llo\\'ards me. I gave the flr a tuitch as rhe school passedthe f'lr Tlrr m:rut ururrediatell appeared Lr.hurii rhr fll and took it in a flash ": illrrr It fhra-shetlalxrut unot]gst dre rrrll,rlrs a.l]d ruhmergecl timber a-. I held r[ {.rlta sh,:,nhne- eventuallr' sulxluurg the sea mJu! at nrr feet and ) ,. rrrrirf l

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. Tie in 4 or 5 winds of medium copperwire afier the marabou. . Tie in the hackle,chenille and optional ribbing. . . Tie the chenilLeup to within 3 to 4 mm of the ege. . . Using a 10 mm strip of 2 mm foam att a small hole in thefoam and push it ouer the eye of the hooh. Tie in thefoam under the hook. . Cut anotherhole in thefoam aboue the eueoJ me nooz. Ixe m q prcce of Htuis or CDCfeather and pull it through the hole with a piece of wire. . Roll the foam bach ouer to

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releasing it soon after. Not a bad start for the E\Ats! The resident browns also took a liking to the fly when it was dropped in after an attack on a school of bait. Aggressive surface takes resulted as the EWB floated down-stream. Marabou is such a good material to impart life. Even when the fly is stationary, it comes to life with the slightest influence from the currents and waves. There may be more efficient ways to catch trout feeding on whitebait, but that explosive surface take is hard to beat. EVOLUTION The EWB evolved from a chance encounter and the exciting prospect of finding yet another fly that would see tailing fish lift their heads and take at the surface. To date it has performed best early in the season on trout that are actively feeding in the flooded lake margins or on baitfish schools. The fact that it floats near the surface out of the weeds can be a biq advan-

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qnd nbbtng. . Tiim post to length. tage. Not only does it stop the fly fouling on the rocks and weeds, it also makes it possible to move the fly to intercept an approaching fish. I would never suggestthat the EWB could replace the traditional Woolly Bugger or the way it is fished; it's just another way to represent a small baitfish, frog or tadpole holding near the surface. Best of all, you get to experience that magical moment of a trout rising to the fly. To me, that translates into a whole lot of fun Thinking beyond trout, a fly such as this could be an interesting candidate for a wide range of species in fresh and salt water. I will certainly be up a few larger versions for my nexl trip north to the tropics.