the Black Spider
The Black Spider (#16) was my most consistent fly pattern of 2018. For me, it was a season of small sized patterns and Black Spider type patterns did well overall, but the Black Spider itself was the most consistent. This proved especially true across settled water conditions which were present on most of my fishing trips this season. It was an unusually hot and dry summer, and whether these conditions effected the trouts feeding behaviour, in that they locked onto the smaller foodstuffs or not, I just don’t know. But certainly the smaller sized patterns worked well this season. It will be interesting to see if this continues during the 2019 season if that proves to be as hot and dry as 2018.
What did the trout take the Black Spider to be? Well certainly black chironomids is one option, small black snails another. Perhaps the trout just took the pattern as it looked to be alive, some unidentifiable small black insect. A drowned terrestrial maybe. Certainly the most effective retrieve was a very, very slow one if any, and most times I let the wave action move the Black Spider for me.
A really simple pattern to tie, and I would recommend one or two take a place in your box for the brown trout.
Black Spider – Body: black floss or thread Hackle: black hen
SoftHackles 