Brassed Off by Dave Wiltshire
Articles — By Alex Cerveniak on September 29, 2009 9:38 am
Love it or hate it, the inevitable need to go deeper and find the fish, is married with the arrival of colder (and often wetter) weather. Whilst it may not be the dry-fly fishers’ idea of fun, big and heavy, lead-packed nymphs are often the answer. Fished in a variety of styles, they can be hugely effective. Given running water of suitable depth and flow, short line, ‘Czech –Nymphing’ with a team of these heavy bugs can be a super-productive method – often allowing good numbers of fish to be brought to the net. However, when faced with fluctuating depths and speed of the flow, this style can become a more of a hindrance than a winning technique. Plus there are times when the fish demand something smaller, but at depth. So it’s time to start changing patterns and approach.
When fishing small pockets and fast riffles, you need a fly that can sink quickly, exhibit a ‘buggy’ profile and retain some movement to suggest legs or pulsing gills. All of this, and it needs to be crammed into a range of bugs from size 14 all the way down to the sub 20 patterns. A challenge? Well there’s a simple answer in the form of the ‘Brassie’. A simple pattern with few materials, the Brassie and its variants are easy to tie. With the body formed from wraps of wire, it has ballast and profile combined as one. Most of all, the slim, smooth body helps the fly to cut through the water, getting to the bottom where the fish are likely to be feeding. Dubbed bodies trap air and have much greater resistance as they travel through the water – limiting the time your fly spends in the killing zone – and this is time you can’t afford to lose if you are to maximise your chances in fast, deep streamy water. The Brassie avoids this, making it ideal for getting down deep quickly.
A well-trusted pattern across the world, the Brassie has become a hugely popular nymph and must take many, many thousands of fish across the globe each year. We all have our own interpretation of a pattern, and by experimenting with materials and styles, we may develop a variation on a theme that brings confidence and elevates our approach and, hopefully catch rate, to a new level.
Taking the concept of the Brassie, here are my thoughts when choosing your materials.
Tags: Ants, Beads, Beginner, Dave Wiltshire, Dry Fly, Dubbing, Green, Hatches, Intermediate, Nymph, Patterns, Peacock, Peacock Herl, Soft Hackle, Tan, Trout
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13 Comments
Very nice work. I love the wide range of colors you tied those in. Simple fly that still works. I like to tie these for kids to use under bobbers on spinning rods, for the same reason that they get down quick. Kids need quick since they often want to just reel the line in before the fly gets down.
This is a great artical, simple fly to tie, and brassies are great for the big bows here in British Columbia. To keep your price per fly down try tying these on Togen Scud hooks.
Looks like some great general purpos nymphs. I think I’ll spend some time tying a few this winter for use next summer.
Thanks and have a good day
Paul
Thanks for the comments. It really is simple; but very, very effective.
Dave.
nice article, flies and sbs Dave. brassies in all their variants are a sure bet. thanks !
cheers,
marc
Me gustan mucho sus montajes, por ello voy a montar unas cuantas brassies para usarlas con un muelle pues creo que pueden funcionar muy bien.Me gustó sobre todo el montaje del abdomen con un único hilo de cobre. Cuerpo y brinca con el mismo material,muy hábil, si señor. Un saludo desde Galicia (Spain)
Gracias! Espero que funcione bien para usted.
Dave.
another example of traditional patterns with a fresh look.thanks again dave,those brassie’s would knock grandad’s sox off. we are blessed with the materials available to us. your articles give me much inspiration.
Thanks Dave!! A great looking nymph that I know will be a killer here in the Sierras!
Thanks folks. Try it in very small sizes with micro-gauge wire. Can be very effective!
~Dave
Hi Dave,
I love these flies. Wondering what beads you are using? Would love to use some of those colors in my ties. avril
Outstanding photography and excellent instructions. I would like a little more info on how you fish them.
thanks. I was looking for a pattern like this that would work right now!