I have occaisonally fished with a weighted gold ribbed hares ear nymph on some lochs, Loch of the Blue Shrimp springs to mind. But these occasions are very few and very far between. Also have vague recollection a fly called the Bandy Cather tied by an ex-member on here if I remember correctly the fly was something like a weighted pearly pennel muddler.
Typically if I want to fish a bit deeper I would put on an intermediate or sometimes sinking line or use a sinking leader.
Got to wondering if anyone else uses weighted or bead-head flies on lochs ever or even frequently?
I use a bead head now and again early season on some lochs. The small humungus works well early season as do many other downsized lures like the Ace of Spades, Viva etc. I suppose it can also work as an attractor and possibly brings fish to the middle dropper?
I also fish a weighted tail fly on a floater from the bank in some lochs. I often fish a pattern called the 'Leven Stick' which I weight with a lead underbody, no bead for this one.
They are something worth trying Robbie.
We had a lot of fish in Sutherland last spring on bead heads, mostly black and olive woolly buggers and a size 14 black Pennell with a red glass bead. The Pennell my Nephew used was that chewed up, it ended up just a bead and a bit of thread on the shank, it still caught well.
I've also done well in Welsh hill llyns on a grhe with a copper bead and centipede legs.
Kev.
Gold head Whickham fancy is easily my most productive fly. I've had brownies take them while they are sinking.
Also a gold head Peter Ross was wildly effective on the Barra lochs. Wee gold head black pennel flys also work well on my local hill lochs and for the coarse fish in the Endrick.
I give flies like the humungus a swim quite regular and have caught lots of good fish on them. I sometimes use damsels and tadpoles with a gold head or eyes as well. The fulling mill weighted freshwater shrimp can be deadly too
For years I would exclusively fish weighted nymphs on long leaders during march-mid may. Pheasant tail nymph and shrimp patterns mostly. Purely to get the flies deep as in my experience sinking fly lines are a complete waste of time :worms
Nowadays the only time I would really use them is in flat calms, when it is difficult to cast properly. I discovered purely by chance that small weighted czech nymphs are very successful when cast at rising fish that are taking nymphs sub surface in a flat calm.
As soon as I discovered that big dry flies can rise fish in pretty much any condition, I haven't used them as much though.
Quote from: Roobarb on February 05, 2020, 02:09:57 PM
I often stuck a size 8 or 6 (normal Kamasan B175's, not longshank) woolly bugger on the point. Black with a silver bead or orange with a gold bead (I doubt it matters what colour bead!) were my usual ones. I tended to do more of this early season although the orange one was useful in burns and bits of tidal water all year and got me most of the few Uist grilse I had.
I might have to give an orange woolly bugger a through on the Ythan sometime, the season opened on Tuesday.