Fishing North Country Spiders

Simple and sparsely dressed North Country Spiders and winged Clyde Style flies reign supreme on the fast flowing northern rocky streams of the U.k. and are equally adept at tempting even the weariest of trout from many river and stream further afield. To fish these Clyde Style and North Country flies in the right manor and to maximise their effectiveness a long soft action rod is required. A 10ft #4 rod is about perfect for controlling the flies in the current, this coupled with a floating line and a 10/12ft leader should see most situations covered. To this leader two 6” droppers are added about 3ft apart and the first dropper tied in about 5ft from the butt.
Casting is a gentle affair with a wider loop than normal; the flies are just flicked upstream with a short amount of line out of the top rod ring if you are fishing traditional style or at an angle of 45° and the rod held high if you are fishing downstream wets. The flies should land like thistle down on the water’s surface.
The angler should cover as much water as possible by keeping on the move and searching out any likely trout holding pocket water. The Clyde Style flies and well as the North Country flies can also be fished singularly to rising fish on any river as they perfectly imitate the emerging insects found throughout the season.