Hatches & knots
Know the hatch, tie it on
Our sample hatch calendar for a temperate trout river, and the knot card every new member gets first.
Hatch calendar
What hatches, month by month
A simple guide to the insects trout feed on through the year, and the flies that go in that month’s box.
Spring
Mar
Early stoneflies
Stonefly nymph, black spider
Apr
Olives and march browns
Olive dun, hare's ear
May
Mayflies and caddis
Mayfly dun, elk hair caddis
Summer
Jun
Caddis at dusk
Elk hair caddis, emergers
Jul
Terrestrials
Beetles, ants, small hoppers
Aug
Hoppers and evening rise
Foam hopper, spent spinner
Autumn
Sep
Late caddis and craneflies
Cranefly, caddis pupa
Oct
Autumn olives
Olive dun, soft hackle
Nov
Small olives and midges
Olive dun, zebra midge, soft hackle
Winter
Dec
Midges on mild days
Midge pupa, small nymphs
Jan
Winter nymphing
Pheasant tail, stonefly nymph
Feb
First streamers
Woolly streamer, egg pattern
Sample calendar for a temperate trout river. Hatches change with your river, region and weather: edit each month for your water.
Knot guide
Tie the fly on: the improved clinch knot
The first knot card in every new member’s box. Practise it at home with a hook and some old tippet before your next trip.
Step 1
Thread the eye
Pass about 15 cm of tippet through the eye of the hook.
Step 2
Make the turns
Twist the tag end around the line five or six times.
Step 3
Back through the loop
Bring the tag end back through the small loop by the eye.
Step 4
Through the big loop
Tuck it through the big loop you just made. That is the improved part.
Step 5
Wet, pull, trim
Wet the knot, pull it snug against the eye and trim the tag end.
More knot cards in the boxes
Surgeon's knot
Blood knot
Perfection loop
Nail knot
Double turle
Knot cards are samples in this demo: replace them with your own guides or videos.
Olive dun
Dry · #16
Zebra midge
Nymph · #18
Soft hackle
Wet · #14
Pheasant tail
Nymph · #16
Woolly streamer
Streamer · #10
Elk hair caddis
Dry · #16
Nov
This month's fly box
November: olives and midges
Short days and cold water. This box is built around small olives on the surface at midday and midges and nymphs below it, tied on hooks from size 14 down to 20.
Season
Late autumn
Water
Rivers & streams
Flies
18 in six patterns
Tippet
5X spool, 30 m
Knot card
Improved clinch
Inside the box
- Hand-tied flies, three of each pattern (sample)
- A spool of tippet matched to the flies
- This month’s knot card
- A river tips page: where and when to fish them
The hatch letter
Next month’s flies and one river tip, once a month
A short email with the box coming next and one thing to try on the water. No spam, unsubscribe in one click.
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