Quigley’s Film Critic

With much of South-eastern Australia still behind in the rainfall stakes it is looking like another season of lower water levels. Low clear conditions put the fish on high alert and some of our usual tactics are now spooking fish, often without us knowing.

Wading or even just blindly covering the water is enough to ruin a pool in these low conditions. All it takes is one fish — perhaps sitting on the shallower side in a small depression or patch of shade — and it’s off the moment you step in the water, before your first cast, alerting any other fish in the pool. You then fish the pool without a touch and move on. Repeat this a few times and the outing has been a bust, with dire reports of no fish — must be the cormorants.

Low, clear water will need a more cautious and thoughtful approach. Longer leaders, smaller flies and observing more to make the most of each cast. The fish are still there, you just need to work for them, which makes each one more satisfying.

Fly choice plays a big part. Smaller sizes raise less suspicion from the fish, with lower floating emerger style patterns having the edge over higher floating, fully hackled patterns.

The Film Critic is from the legendary Bob Quigley, a vastly influential tier who studied the behaviour of spring creek trout. His observation of fish targeting hatching mayflies at their most vulnerable — the point of hatching and those trapped in the surface tension — coined the term cripple, leading fly design away from imitating fully hatched adults and towards the struggling vulnerable insects.

The Film Critic was designed to represent the mayfly in the process of ‘hatching’, changing from its aquatic nymphal form to the winged terrestrial sub-imago or dun. Bob described it as a pattern with a two-in-one trigger, both a trapped and a hatching insect, while being easy for both the fish and the angler to see.

Curved hooks are best for emerger style patterns, allowing the rear of the fly to hang down under the surface. Tilting the shank down in the vice helps with the first few steps of this fly.

Start the Film Critic by laying a base of thread down the rear half of the shank. Then select a few soft feather barbs and tie them in, followed by a length of copper wire for the rib. Don’t be tempted to substitute the wire for something lighter. Along with reinforcing the fly, it provides weight to allow the pattern to hang down at the right angle below the surface.

Dub a thin abdomen up the shank. I prefer an absorbent fur, like possum, again to help the rear of the fly break through the surface tension and hang down. Then wind the rib forward over the dubbing and tie off.

Remount your hook in the vice so the top of the shank is horizontal and select some EP fibres for the wing. Any of the lighter weight synthetic fibres will do for this pattern. Amount will vary with hook size — a matchstick thickness for a size 12 is a good starting point, and at least two or three inches long.

Tie it in on top of the shank, leaving a short amount facing backwards over the abdomen and the rest facing forward over the hook eye. Then fold the forward-facing EP back over itself and tie down again. This builds up some bulk on top of the hook shank to give the impression of the mayfly in the process of bursting out of the nymphal shuck.

Choose a long hackle feather and tie it in at the base of the EP. Now hold the fibres vertically and wrap the hackle feather up the fibres in touching turns, then wind back down again forming a nice dense hackle. For this size 12, I have wrapped 11 times each way. Tie the hackle off securely and trim any excess. I find it easiest to hold the fibres up with the middle and ring finger of my left hand. This leaves the thumb and index finger free to help wind the hackle along with my other hand.

Select some synthetic dubbing, to reduce water absorption, and form a neat thorax over the front of the shank. Leave a little space behind the hook eye. Then, while holding the EP vertical again, stroke the hackle backwards several times before bringing it forward over the top of the body and tying it down firmly behind the hook eye.

To finish, hold the fibres up vertically again and build up a neat head just in front. This will hold it up forming the wing. Trim the wing about the length of the hook, then whip finish and trim your thread.

This is a great little pattern for challenging conditions. Change the size and colour to suit your local hatches. On quieter days a small all-black version can work well when terrestrials are active, while a larger size 10 with a black wing is worth having for the last light, Kossie Dun hatches. The dark wing provides a distinct silhouette, helping it to stand out in the low light conditions.

While everything is crossed for some good spring rain, inevitably we will face dry conditions again. Take your time on the water, observe a little longer, and fish lighter. Yes, you will cover less water but you may just see more fish.