How to tie and fish 11 North Country spider flies that are found in my fly box

Nearly 50 years on, I’ve tied hundreds of spiders and caught hundreds of trout and grayling on North Country Spider flies.

Contrary to what their name suggests, these flies are designed to imitate aquatic insects and not spiders. Some fly patterns were designed to imitate specific flies, but more often than not, they just represent a general impression of emerging, stillborn or drowned flies.

In essence, spiders are a subcategory of wet flies consisting of little more than a thread body and a sparse mobile soft feather hackle (1 to 2 turns).

Spider patterns are effective at catching fish because the soft hackle produces a life-like movement when buffeted by moving water, thus imitating the slender-bodied emerging flies and nymphs. 

If you’re beginning a fly tying and fishing journey there are a couple of reasons to recommend spider flies:

• They are simple to tie, and
• Are effective initiations of many flies. 

So, what spider patterns do I regularly fish….

Deadly spider fly patterns to try:

You could fill several fly boxes tying the seemingly endless variety of North Country Spiders.  To the beginner, the bewildering variety of spider fly patterns can make it difficult to decide which patterns to choose.

Therefore, I’ve pulled out the North Country flies that, over the years, have become…

my ‘workhorse’ spider flies…

That imitates most insects I’m likely to encounter on the river throughout the year.

First up, is the…

March Brown Spider

Without a doubt, the March Brown Spider is…

Top of my spider pattern list…

Because on the rivers I fish, it consistently catches trout and grayling throughout the year. Also, during the sea trout season on the Welsh Dee, it’s good daytime sea trout fly.

I believe its all-around success comes from it being a good general imitation of a variety of hatching olive nymphs.

For me, not having any March Brown Spiders in my fly box is akin to…

forgetting my fly rod!

Well, maybe not quite that bad but it’s up there!

My fly box always contains two March Brown Spider patterns. First the…

Gold-ribbed March Brown Spider pattern:

This pattern is best fished early and late in the season, particularly when trout and grayling are feeding on ascending olive nymphs.

Second up, is the…

Pearl-ribbed March Brown Spider pattern:

This pattern comes into its own as the weather warms and when trout and grayling are focused on taking emerging flies.

Next on the list is a… 

Black Spider Patterns:

I also fish a variant of black magic spider containing hopper legs, which is deadly when fished wet on the middle dropper or the point.

Like the March Brown spider, both these black flies will catch sea trout during the day.

Waterhen Bloa Spider (pearl butt) fly pattern:

In the surface layers of the river, this straggly-bodied soft hackle fly is a great imitation of a member of the olive family struggling to break free from the surface and hatch.

It usually performs best on the Welsh dee from March to May but will catch fish when olives are hatching throughout the season.

Partridge and Orange spider pattern

Considered to be an imitation for small stonefly nymphs, it catches trout from March onwards and grayling through the winter months.  I prefer to dead drift this spider it in the surface film

Snipe and Purple spider pattern:

Black and Peacock spider pattern:

The black and peacock spider is a simple fly to tie and it’s worth having a few in your fly box. For me, it comes into its own when there is a lack of fly life on the river and has caught some lovely trout and grayling over the years on the River Ribble and Welsh Dee.

Modern ‘Bling’ Spider flies

In recent years the development of a whole host of new fly tying materials has stimulated the imagination of fly fishers to design and test many new soft hackle flies.

A couple of years ago I came across an interesting fishing article “Sewin in the Sunshine” by Neil Darling (Flyfishing and Flytying magazine March 2018 ed.), which describes a series of soft hackle flies ‘Bling Spiders’. In addition to sea trout, grayling and trout found these Bling spiders irresistible.

I have tied and fished a few of these patterns on the Welsh Dee and River Ribble, where they have caught me grayling, trout, and sea trout when traditional flies have failed. Below are three patterns that are now permanently in my fly box.

Tips for tying North Country spider patterns

Hooks – standard, lightweight fly hooks (e.g. #16 & #14 Kamasan B170 or Fulling Mill All-Purpose 31550) are OK for tying spider flies on. However, it’s better to use a classic spider hook (e.g. #16 & #14 Partridge spider hook L3AS). 

In the summer, on heavily fished rivers I had more success fishing spiders tied on fine wire hooks (e.g.  #18 VARIVAS 2200BL).

Tying thread – if you can find it, Pearsall’s Gossamer Silk thread is the way to go. However, any reasonable quality fly tying thread will be fine (e.g. Semperfli – Pure Silk, Uni-Thread 8/0)

Hackle feathers – when starting small packs of loose feathers (i.e. hen, partridge, grouse) will allow you to tie plenty of spider flies. To continue your fly tying journey, you will need to add snipe, starling, and woodcock wings to your list of hackle material.    

The secret to tying effective spider patterns is to avoid overdressing the fly and keep them simple, slim, and mobile.

Less is MORE with tying spiders.

Especially the hackles, which need to be sparse i.e. 1 to 2 turns of a good quality soft hackle.

Tie your hackle feather so that the fibres splay out like the spokes of an umbrella. This will enable the fly to catch even gentle currents and add essential life-like movement to the fly when fished.

Body dubbing – keep it sparse to maintain a slim spider fly profile. I prefer to use fine natural fur dubbings (e.g. mole, fox ear, hare’s mask). However, fine synthetic dubbing is also great (e.g. Partridge SLF standard dubbing) for tying spiders.

Fly fishing equipment for spider fishing:

Spider fishing rod:

I use a 9ft #5 weight rod with a medium action for all my spider fishing, on small to large rivers. However, I would quite happily use fly rods in the range of 8 to 10 ft and weights from #3 to #5.  

Avoid tip or fast action rods because often you will have to present a short line and it’s easier to do this with a medium or softer action rod.

Spider fishing Reel:

For spider fishing, I would recommend a small, lightweight reel matched to the fly line weight. There are plenty of reasonably priced reels on the market that will do. Look for one that has a smooth easy to adjust drag-system.

Fly line for spider fishing:

At the moment, I’m using an Airflo SuperDri WF5 as my spider fishing line. However, most branded lines are of good quality, therefore, if you are starting pick an inexpensive one.  Ideally, choose one with a long front taper because this will aid delicate fly presentation.

Leader & Tippet Set-up for spider fishing:

For my standard three spider fly cast, I use a 9ft monofilament knotless tapered leader (e.g. 9ft Leeda Profil 5X – 3lbs) that I cut down to 5ft at the butt (thick end). Then using a 3lb tippet (Maxima Ultragreen) I add two droppers (6” long) spaced 3ft apart.

For a two-fly cast, I just cut the leader down to 7ft, and when using a single spider fly I use the 9ft as is. 

In all cases, the leader should be degreased with Fullers Earth to help it sink. If the spiders are fishing too deep, I add Mucilin grease to the butt section of the tapered leader, which keeps the spiders closer to the surface film.

Where are North Country spiders fished?

North Country Spiders were designed for fishing the fast-flowing rivers of northern England for trout. Today, however, you will find anglers fishing spiders on freestone rivers, chalk streams, lakes, or lochs across the world.

Spider fishing is a technique ideally suited to fishing the riffles and runs of rivers and streams. In these places, there is sufficient current to impart movement into these soft-hackle flies and thus imitate accending nymphs and emergers struggling to break free of the surface film.

On the Welsh Dee at Llangollen, a few good places to practice spider fly fishing include:

How to fish spider flies for trout and grayling:

Spider fishing techniques

If you are a beginner, the easiest way to fish a team of spiders is to use the ‘Across and Down’ method.

‘Across and Down’ Spider fishing tips:

• At the head of the water you plan to fish, take a position facing downstream at 45 degrees.
• Cast across the flow and let the flow swing your flies down and around.
• Ensure your rod is not parallel with the water but held up at an angle (c.a. 30 degrees). This produces an arc of slacker line which absorbs the impact of the take and thus more hook-ups.
• Let the flies dangle at the end of the swing for a few seconds.
• Then slowly lift the rod tip to move the flies upriver, which can produce an induced take.
• If you feel a take, a simple lift of the rod to keep in contact with the fish.   
• Take a step downriver and repeat the process until you reach the end of the run.

The advantage of the above method is that it’s easy for beginners but it does have some disadvantages:

• The spiders don’t move naturally downriver but swing around in the current. Therefore, you are likely to catch the smaller unwise fish.
• Your upstream position is likely to spook large fish.
• Fish tend to pluck at the fly, which results in missed takes. 

Therefore, once the simple ‘across and down’ technique is mastered, you should progress to the more advanced methods.

To significantly improve your chances of catching larger fish with the ‘Across and Down” approach you need to modify it with…

The Reach Cast:

The purpose of the Reach Cast is to lay the fly line on the water in a way that allows the flies to dead-drift downriver.

The Reach Cast is a modified overhead cast where before the line lands on the water you move the rod upstream and allow the line to run through the rings, so the flies don’t jerk back. 

At the end of the cast, the rod tip is pointing upstream. From that position, you move the rod-tip downriver at the same speed as the current to dead-drift the spider over the fish.

The following video is a good demonstration of the Reach Cast:

Upstream spider fishing:

Fishing spiders upstream, as you would a nymph, is very effective but also the most challenging method.

Select a fish-holding spot, cast a straight short line (10 to 15ft) into it, and raise your rod tip to pick up the slack line off the water as the spiders drift towards you. The take that might be a boil as the fish takes the spider just under the surface or the fly line might stop or dart upstream. 

A brightly coloured braided loop helps you quickly pick out the end of the fly line and detect takes.

Upstream spider fishing is challenging because of the short drifts and the many casts required to cover all potential fish-holding spots, as you fish upriver. However, once mastered the rewards are well worth it.

The following video features Oliver Edwards demonstrating the art of upstream wet / spider fishing.

If you are interested in practising fly fishing spider flies for trout and grayling on the Welsh Dee there is some excellent Day Ticket water available.

Further reading on North Country Spiders

If you are interested in learning more about North Country Spiders there are two books I would recommend reading.

• The North Country Fly: Yorkshire’s Soft Hackle Tradition by Robert L. Smith.
• A Guide to North Country Flies and How To Tie Them: 140 Flies with Step-by-Step Photographs by Mike Harding.

Finally, I hope you have enjoyed this article on how to tie and fish spider flies and it has stimulated you to go spider fishing on your local rivers.