My top 8 flies for July on the amazing Welsh Dee

Flies for July feature image

June has gone, so it’s time to reveal my trout and grayling…

“Go-To” flies for July fishing on the Welsh Dee

i.e. fly patterns that I have found to consistently catch fish.

If you are new to fly fishing, these flies will help you catch trout and grayling on the Welsh Dee. Also, they should be helpful to the more seasoned anglers who plan to fish the Welsh Dee for the first time.

Before we dive in…

It’s worth highlighting the natural flies that are likely to be seen on the Welsh Dee in July.

Upwinged flies:

Sedges :

Others :

Based on the variety of natural flies, you’d think to catch trout and grayling that an extensive selection of artificial fly patterns would be required.

However, after analysing my detailed fishing log, I was surprised that selecting the best-performing flies for July wasn’t too difficult, because….  

75% of all the fish I have caught in July were on three wet flies: 

My top 3 performing flies for July on the Welsh Dee

  • 30% on WMB #12
  • 25% on Pearl-ribbed March Brown spider #14
  • 20% on Black Hopper #14

Therefore, if it’s not clear what trout and grayling are feeding on, my recommendation would be to start with a three-fly cast on a 3lb copolymer (point: size 12, WMB; middle dropper: size 14, black hopper; top dropper: size 14, pearl-ribbed March Brown spider). 

july fly selection welsh dee
Default team of wet flies for July

If you are new to fly fishing and want to fish just one fly on the Welsh Dee in July. Then it would have to be a…

WMB (size 12 or 14)

So, what is a WMB?

It’s nothing fancy…

It’s just a weighted March Brown Spider pattern, but it is special because it’s a great all-rounder.

Weighted March brown spider - flies for July

WMB (weighted March Brown)

  • Hook:     #12 Kamasan B170
  • Thread:   Rusty orange UNI 8/0
  • Underbody: Fine lead wire
  • Body:        Hare’s ears fibres of varying length & colour
  • Rib:             Fine oval gold tinsel
  • Hackle:      Brown partridge neck feather

I came across this fly pattern in the May 1997 edition of Trout & Salmon magazine. In an article entitled ‘Make Mine A WMB’ by Bob Nunn. Who claimed…

“one fly is usually all you need for river fishing”

Intrigued by the article, I tied a few and started experimenting with it on the Welsh Dee and, for over 20 years, I’ve not been without a few in my fly box.

It also works well on the other northwest river I fish, where it has been the downfall of plenty of trout and grayling.

In addition to the many trout and grayling, I’ve caught quite a few Welsh Dee sea trout during the day on the WMB. 

Sea trout from BoD - Aug 21 fishing diary
A sea trout caught on a WMB – flies for July
Pearl ribbed March Brown spider trout flies for april
PR March Brown spider

Pearl-ribbed March Brown Spider

  • Hook:     Kamasan B170 #14
  • Thread:  Tan UNI-Thread 8/0
  • Body: Fox squirrel dubbing
  • Rib:         Uni Pearl Mylar (1/32)
  • Hackle:   Brown partridge neck feather
Black hopper wet fly
Black Hopper wet fly pattern

Black Hopper

  • Hook:      Kamasan B170 size 14
  • Thread:   Black UNI-Thread 8/0
  • Body: Black seal fur substitute
  • Rib:          Uni Pearl Mylar (1/32)
  • Legs:       Black pheasant tail
  • Hackle:   Black (natural) hen

Where best to fish the wet flies in July?

When the Welsh Dee is at its summer level, it’s best to focus your fly fishing efforts in the following sections of the river:

  • the fast water leading into deep pools; 
  • shady areas, particularly under overhanging trees & bushes;
  • alongside weed beds, large rocks, ledges, and snags;
  • the tails of pools, especially in the evening.
Brown trout caught using a black gnat fly
A beautiful trout caught on a spider

Now let’s consider what to do if the above fails to catch trout and grayling.

Dry flies for July on the Welsh Dee:

When trout and grayling are preoccupied with taking dry flies, the best approach is to try and match the hatch.

If you cannot match the hatch, then tying a small Grey Duster dry fly onto a tapered leader should fool a few trout and/or grayling.

Grey Duster fly - Parachute style
Grey Duster dry fly

Grey Duster

  • Hook – HENDS BL354 (#14 to 20)
  • Thread – Grey 8/0
  • Tail – Badger cock fibres
  • Wing Post – single CDC feather
  • Body – Rabbit underfur
  • Hackle – Badger cock

Often during July, you will spot fish sipping something indistinguishable from the surface. When this happens, I find it best to try either a small Griffith’s Gnat or a Black Gnat dry fly pattern.

Griffith's Gnat fly stage 4
Griffith’s Gnat Dry fly

Griffith’s Gnat

  • Hook:      Kamasan B170 size 18
  • Thread:   Black UNI 8/0
  • Body:      Peacock herl
  • Hackle:   palmered Grizzle cock
My top 8 flies for July on the amazing Welsh Dee Discover the top 8 flies for July fishing on the Welsh Dee, proven to catch trout and grayling. Elevate your fly fishing game and reel in your biggest catch yet with our expert tips...
Black Gnat dry flies for July

Black Gnat

  • Hook – Kamasan B100 (#16 to 20)
  • Thread – Black 8/0
  • Wing post – Cream Antron yarn
  • Body – Black 8/0 head
  • Thorax – black dubbing
  • Hackle – black cock

To help track these small flies on the river, it’s sometimes beneficial to fish them behind a larger sight fly, such as an Elk Hair Caddis.

On bright sunny days when the river is low and crystal clear, you might find that dry and wet fly fishing fails to catch fish.

So, let’s now consider what you might do to avoid a blank…

Nymph flies for July:

Euro / Czech nymphing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea…

However, it’s worth having in your armoury because when the fish are feeding on the riverbed, it’s the best way to catch them.

Consider the following scenario…

 after great sport on wet or dry flies in the morning, the river turns dead from mid-day until the sun starts to set

How do you fill in the hours until the evening rise?

  • Go to the pub for a long lunch and a rest, which is not a bad shout.

Or have your lunch on the river bank and…

  • Search for where the fish have gone.

If it’s the latter, you will need to switch to nymphing the fast runs and deep shady pockets of water, where you will often find trout and grayling feeding on small nymphs. 

Over years of practice, I’ve found fishing a couple of small nymphs (#16 or #18) above a heavy (ca. 4-5mm) tungsten bead point nymph works well.

grayling flies for December - purple collar PTN
#12 Purple collar PTN with 4mm silver TB

Normally, one of the following simple nymphs (size 16 or 18) will catch trout and grayling…

  • Pheasant tail nymph with a 1.5mm copper tungsten bead
  • Peacock quill nymph with a 1.5mm copper tungsten bead
  • Red nymph with a 1.5mm gold tungsten bead
Pheasant tail nymph - Hare's Ear
Pheasant tail flies for July

Pheasant tail nymph

  • Hook –    HENDS BL354 #16 & 18
  • Bead – 1.5 tungsten (copper, neutral)
  • Thread – Rusty Orange UNI-Thread 8/0
  • Tail – Ginger cock
  • Body – Pheasant tail fibres
  • Rib – Fine copper wire
  • Thorax – Hare’s Ear dubbing
Quill nymph - hares ear colla
1.5 mm TB Peacock Quill Nymphs

Peacock Quill nymph

  • Hook – Kamasan B100 size 16 or 18
  • Bead – 1.5 tungsten bead
  • Tail – Coq De Leon fibres
  • Thread – Grey UNI-Thread 8/0
  • Body – Stripped peacock quill
  • Thorax – Light Hare’s Ear dubbing
Black nymph flies for July
1.5 mm TB Black Nymph

Black nymph

  • Hook – HENDS jig #16 & 18
  • Bead – 1.5 black tungsten
  • Body – Black UNI-Thread 8/0
  • Tag – Pink thread 8/0
  • Thorax – Black Glister dubbing

To learn more about fishing on the Welsh Dee during July I’ve listed a selection of additional blog posts…

I hope you’ve found this post on flies for July interesting, and if you’re interested in fishing the Welsh Dee, it has some good Day Ticket water for fly fishing

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Jack
3 years ago

Hi Andrew, new to all this so lots to learn. Hoping to fish Bangor on Dee next week. With the WMB do you buy a fly like that or just weight it yourself?

Andrewoverend1
3 years ago
Reply to  Jack

Hi Jack,

I tie them myself. Not come across weighted versions for sale.

Good luck at BoD.

Andrew

Rodney Dibble
2 years ago

WMB
you say primrose thread but show one with a RED head ! Which should it be?
About to try them out on the Dee at Llangollen next week.. Thanks for all your advice and the best of blogs.

Andrewoverend1
2 years ago
Reply to  Rodney Dibble

Hi Rodney,

It should be rusty orange thread – I’ve corrected the post now.

Good luck, Andrew

Paul Vizard
1 year ago

Many thanks Andrew, most useful articles that I look forward to receiving.

Philip Kelly
1 year ago

Fished the Dee yesterday using the wet fly team you suggested for July. Had 4 on the black hopper and one on the pearly MB. Thanks for your efforts in putting these articles together. Much appreciated.

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