Our pick of reservoir trout flies

With little natural fly life to be seen at this time of year, reservoir anglers are most successful fishing lower in the water with stimulator patterns. Matching the natural hatch becomes more important as the temperature warms, but the attack triggering lure patterns are probably the best bet currently. Once again, using gold bead and lead head variants on classic patterns ensures that the fly fishes in the lower levels, where the fish are most likely to be encountered. To this end, most anglers tend to fish sinking or intermediate lines as well. Fritz lures are always a good choice, and the marabou wing and tails on the Cormorants, Dawsons and Cats give an attractive pulsation movement when stripped back slowly. The ever present Orange blob may resemble nothing in particular, but is a must in the arsenal of any reservoir angler.