{"id":11781,"date":"2021-06-24T16:24:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T16:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newffft.sbp-creative-dev.co.uk\/?post_type=flybox&p=11781"},"modified":"2021-06-24T16:26:33","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T16:26:33","slug":"pilks","status":"publish","type":"flybox","link":"https:\/\/flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk\/flybox\/pilks\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilks"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know it\u2019s a Gold-headed Hare\u2019s Ear, but the West Country grayling don\u2019t know that. Pilks seemed an appropriate name, as there is a lovely story behind why David Pilkington has come to put so much faith in it.<\/h3>\n<\/div>
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When all is said and done, analysing the flies which we use, as opposed those which have become vogue, most will embody elements of the traditional. We might use different coloured beads, and a slightly adjusted dubbing blend, and add a smidgen of that latest fad, or this indisputable grayling and trout elixir\u2026 but when we get right down to it I admit my box is littered with, in reality, flies like simple Red Tags \u2013 which in reality are weighted, sub-surface, sleek Zulus with less hackle.<\/p>\n

Pheasant Tails? You can put a shiny back on them and an orange collar, maybe a different coloured bead or rib\u2026 but it is still a Pheasant Tail.<\/p>\n

As for Hare\u2019s Ears, well you can call them this Bug or that, but it is still a Hare\u2019s Ear.<\/p>\n

However, this particular combination of partridge and hare\u2019s fur does not only seem in sympathy with each other (plus the gold, too) suggests so many of the local species \u2013 cased caddis, shrimp stonefly, larger upwings \u2013 and it also looks attractive, rather than discordant.<\/p>\n

David\u2019s approach to fishing his GRHE is refreshingly uncluttered. Using a coloured, greased-up, Czech-style indicator, a single fly is cast upstream on around three feet of 6x tippet and just left to trundle downstream, whilst he maintains control by raising his rod tip and keeping things taut and his eyes alert\u2026 the personification of upstream nymph fishing \u2026and my! Does he know his stream!<\/p>\n

On several occasions David halted and just said, \u201cthere will be grayling there, and probably there” (pointing to likely areas). He also pointed out some places that I would have waded past\u2026 and, sure enough, there were grayling there, too.<\/p>\n

One fabulous illustration of what I am trying to allude to, was when we fished a weir together (a true grayling-magnet of a place). Me, all bravado and French Nymph confidence, and Pilks with his knowledge, and a simple, singular Hare’s Ear. He swiftly \u201cnailed\u201d a cracking fish – the best of the two days – right where I had just been wading! Some angler is David Pilkington, and one of the very nicest people in fly fishing. Everyone could learn a thing or two from him.<\/p>\n

Pilks’ pattern originated with Yorkshire’s John Roberts \u2013 he of the Illustrated Dictionary of Trout Flies fame \u2013 and was used to devastating effect during the annual Yorkshire Fly Fishers v Piscatorial match on the Wiltshire Avon. The Northern lads used to annihilate the opposition, and this pattern hails from a time when Pilks was involved in the annual ‘beano’.<\/p>\n

As the Americans love to say: Tie one on!<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Pilks<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Hook: FM 35020 Grab Gape, sizes 10, 12 or 14.<\/li>\n
  • Bead: 3mm gold tungsten (or 3.5mm if you want a depth-charge!)<\/li>\n
  • Thread: Texstreme 14\/0, pale yellow.<\/li>\n
  • Tail: 4-5 brown partridge fibres.<\/li>\n
  • Rib: Sybai medium flat gold.<\/li>\n
  • Body: Well mixed hare\u2019s mask fur, dubbed.<\/li>\n
  • Hackle: Brown partridge – a couple of turns.<\/li>\n
  • Thorax (optional): Dark\/black Ice Dub – at junction between hackle and bead).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>[step-by-step]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":7961,"featured_media":11782,"template":"","tags":[120,256,787,974,975,976,977],"flybox_caegories":[81],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPilks - Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Pilkington's hare's ear and partridge gold-head nymph for grayling fishing on the Arundell Arms waters in Devon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk\/flybox\/pilks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pilks - Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David Pilkington's hare's ear and partridge gold-head nymph for grayling fishing on the Arundell Arms waters in Devon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk\/flybox\/pilks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-24T16:26:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Colour-Fly.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk\/flybox\/pilks\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk\/flybox\/pilks\/\",\"name\":\"Pilks - 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