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Videos by Nick Thomas

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Taff 363: Once a zombie river, now alive, but for how long?

The Taff was once a dead river, seen only as a convenient way to dispose of industrial waste. Now it is one of the finest mixed fishing rivers in Britain and is a place of peace and calm for anglers a...

Wild is Where You Find It

A year on an urban river. Fly fishing the river Taff for trout and grayling from January to December 2022.

Graveyard & Grayling

A short October morning session on the Taff below the cathedral at Llandaff.

No-Rise Nymph

This is a great generic imitation for searching the water when the fish aren’t rising. The small jig-off bead adds a little weight and flips the nymph to fish with the point up.

Glass Spider

Fly tying and fishing a simple but effective pattern. A partridge hackle tied against a jig-off glass bead gives the impression of an air bubble at the head of a hatching insect with unfolding legs an...

Headbanger Cased Caddis

Using a tungsten bead for the head and weight allows the pattern to be tied on small hooks making it an ideal pattern for fishing on a dropper or in a duo.

74-Worm

Tying a simple and effective pattern with a hidden tungsten bead.
Translucent nymph skin wrapped over pink body glass and a pink tungsten bead make a realistic worm imitation for fishing when rivers ...

TAFF 2021: A year on a suburban river

Fishing from January to December on my local river as it winds its way through the northern suburbs of Cardiff.

Lightsaber Perdigon

Tying and fishing a great grayling bug. DMC metallic embroidery thread and organza fibres are a great combination for tying perdition patterns.

Blushing Bug

A simple but very effective grayling bug that comes to life when wet.
Pale organza ribbon wrapped over a fluorescent pink thread body changes its appearance completely when wet with the colour of the...

DMC Nymph

A simple but versatile stone clinger pattern. This pattern can be tied in a wide range of colours using dubbing ribbed with metallic DMC embroidery thread to match different species of stone clinger n...

Line & Cord Bug

Tying and fishing a useful small bug using old fly line and elastic bead cord. If you've got some old used fly line here's a way to make it catch fish again.

Buzzcut Caddis

Tying a caddis/sedge dry fly with just one material. Tied with just poly yarn fibres the Buzzcut is very simple to tie - just tie in bunches of poly yarn and then cut away everything that isn't a cadd...

Banana Bug

Tying a useful grayling and trout fly - it's easier than it looks. Wrapping and folding nymph skin and organza ribbon together makes a very nice pupa imitation.

Polyknot Caddis

Tying a great caddis/sedge pattern with just poly yarn and ribbon. This is a great fly for fishing on its own as a dry fly or in a duo with a nymph tied to the eye of the caddis.

Siligum Caddis

Fly tying and fishing a cased caddis imitation. Glass embroidery beads make an easy neat head and silicone legs add a bit of movement on this one.

Season Starter

A great trout nymph for March and April. A quick easy Large Dark Olive or March Brown imitation for the beginning of the trout season.

Glove Grub

Tying a grayling grub from a rubber glove in 3 minutes. A quick easy tie using the rolled edge of an old pink washing up glove and a bit of dubbing.

Spiral Shrimp

A great looking shrimp that looks complicated but is really easy. With lots of internal structure, just like a natural shrimp, this one looks complicated to tie. It’s not.

Fly Line Pupa

Recycling an old fly line to catch fish again. Running short of fly tying materials? Got and old worn out fly line? Use the thin part at the back of the line to tie this easy caddis pupa pattern.

Ha'penny Hooker

A generic nymph imitation tied with just 10cm/4in of organza ribbon. Easier to tie than a pheasant tail nymph this one will catch just as many fish and last until you lose it or the hook wears out. Al...

Braid Body Emerger

Fly tying a simple extended body emerger using hollow braid fly line backing, A very simple to tie emerger.

Loop Head Caddis

Tying a cased caddis imitation without burning your fingers. A small black glass embroidery bead on a furled loop of floss makes a neat and easy to make head for this cased caddis imitation.

Where Nature May Heal

Fly fishing my local river in a strange year. I'm lucky to have the river Taff only a mile away from home. The river became a place of escape for many people in 2020.

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