Hook size also became a relevant issue; to aid floatant I used a size 18 Mustad C49s, whilst Warryn used a larger size 14 to give a little extra weight to the fly and hold it a little deeper in the surface film.  Warryn calls it ‘neutral buoyancy’.

The final and most important conclusion was that the foam versions were far superior, not only by attracting the trout’s attention but with floatation and without doubt, the cross-link foam was tougher and lasted a lot longer.

The New Zealand experience with their common small willow grub was that as the grub hit the water, on many occasions it tended to curl up.  With this new grub we found this to be only partially the case; some did curl and some did not.  With the sheet foam I was able to cut out a curved body, which meant that it would hold its shape, whilst with the post material I was able to tie a straight body but if I rolled it up, it would partially uncurl on the water.

The theory was if it helps, use it.  Have we come up with the fly pattern that has a lot less refusals than what we were getting?  I don’t know but we were catching a lot more fish than most and the only thing that slowed down our development was that the willow grub season came to an end; simply because not long after Easter the autumn leaves started to fall and those bugs went into hibernation for the winter.

Paolo Testori in action and doing what he does best.  As a first time visitor to our region,

Paolo was amazed at the quality of our fishery and the average size of the fish, especially

with our rivers being catch and kill waters.

Will the willow grub become a permanent fixture?  It is more than likely it could even surpass our hopper season, which is a big call but one thing is for sure, the willow grub is here to stay.