G.R.H.E - Gold Ribbed Hares Ear Nymph
The Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear is one of the all time great fly patterns, often overlooked it is a 'must have' fly in your fly box. It is not an imitation of a particular insect but a general representation pattern that covers many different aquatic insects. This is a pattern that has been around for a very long time, no-one can say with certainty who originally designed the fly but it is attributed to the Victorian tyer James Ogden.
No matter where you fish whether it's rivers, small stillwaters or large lakes and reservoirs the G.R.H.E will take fish in all of them. There are countless variations on the original pattern now and they will all have their day but you can't go wrong with the original nymph.
The addition of a gold head bead to the original pattern helps get your fly down to the depths and this would be my choice during the colder months. Fished under an indicator this makes a good point fly to fish close to the bottom where insects such as caddis and shrimp are found, which the G.R.H.E represents, or fish it on a dropper higher up in the water column where it can be taken as a representation of any number of items on the trouts diet such as a small Stickleback which are numerous in Brookhall.
When the fish are wise to lures and other brightly coloured flies this is a nice subtle pattern that will take fish the whole year round and will account for the wiser resident fish at Brookhall. Over the years the G.R.H.E has accounted for many big fish wherever it is fished, it is definitely a pattern that should be neither overlooked or ignored.
