Greenwell's Glory

Trout · GraylingSurface

Canon Greenwell's fly from 1854 — waxed yellow silk body with an olive cast, cree hackle, starling wing. It has been catching trout and grayling in every river in Britain for 170 years without needing modification, which is usually a sign that something is correct.

Fish this when

When olives are hatching on any river from chalk stream to Highland burn. Fish it dry upstream to rising fish, or wet on a downstream swing through a glide. It works in both modes.

Why it works

The waxed silk reads as an olive dun across a wide range of light conditions. A genuine generalist that is specific enough to fool selective chalk-stream fish.

Naturals it imitates