March Fly Of The Month - The Cat's Whisker

Video Description:

The Cat’s Whisker really is special. What a fly; it’s one of the best if not ‘the’ best when it comes to stillwater trout up and down this country.

It has many different guises but the original remains as deadly today as it was decades ago when Bob Church popularised the pattern after being given a handful to try by its inventor David Train.

It was David who came up with the fly and the name. He used whiskers – from his cat, funnily enough – to stop the wing of the fly wrapping around the hook shank. Hence the name – strange but true!

Fortunately, he never went around attacking tabbies, but just collected any stray hairs from his own cat. Obviously there are no whiskers being used nowadays, no, no, no! The pattern is pretty much one that can be used all year round, it really is that effective!

The marabou tail and wing pulse in the water, and the white and green colour combination is a true winner. Add to this the up-and-down effect when you retrieve, caused by the heavy chain bead eyes at the front, and the whole thing is exaggerated – brilliant.

Any line will do the fly justice but it’s most commonly used in conjunction with a sinker. You really should try it teamed with a floating line and longish leader, though, as this can be very productive on small stillwaters.

If there was ever a fly that you need to have in your box, this is it and in this video TFF editor Steve Cullen will show you exactly how to tie it.

Cat’s Whisker Variants

International Cat
PolyShoot Cat
Cat’s Whisker Booby

Hook: Long-shank, size 10
Thread: Black
Wing and tail: White marabou
Body: Lime-green chenille