This week’s pattern is the PHD Kate Snatcher, Steve Cullen’s wee twist on a traditional Scottish loch fly that can be fished wet or dry.
The Kate McLaren has been catching Brown Trout on Scottish lochs for generations, and the Snatcher version keeps plenty of that familiar character. A curved hook, palmered black hackle, soft brown hen and Jungle Cock cheeks give it a buggy profile, while the lightly dubbed peacock-herl body adds a subtle flash and explains the PHD name.
It’s a cracking pattern for the summer months when Trout are feeding in the upper layers. Tie it sparse and it will slip below the surface like a traditional wet; add a little more hackle and it becomes far more buoyant, pushing water and sitting nicely in the surface film.
All materials needed to tie this fly are available from Glasgow Angling Centre or Edinburgh Angling Centre and are listed below. As always, if you need any help finding materials or substitutes, we’ll be happy to help.
Watch Steve Cullen tie the PHD Kate Snatcher and explain how the amount of hackle can be adjusted to fish it wet or dry.
Materials Used
How to Fish the PHD Kate Snatcher
For traditional loch-style fishing, use it as part of a team on a floating or slow intermediate line. Let the flies settle into the upper layers, then work them back with a steady figure-of-eight and the occasional sharper pull. That change of pace makes the palmered hackle pulse and can bring a following Trout onto the fly.
It can also be treated as a dry when fish are moving close to the surface. Us a version with the hackle tied a little fuller, add a touch of floatant and fish it through the ripple. If the Trout won’t quite commit on top, let it sit in the film or pull it under – the PHD Kate Snatcher is just as happy fishing damp as it is riding high.
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Check out more fly-tying tutorials on Steve Cullen’s YouTube channel.
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