Barbless Flies

15/01/2026

Our NEW ‘Fish Art’ Silicone Fly Boxes - NEW DESIGNS, JUST IN

We’ve had our artist guy over in the USA (Ryan) on the tools brushes again, this time he’s come up with some stunning artwork, which we just had to adorn our NEW fly boxes with - they look (and feel) absolutely stunning and are still mega-slim!

SPECIAL LAUNCH OFFER: Buy any 2 ‘Fish Art’ Fly Boxes for £45 or any 3 for £60, just add them to your basket, and the discounts are all automatically applied.

22/11/2025

It’s that time of year again — the Barbless Flies 2026 Annual is now available to pre-order.

https://www.barbless-flies.co.uk/products/2026-barbless-flies-annual

We’ve spent months crafting this year’s edition: every page is brand new, written from scratch, and packed with fresh thinking on both river and stillwater fly fishing.

No recycled material — just real, useful, 'on-the-water' insight.

Our Annual isn’t just a book you read once and shelve.

The proceeds from Annual sales directly fund all of our free email newsletters throughout the year.

If you enjoy our weekly tips, stories, experiments, gear breakdowns and the occasional questionable joke — this is what keeps them going.

Your support genuinely does make a difference.

Please Note: This is a pre-order for our Barbless Flies 2026 Annual. This will be shipped to you week beginning 8th December and we can guarantee delivery before Christmas for all deliveries within the United Kingdom.

Click here to pre-order: https://www.barbless-flies.co.uk/products/2026-barbless-flies-annual

As the days get shorter our thoughts usually turn away from the riverbanks and lakes, and we take a look back on the season to take stock of our successes, and failures! What better way to get your fishing fix in those periods of downtime than flicking through our 2026 Annual? Please Note: This is a...

23/11/2024

I'm guessing your currently under attack from any website you've even the remotest passing interest in - all offering you 'never to be repeated' Black Friday deals - sorry for adding to the clutter, but we are going to do ours a little differently this year ...

1. We started it today at 09:00
2. We're running a Prize Draw Giveaway every day - for some fantastic and unique artwork (see images and weblink for full details).
3. It includes all our best-selling 'Artisan' AHREX flies - all at 30% discount; and
4. It will end on Sunday, at midnight.

We are expecting our website to be pretty busy, so we have stocked up on all the patterns - we have 100's of each.

But they will not hang around for long ...

You can find them all here: https://www.barbless-flies.co.uk/collections/barbless-bonanza

19/11/2024

Just Published - A book about watercraft in Rivers and Stillwaters - only £9.99

In this book, you will discover all we've learnt about watercraft - and more importantly - how to use it, to help you get more from your all too limited time on the water.

The term "watercraft" refers to how water moves, flows, and influences a fish’s behaviour. Having a basic knowledge of this allows you to read the water, helping you predict where the fish should be, how they’ll react, and the best approach to use to catch them.

The way you cast, the fly you eventually select, and the water conditions of the river or stillwater all play their part in (hopefully) connecting you with a fish.

One of the most powerful skills you can develop as a fly angler isn’t related to choosing the correct technique or equipment - it’s about understanding the water itself.

When you understand watercraft, you can read the river as a fish does, gaining insight into how factors like current, temperature, oxygen levels, and even light affect fish behaviour.

In this book, we explore the essential elements of watercraft (for both rivers and stillwaters, as they are very different) and how by learning to read the water you can take your fly fishing to a new level.

We've done loads of research (and plenty of fishing) and distilled the information into this next in our series of FLY: books.

Available now for only £9.99

31/10/2024

All the Gear, But No Idea? You Need The EDGE

Launched today - The EDGE is a paid-for fortnightly email newsletter & subscriber-only knowledge base / learning centre - it only costs the equivalent to a couple of cups of coffee per month - there's no minimum term and you can unsubscribe at any time.

The ideal for The EDGE started around the basic premise of:

"I don’t want to keep buying new gear, I want to know how to make the most of the gear I already have."

Essentially ...

We pool the money from ALL our subscribers to The EDGE.

We then combine all of that buying power to book ‘non-fishing’ time with the best fly-fishing guides and industry experts from all around the world.

With all this 'non-fishing time' we use it to dig deep into their knowledge to unearth the ‘gold’ which will help us all.

Alongside this, we research and send out fortnightly in-depth articles on various aspects of fly fishing.

For example: Have you ever wondered what part fluid dynamics play when fishing in a river or on a lake / stillwater?

Try our FREE Trial Subscription to find out:

Click here to receive your no-obligation Free Trial Subscription: https://the-edge.flyfish.education/free-trial-subscription/

23/08/2024

"Fly fishing is basically meditation in motion"

You're out there in nature, with the sound of the water flowing by, the rustling of the trees, not a Wi-Fi signal in sight. The simple, rhythmic act of casting a line over and over again becomes a kind of moving meditation.

It's a perfect way to clear your mind, focus on the present (or future), and let go of whatever's been bugging you—whether it's work stress, that long to-do list, or even the fact that you've somehow watched everything on Netflix. Plus, there’s something undeniably peaceful about standing in water, trying to outsmart a fish who has no idea it’s part of your therapy session.

read more here: https://www.barbless-flies.co.uk/blogs/2wheels1rod/new-age-thinking-no-im-not-going-to-read-your-chakras

Reel Recovery is an innovative non-profit organisation - spearheaded by Michael Sayers in the UK - it uses FREE Fly Fishing retreats to improve the lives of men with cancer.

In the outdoors you can find troubles drifting, peace and serenity in nature, the power of friendship with a fishing buddy and sharing the day's adventures.

Reel Recovery was originally established in the USA over 20 years ago and has helped more than 4,500 men living with cancer.

We (Barbless Flies) have agreed to help support Michael and the participants with anything they need. We've already donated all the flies, marketing materials and anything else Michael has asked for.

A project like this is not something which can be achieved on your own, so we'd love a little help from our loyal community ...

To help Michael establish the Reel Recovery program within the UK we'd like you to consider making a small donation via their Just Giving‌ page, you can find out more by clicking here - https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/michael-sayers-1

18/06/2024

“Don’t Be A Tosser - Use A Line Saver”

Launched Today - The Line Saver - only £9.99

A small, thoughtfully-designed leather wallet to hold all of your waste fishing line securely - ready to recycle when you are away from the water.

The Line Saver is very easy to use, just give it a squeeze, stuff your line in (the material inside the wallet holds your line securely) and keep it in your pocket/pack/vest, ready to recycle when you’re away from the water.

Full recycling details are included with the Line Saver, including a pre-addressed envelope to send your waste line away for recycling by the Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme.

And, best of all it is only £9.99.

Find out more: www.line-saver.com
Buy Yours Now: https://www.barbless-flies.co.uk/products/the-line-saver

13/05/2024

Over the last few years, Mayfly hatches have been somewhat unpredictable. We had an idea ... what if we could track Mayfly hatches across the UK in (near) real-time, so all anglers knew when to expect the hatches?

The Barbless Flies budget doesn't quite stretch to using our own radar equipment, so I thought - let's do it the analogue way!

View the Live Mayfly Tracker here: https://www.barbless-flies.co.uk/pages/mayfly-live-hatch-tracker

So, here's the idea:

We will draw upon the community we have built over the last 10 years (yes, that's you), and ask you to supply us with the information - essentially, as soon as you see Mayfly hatching on your local water, get in touch to let us know where and we will then plot it on a map for all to see.

With our 'Live Mayfly Tracker' we are using community intelligence to provide you with an up-to-date view of the UK's Mayfly hatch. Keep checking the map to make sure you're ready:

15/04/2024

Successful river fishing is all about observation - carefully watching what is happening all around you, and then translating this information into your choice of fly. As always there is no substitute for experience, but there are a few shortcuts you can use to help you gain that experience quicker. This book helps you with gaining experience (and knowledge) quickly. It identifies, for each month of the year, what you should be looking for and which flies to use to imitate the insects hatching around you.

I'm a firm believer that each river has its own nuances as far as fishing (and the fish contained within it) are concerned and that the most successful anglers on any given stretch of water are the ones with the most experience of it. Generally in life, there are no shortcuts, but there are ways to help your experience along a little quicker.

Our ALL NEW River Fly Anglers Almanac outlines which flies are expected to hatch and which flies to use to best imitate them. It follows the fly fishing year - starting in March (and ending in February) - detailing the hatches and flies to use for each month. Along with all the hatches and fly info, there's a whole host of other new information, including specific insect info and hatch charts. Along with the supplied Diary & Catch Return book, there are even pages to jot down your fishing notes for each month.

Essentially this is a journal to accompany you throughout your river fly fishing year. Something you can annotate and make notes in, allowing you to refer back to in years to come - helping you ‘crack the code’ on those difficult days.

Our River Fly Anglers Almanac is available now in three separate formats for immediate delivery:

- Leather Edition for only £18.99 - Our Leather-bound Almanac is professionally printed on high-quality paper stock, with a separate 2024 Diary & Catch Return. All are designed to fit neatly inside the specially designed leather cover.
- Paperback Edition for only £12.99 - professionally printed on high-quality paper stock and includes a separate 2024 Diary & Catch Return.
- Digital Edition for only £5.99 - Available in a downloadable PDF format, delivered directly to your inbox as soon as your order is placed.

The River Fly Anglers Almanac is printed in A6 format - the perfect size for your pocket or glovebox - using high-quality paper, it is 140 pages long.

Get yours today: https://www.barbless-flies.co.uk/collections/fly-fishing-almanacs/products/the-river-fly-anglers-almanac

13/03/2024

It is a long-held belief - and one to which I wholeheartedly subscribe - that the more successful anglers are the ones who can successfully translate what is happening around them to tactics when on the water (be it Rivers or Stillwaters), a major part of that is deciding which fly to present to the fish.

This is where matching the hatch comes into play - where possible, you should always try to offer up an imitation which closely resembles the insects the fish are actually feeding on at the time - hence 'Matching The Hatch'.

We wanted to go just that one step further and offer you some added value - after all, it would be quite easy for us just to put them all in a box and deliver them to you (just like all our competitors do), and then you're on your own!

But we wanted to be a little different and add much more value ...

So, in each of the Match The Hatch Selections we have produced there is a QR code (which you scan with your phone/tablet), this takes you to a hidden page on our website which is dedicated to the selection of flies you have just bought.

Over the past month, we have worked very closely with our Artisan Fly Designers and produced a full range of 'Match The Hatch' Selections - all tied with the highest quality materials on the best quality hooks available (Ahrex). Each of our 'Match The Hatch' selections contains patterns which cover the full lifecycle of the insect in question (Nymph, Emerger, Dun, Spinner etc).

The first of our 'Match The Hatch' selections were delivered to us last week, and focus on an early-season favourite all across the UK ... The March Brown.

You're probably asking yourself by now:

"That's great Richard, but how much is all this going to cost me?"

Well, we've kept the price to the bare minimum, each of our 'Match The Hatch' Selections are only £25 - yes, you did read that right, just £25 - to save you the maths, that's just £1.66 per fly, ignoring all of the other value you are also receiving!

You can see our March Brown 'Match The Hatch' Selection here - https://www.barbless-flies.co.uk/products/match-the-hatch-selection-march-brown

10/02/2024

We’re all setup and ready to go! Come and say hello to us in Hall 2.

09/02/2024