Translated by Pino Messina

The rod I usually choose is strictly related to the type of water I’m going to fish. What I’ve realised over the years is that in many Countries a 9’ rod is a standard rod. Whereas, where I live, in Liguria, a region in the north-west of Italy, most common rods are 7’6” in length, class 2 up to 4. 

Liguria is a relatively tiny region, situated between steep alpine mountains to the north and the Mediterranean sea. A region with  unique geographical and climatic conditions. Rivers comprise mainly of brooks and small streams. 

There are times when it is necessary that we use longer rods, especially when fishing the bigger rivers, such as the Po and its many tributaries. (The Po is the largest and longest Italian river, located in the northern part of the Country). 

Camouflage clothes are very important when fishing our waters, and a good pair of polarised glasses is essential. I have and use several fishing vests, for the different seasons, using a heavier fabric for the colder season and lighter fabric during spring and summer. My vests are quite heavy as they are full of tackle boxes and gadgets. For instance, I usually have at least five fly boxes with me, ensuring that I am sufficiently prepared for several fishing situations. I always have a landing net and a wading staff with me, as it provides a greater measure of safety, efficiency and comfort while fishing. 

Personally, I prefer to fish with long leaders, up to 5 metres, as this reduces the risk of spooking the fish, particularly in crystal clear waters. I use custom knotted leaders. My tippets are usually longer then 1m. Generally speaking long leaders and long tippets also enables me to fish pocket waters better and fight the drag of the micro currents in this type of water. I mainly fish with dry flies.

‘Stealth’ is the right approach to our waters and is the most important thing to me. Too often I see anglers stepping immediately into a river at the very beginning of their fishing sessions; this practice generally only results in spooking the fish  severely reducing their chance of catching anything. 

Reading the water is an essential skill, as well as evaluating weather conditions, such as atmospheric pressure and water temperatures. In the mountain areas caution and remaining vigilent is important as waters levels can rise very quickly, leading to dangerous situations. 

Proficiency in fly casting is an essential skill. Many Italian anglers fish small streams, usually covered with trees and with bushy banks. Required casts will not be too long, but they do need to be precise and accurate. This is the reason why the Italian casting style was created, invented by the late Roberto Pragliola. Most casts will tend to be side casts, at 45% casting plane. Roll casts, reach casts and other kinds will be also useful and often essential in confined spaces. 

Many years ago, when I approached fly fishing, I was immediately fascinated by the amazing world of bugs. With its never-ending learning curve, I really love it. A mix of fly tying skills and entomology knowledge. 

The two main groups of insects a fly fisherman should focus on are: “Waterborne” insects: such as Mayflies, Sedges, Stoneflies, Alder flies, Damsel and Dragon flies.; and “Terrestrial” insects: such as Midges, Hymenoptera insects (e.g. ants, bees, wasps), beetles, Orthoptera insects (e.g. crickets, locusts), Arachnids (spiders). For fishing purposes we should recognise a good selection of patterns, so that we can at least ‘match the hatch’. It follows that a deeper entomological knowledge the more successful angler you are likely to be.

Most used fly patterns in my Country are Mayflies. At the beginning of the season’s hatch we use bigger flies. Later on we tend to use smaller mayflies. Often we have mixed hatches, with many different types of insects flying over the water surface. This is the reason why we need to understand on which specific kind of flies our quarry are rising on i.e. matching the pattern to the specific insect. 

At the beginning of each hatch, very first emerging insects will become duns (sub-imago). This is a magic moment as most nymphs are trapped in the surface film of the water surface, becoming very vulnerable. We have amazing results using emergers and still born imitation patterns. Dun patterns usually are light and opaque in colour. Gentle and subtle movements of the fly will often induce a take. 

At the end of the hatch it’s ‘spinner’ time. These are the bigger shiny bodied flies, with transparent wings. It is always interesting, often dazzling, to observe these amazing insects while they are “dancing” over our heads, doing their wedding dance. For fishing purposes we focus on female spinners, given most males tend to die away from the river. Females lay eggs in the water, becoming perfect prey for trout. Spinner patterns need to have slim bodies and bright wings. A common pattern is the Red Spinner.

Other interesting fishing patterns are ‘spents’- dead insects that float on the water surface with flat open wings.

Several Mayfly patterns in a range of sizes and colours need to be in our tackle boxes, as well as a good selection of stoneflies, sedges and terrestrials. 

Naturally, every single fisherman will have his/her own trusted selection of patterns, mainly based on personal experience and proven effectiveness. In practice, we might use only a small selection of all patterns we carry but we might need to have the same pattern in different sizes.

I personally am an addicted "fly tier". I started fly tying in the seventies, have written hundreds of articles and have published 3 books, two of them focusing on CDC patterns. 

Over the years I have realised that simple patterns that are easy and quick to tie are a winning approach. Over the years, I have tied literally thousands of flies, probably invented some, and used a lot of creativity in my  tying. Even if my fly boxes are full of flies, I usually know which one I have to use for every situation. 

However it is not always a simple choice to pick up just those of personal preference. I tried anyway to select some of them. Here you’ll find some, such as my Split forward hackles and Mirage. 

Most of my flies have a slim body, included my CDC patterns. You can find a good selection of them, probably more than one hundred, on my facebook profile and on slideshare.net. 

It is also very important to do an excellent presentation of a fly. Even the best fly patterns presented with a splashy cast will be useless. A nice, gentle presentation of the fly will usually provide results. As discussed, a good reach cast, or a side cast that avoids dragging of the fly over the water surface will always help. Another very useful cast to me is the wiggle cast. I even sometimes let the fly line land on rocks, having only leader, tippet and fly touching the water surface. In some circumstances micro drags and micro movements of the fly can help, inducing the fish to a take, especially fishing with sedge, fished across the current. This has been effective for big brownies and marble trout in the wider rivers. Personally, I prefer to fish upstream. This enables a better hook of the fish compared to downstream fishing. A landing net is critical to deliver those bigger fish, whilst also reducing the fight time and stress of the fish.

My preferred tippet size is .16 or .18, as bigger tippets prevent fish loss and speeds up the fight time. Last but not least I always use barbless hooks.