Peacock Spiders

Over the weekend I got round to tying some flies again. I tied these peacock spiders after bumping into an old acquaintance from Cumbernauld at the GAC on Saturday. He was telling me about his mate and him having great success with  these patterns at the lake of Menteith in every variation you can think of. He told me they worked equally well with gold butts, silver butts and green, red, yellow and orange butts too. He asked me if could tie a few of these patterns up for him which I was only too pleased to do. Of course I kept some for myself and intend to try these patterns on the Clyde in the next couple of weeks or so. I tied the flies in size 14's and 12's the ones in the pic above are size 12 Kamasan B160 hooks which I think is a suitable hook for these spiders.Please feel free to leave a comment about these flies good, bad or indifferent... I don't mind, especially if you have any experience with this pattern on the rivers.

My celebrity Angling mates!

Today folks I have had to deal with an abusive troll on the blog who was leaving unsavoury messages on a couple of my blog posts. The person in question amongst various other accusations appeared to think I was trying to curry favour with celebrity anglers etc.lol
Could I point out I do not pretend to be anything other than an enthusiastic fly fisher and fly tyer who enjoys sharing my pics, thoughts and my flies patterns with others.
As a result of this pathetic nutter I was reluctant to make this post on my blog. However I shall carry on regardless. I was at GAC today to enjoy some tying demos and try to pick up hints and tips etc. It was a bit too busy this morning in fact far too busy as I never even got to have a proper blether with my celeb mates! lol

Glasgow Angling Centre Tying demos

 

Tomorrow morning I will be going into the GAC to watch the tying demos. There is a link to all the tyers and the times they will be appearing on the GAC blog which you can view here http://blog.fishingmegastore.com/2013/03/march-open-weekend-timetables.html. I enjoy going along to these demos as you learn so much and pick up handy tips and ideas. It really is a great way to spend a few hours if you are interested in the art of fly tying. Inspired!..... Here's a May Fly pattern I tied this morning.

Almost Spring at Hillend.

 

 

 

I was up at the loch the other day and although there are signs of spring coming along winter has left its mark on the loch's surroundings. All the trees are bare and the grass is as short as it ever will be but in a few short weeks everything will spring into life again and the bank side will be alive with enthusiastic anglers. Im all set for the opening weekend, rods cleaned lines stretched and some new fly patterns to try. Lures will probably dominate the opening couple of weeks if its cold but my prefere patterns of choice are ttraditional wets which i like to tinker with like the pattern above.

In the mean time this weekend I will be going along to the Glasgow Angling Centre open day. I will focus my attention as ever at the flytying demos. I also hope to pick up some bargains and I might even get some pics which I will post on here. Check back here at the weekend to see if I managed.

Caithness on my mind

First of all I would just like to say its is with great delight that I noticed that Davie McPhail hasn't ditched his old faithful tying shirt after all, as you will see if you have a look at his latest tying vid lol!. I digress. I was in the mood to do a bit of tying this afternoon and tied a few loch style flies, Recently I have been tying a few patterns in the same style as my latest Charlie McLean fly which you may have seen a few posts ago. the essence of these patterns is that the back half is a tinsel and the front half tied in the same manner as a Loch Ordie tying a few feathers in one after the other. I tied these with Caithness Lochs in mind. Ive not got a name for these new patterns I'm open to suggestions.

Davie McPhail's New Shirt!

This is not so much a blog post but just an observation. I was reading recently that the great master himself was going to a big angling event in Canada. There have been some photos of Davie circulating on the internet of him in action at this event. I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw the latest pic, Davie appears to have a new shirt! Does this mean we have seen the last of his old shirt which has served him so well after all these years? His videos will never be the same lol!

Airdrie & District AC. AGM 2013.

Not long back from the Airdrie and District Angling club AGM. It appeared to be better attended than it has in the last few years. as you can imagine it was just the usual club business of election and re-election of all the various posts in the club. Along with all the usual debate about stocking policy etc there were two stand out observations foe me at this meeting which were that it was announced that the last year was the most successful year in the angling club's history. The other being that the club are to consult Dr Willie Yeomans of Glasgow University to arrange if possible to have a complete survey of Hillend Loch to assess fish population and the environmental health for the fish in the loch. I look forward to the findings of this.
Prices remain pretty much the same but an increase of £5 on the annual membership? which I find a bit frustrating as after all this was the most successful year in the club's history.
Anyway the club is in good hands as we move forward. Only 47 days to go until the season begins.

Charlie McLean Fly Pattern

Just the other day when I was surfing through my favourite fishing forum, The Wild Fishing Forum, I came across reference to what may well be referred to as a Hebridean wet fly pattern called the Charlie McLean. Although the name sounded vaguely familiar I wasn't aware of the fly pattern. After a doing a bit research [ Google really is a wonderful resource] I found out that this pattern is a firm favourite with one of my favourite angling authors, Bruce Sandison. Bruce got to know about this worthy trout pattern whilst researching his excellent book called, The Sporting Gentleman's Gentleman. Which is a collection of fascinating and entertaining stories about Highland Gillies.I'm lucky enough to have a copy of this book which I managed to source in a wee secondhand book shop in Thurso whilst in that area on a fishing trip.
Today I refreshed my memory by reading chapter 2 , Hebridean charm and the heather Isles. In this chapter Bruce gives some insight into Charlie McLean a man who appears to have been a very popular gillie and a bit of a character too. I digress, Bruce mentions that. The fly was devised by one of Charlie's guests as a mark of affection for Charlie’s ability and unfailing courtesy.You can read more about Charlie here at http://www.wildfisher.co.uk/wildfisher/index.php/articles/articles-index-newest-first/505-the-right-place-at-the-right-time or why not track down a copy of Bruce's book. It really is an enjoyable read. I think the fly looks great and is tied in a style which I like to tie and fish. The above example is my interpretation of how it should look.

Clyde Style Night Flies

Today as I was loafing about the house I decided to have a read through my two prised River Clyde fishing books. Although the thought of wading the river and casting a team of flies down the river still seems a age away, as I turned page after page it got me thinking of some memorable nights with the trout using the Big Flee as w esay in these pairts. One of the best patterns to use on the River Clyde on balmmy summer nights is the Magpie tail. There are various dressings incorporating the magpie tail feather but for me this pattern is the best of the night flies. Other famous gloaming flies are the Stank Hen and Crow and Black. I decided to tie a few Magpie tails today this one is the best of the lot.

Flies for the Highlands

Tonight I pulled up a chair switched on the radio and poured myself a coffee and started attaching tinsel, thread, wire and feather to some hooks in the hope that the resulting flies will be used for catching brown trout in a few lochans that I have in mind come the Spring. Nothing new or innovative here just another half dozen or so palmered flies to add to the hundreds of patterns that I already have. This year though I'm going to cut down on the amount of flies I carry with me. I say this every year but hopefully this year I will have the confidence to do so. Its so much more comfortable and enjoyable to go fishing as light as possible. These style of flies are always reliable on highland lochans so these are being added to the one box which I intend carrying this year.

Casting For Recovery

A few days ago I noticed on the River Clyde Fishing Forum that Munro one of the forum moderators suggested a great idea for raising funds for the" Casting for Recovery" charity.
His idea was to get the keen fly dressers on the forum to put together a box of grayling bugs and flies, with the novel idea that all the patterns should incorporate the colour pink. He would then auction the flies via the Lets tackle Cancer auction site and donate the money to Casting For Recovery.
I was only too happy to help out to this worthy cause and by the look of things there has been a plethora of flies sent to him which you can view at 
http://www.riverclydefishing.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=202&t=9043
There are some great pattern on show on there. If you would like to contribute to this worthy cause get in touch with Munro at the River Clyde Fishing Forum and he will give you details etc as to where to send your flies.
The above patterns are my contribution.