Hillend Gosling

Those who know me will know that I am a fan of Davie McPhail's fly tying. I am an ardent follower of his wonderful online fly tying, You Tube Channel. I believe he is one of the best tyers in the world. A few weeks ago I contacted him to ask him if it would be possible to post a tying demo of the Gosling pattern. He said he would take it on board and put one on his channel soon . Sure enough he did. His latest demo which he posted today on his channel is of his version of the Gosling. I have spoken to Davie on a few occasion about various fly tying topics , he has always been most helpful and on one occasion asked me to call him about a cape I was looking for. I have also met him at the GAC when he has been doing his demos there. A nicer man you couldn't meet. Anyway I digress. After watching his latest vid tonight I was suitably inspired and tied something similar. The above pic is my effort at tying the Gosling.

A Gathering of Hillend Chiefs

No! my latest ramblings are not about a committee meeting of my local angling club Chiefs although I am reliably informed that there was meeting at our new refurbished Fishing Lodge yesterday afternoon between our Club and the Clarkston Anglers. They were arranging dates for the Inter Club competitions to be held over the course of the coming season.

I hadn't made a blog post for over a week now so today I thought I better rectify that by showing some of my latest flies which I have been tying over the last few days. These are one of my favourite wet style patterns. A few weeks ago I spoke about the debate over the collective noun for a collection of flies. I think you will agree that a collection of these traditional Loch style patterns can be called nothing other than a Gathering of Clan Chiefs. I have had success with Chiefs all over the country as well as at Hillend. I look forward to using them from a drifting boat at Hillend in the coming months. Before I sign off for the benefit of any Hillend Anglers who read my blog here is a list of the times and dates for membership renewal.

Feb 2011.

Fri 25th 7pm to 9pm

Sat 26th 10am to 2 pm

Sun 27th 10am to 2pm

March 2011.

Fri 4th 7pm to 9pm

Sat 5th 10am to 2pm

Sun 6th 10am to 2pm

Day Dreaming at Hillend

Only 29 days to go until I can begin the pursuit of fishing for trout. So off I went this afternoon to have a look around my local Loch, Hillend. For the first time this year it felt like a spring day. A gentle westerly wind was blowing gently up the Loch. The conditions were absolutely perfect for casting a fly from the shore. The water is high at the moment with all the rain we have had lately and as I walked along the shore I made a mental note of some nooks and crannies that looked very fishy. At the club house today I met a Hillender who was telling me that while he was out walking yesterday in the area known locally as the cliffs that he saw trout rising not far from the shore. There was no sign of them today though as I walked along that particular area but there were a few geese on the Loch today. I decided to sit at the Big Stane and take in the view and watch the geese play in the water and let my imagination get carried away with the thought of casting flies and catching trout. A muddler on the top dropper would have have worked a treat today I reckoned as the ripple on the water was just perfect. I came away from the Loch today full of hope and excitement for the coming season and decided to tie a couple of those scruffy Hillend muddlers that I imagined casting and retrieving along the shore near the Big Stane.

Hillend Brute!

OK I have to admit it, I'm no purist and I confess I have been known on the odd occasion to dabble in the Dark Art of Lures! There are times at Hillend when the use of a lure is the only way of attracting the trout's attention. The Yellow Dancer is a favourite among the Hillend regulars as is the Black Fritz. I don't use lures very often , honest! but when I do I tend to use either a black or olive wooly bugger type pattern. I found over the last couple of seasons that a gold bead is not necessary on my lures as I tie them on heavy hooks and they drop through the water at a nice slow pace. A gold or silver bead on the head sometimes hinders my casting too especially on a windy day. Let me tell you a big lure with a metal bead tied at the head can be a real pain too when it skelps you on the back of the head. This pattern is a real brute of a fly compared to the traditional style wets that I like to tie. One day I was discussing flies at the loch and was commenting that these lures were big ugly brutes but the bloke I was talking to said not at all its just a bumble with a marabou tail and do you know what? He is most probably correct.

Hillend Lodge.

No,this latest post is not what you were thinking it has nothing to do with chipping stones etc, Its actually about Airdrie and District Angling Club's refurbished Clubhouse/Lodge. First of all I would just like to say that the Angling Club really has to be commended on the new look club house. The Upgrade has been long overdue and I sincerely hope the members appreciate what a wonderful facility our angling club has created. I visited the Lodge this afternoon as Airdrie V Peterhead didn't appeal to me even though I'm a season ticket holder. My team's performances of late have been despicable. I couldn't even give my ticket away as no one was interested and who can blame them.

I was really impressed with the makeover and thought that it looked like an upmarket cafe. I can just imagine ordering a Cafe Latte and sitting out on the porch in the summer sun after a successful morning on the Loch. The reality is a plastic cup of steaming hot bovril after a freezing cold morning in Boat House Bay at the start of the season which to be honest is just as satisfying.

Oh! and before I sign off I thought it was a nice gesture by the club to put a framed photo of one of my flies on the freshly painted walls, nice touch! lol!

A Hillend Trio

As the Four Tops used to say "I Cant Help Myself" as I'm always on the lookout for inspiration and ideas on the flytying front and I suppose that's why I spend too much time in front of a PC trolling fly tying forums from all over the world. but I didn't need to go all round the world in a virtual sense to get the ideas for my latest Hillend Trio. These three flies came about after having a look on a UK based flytying forum which I frequent. Over the last few days there have been a number of fantastic patterns posted on there. I do admire the flies on there especially the patterns incorporating deer hair. So tonight I have been at the vice for the last few hours trying my upmost to tie something to the same standard. I might not have got to the standard I would like but I am pleased with these three flies which have been the best of the bunch.

I referred to these as the best of my bunch which has me thinking just what is the collective noun for a group artificial flies? Heres a few for starters.... A web of spiders. A dibble of Dabblers. A Muddle of Muddlers. A Tribe of Zulus or perhaps I'm thinking too hard perhaps a Box of Flies would suffice.

Hillend Scruffs!

I hope you realized that when you read the title of this post that I wasn't referring to the resplendently attired members of the Airdrie and District Angling Club who assembled in a local school today for the Club's Annual General Meeting.
The above title was actually the name I gave to a bunch of flies I tied last night for use at Hillend and the Highlands of Scotland. They came about after reading a post on a fishing forum about brushing out the dubbed bodies of artificial flies. Since I began flytying I was taught to pick out the bodies of the flies as they really do add to the translucency of a fly especially if seals fur has been incorporated in the pattern. I also recall reading an article in a well know angling magazine a few years ago about the effectiveness of scruffy flies and their use on Highland Lochans. These six flies are good examples of such flies and are good all round patterns to use anywhere in the country. They are quick and easy to tie and although they may not be pretty I'm sure they will be pretty effective. Some people use a velcro brush or a dubbing needle to brush out the flies but I find that an old toothbrush is great and unlike some tyers who pick out the body before winding on the hackles I rough up the fly once the tying process is complete. It would be interesting to hear other folks views on the scruffy look.

Hillend Green!

I was busy at the vice all weekend after visiting the Glasgow Angling Centre for a nice Hi Green cape and receiving a parcel through the post from Cookshill Fytying Materials with my new seals Fur dubbing. Seals Fur has been a material I have tended no to use up until recently . I think I was put off this material in my early days as a fly tyer as I found it difficult to work with. However that is not the case now as I think it is a wonderful material to work with especially in wet flies. Anyway I was discussing flies on a Fishing Forum recently and was talking to a Hillend regular who told me to tie a pattern he has had great success with especially at the start of the season at Hillend. That pattern was the above fly which I named the Hillend Green , could it be called anything else? I must say the combination of colours not only looks good and even if I do say so myself, has all the right ingredients to fool the fish. The pattern for this fly is as follows.

Hook. Size 10 Kamazan B175

Thread. Black Uni 8/0

Body. Green Highlander Seals Fur

Rib. Silver Tinsel

Tail. Hot green Uni Floss

Body Hackle. High Green Rooster Neck Hackle

Head Hackle. Black Hen hackle

Hillend Fire!

I hope the title of this post didn't have you thinking that we had a forest fire up here at Hillend Loch. It's far too cold for that to happen anyway. Hillend Fire is the name I have given my latest fly. I set out to tie some more muddlers but I wasn't happy with the results so instead of throwing the fly away in my rubbish bucket I decided to trim away the deer hair head altogether and tied in a black hen hackle at the front instead. I was actually quite pleased with the look. The blend of colours reminded me of fire! I think you will agree that it looks like striking if you will pardon the pun. I suppose this was an accidental fly . Thats what I like about fly tying, as sometimes I sit down at the vice and the flies I produce are not what I first intended to tie. I will just have to wait to see if the colour combination will be successful. I have posted two pics of the fly from different angles to show the tying from underneath and the side.

The Muddler & The Bumble

I have spent a bit of time tonight at the bench tying up more flies for my latest fly box and it is filling up very nicely. I'm right on schedule to have it full in time for the fishing season starting in March. The above two flies would be a nice combination on a cast from a drifting boat at Hillend. A brightly coloured muddler on the top dropper and the bumble on the middle with possibly a Peter Ross on the point. All would be dependant on the conditions as we all know how fickle the trout can be at times. I won't pretend to know what fly is best for a certain situation I usually just a have a hunch as to what to tie on or take advice from friends etc. I find tying flies just as much fun as fishing and if I'm honest I might just prefer the tying to the fishing, Is that wrong?

Bitter Cold Hillend

I went up to Hillend Loch today for a wee walk to see how the area was looking after all the severe weather we had for the last month and a half. As the Hillend Lodge appeared to be open I decided to pop in for a coffee. As I opened the door the smell of fresh paint greeted my senses. I was surprised to see that the whole interior of the club house was getting a much needed make over. Although there was quite a bit of stuff lying around the clubhouse the actual room looked quited spacious its amazing what a bit of paint and reorganizing can do. I have to say the place was looking really nice and I'm sure will be complete by the time March the 15th comes round. After a chat with the members I decided to go out for a walk along the Loch shore. The ice hasn't completely gone from Hillend as there was still big sheets spread over the expanse of the loch. It was quite sureal to see areas on the Loch which appeared to be running water as it was blown by the strong westerly wind banked on each side with stationary ice. I tried to get some photos of this but the results were poor and didn't do the scene any justice.

I went as far as the Braco Burn stopping here and there taking numerous photos. As I was going about the Loch today about three trains passed but I was too slow with the camera to capture them, hopefuly get them next time. It was bitter cold up there today and difficult to imagine that the fishing season is only 58 days away. Enjoy the photos.