Hillend Dabbler

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Bug Fluff!

The number of syntheitic and natural dubbing suppliers these days in the fly tying world is bewildering. However I would like to highlight and bring to your attention a new kid on the block in the person of wonderful flytyer John Ferguson from Dalmellington in Ayrshire, who is the man behind the recent dubbing enterprise called Bug Fluff.. John's dubbing is carefully selected and prepared from natural hare fur and comes in various shades in handy plastic boxes. I have found it ideal for preparing bodies on some loch style wets as well as forming bodies on small emerger patterns. However I find it most useful for tying various nymphs. The natural spikiness of the hare fur is really suited for the nymph bodies and thoraxes. So if you are in the market for hare dubbing give John a call at bug Fluff and I'm sure he will be more than happy to help you out.

Four More Wets!

The first week of the new fishing season has now passed and I'm pleased to report that Ive had a couple of successful and enjoyable trips to the local Loch. I didnt bother visiting the Loch at the weekend as I know from past experience that the first weekend of the season is always extremely busy. Instead I did a bit of cycling on the local back roads to aid my fishing fitnesss. I also replaced my old tying chair which had seen better days and which was giving me back problems. So for the first time in a while I sat comfortably on my new chair at the vice tying a few flies over the last couple of days for my Hillend Box and a few for my Highlands & Islands box too. The green tailed Kate is a pattern I've neglected using the last few years but has been sucessful for myself and others at Hillend in the past. The Soldier Palmer has been a pattern that seems to be a bit of a bogey fly for me at Hillend despite its excellent reputation. Therefore in this variation Ive included

First of the season!

On the opening day of the season this year I decided to head up to the local Loch when I finished work just for a couple of hours! It didnt start too well though! As I was driving up to the Loch I realised that just as I was passing the old Craig Institute building that I had forgotten my membership card! So I about turned and returned home for my card! When I eventually got back up to Hillend I parked up and made my way along the South Shore eventually deciding to try my luck in the Easterroft Bay at about 5.15pm I set up with a Blae & Black on the point and a Zulu snatcher variation on the dropper! I fished from the old concrete jetty round to the area we know as the Cliffs without a touch. I then decided to retrace my steps fishing back towards the jetty. Just as the rain started and my Hope's were fading I got an almighty take and a lovely coloured brown trout leaped from the water trying to rid itself of my Zulu snatcher! After a brief fight with a couple of heart

Let's Go Fishing!

The nights are definitely fair drawn oot! And at last the five month wait is over, the 2021 trout season is upon us! My ever increasing number of fly boxes are full, my rods and reels have been checked and cleaned, lines and leaders are at the ready and I can only hope that my waders still fit! But I doubt it! I am full of enthusiasm and I've had my first Covid vaccination, however the latest travel restrictions are somewhat disheartening! I'm lucky I suppose that I have Hillend Loch within the limits of this authoritarian Orwellian Scottish Government's travel restraints. Trips to the highlands and beyond will have to wait for now! Its pleasing to note that my local fishing club have now stabilised and put some of the past troubles behind them. Over the next few weeks it looks like I wont be travelling much further than Hillend Loch's North Shore, Mound, Boathouse Bay, Lowe's Bay, Woodside, Narrows, Eastercroft Bay, Big & Wee Moss, Braco Burn and Shields Bur

Greenwell's Glory!

I recently tied a few Greenwells/Glory for the forthcoming season, put them in my box and never thought much else about them until I posted a pic of one of my patterns on a well known social media page! That was when the confusion started! As I was told that the pattern I displayed was not a Greenwell's Glory at all as I had included a few light furnace hackles for a tail. I was informed that the original dressing of the Glory didnt have a tail and that I had infact tied a Greenwells wet which includes a tail. Perhaps someone was just having a laugh? So off I went to my bookshelf to try get a definitive answer on the correct dressing! Stan Headley's book of Scottish Flies and John Reids Clyde Style Flies both suggest a tail. However there is no mention of a tail in Bert Sharpe's Let's fish the Clyde and Tom Stewart's Fifty Popular Flies. Still confused I reached for A.Courtney Williams' Dictionary of Trout Flies in an attempt to clear up the puzzlement. A

The Blae & Black

Recently Ive been filling a row in my fly box with these wee fellas! The Blae & Black. Trout flees dont come more traditional than this. A Scottish wet fly pattern of great repute for early season brown trout! Its origins are hard to track down as they appear to have been lost in the midst of time. It is however believed to be centuries old and used extensively not only in Scotland but South of the border and across the Irish sea too. Its famous on the Clyde with the wing in the usual Clyde style upright position and as the season progresses a lighter shade of blae is preferred. It is a recommended pattern for the top dropper on lochs when midge pupa are hatching! The Old Timers at Hillend swear by it early in the season. However this probably dates back to the time before our club water introduced rainbow trout. A fly worth having where ever wild brown trout exist! It's a very simple dressing that is basically a black pennel with a wing and is the third fly in a trio of patte