Tuesday, 11 February 2025

Sharp & Gentles Flytying Club At the BFFI 2025

The British Fly Fair International (BFFI) 2025, held on the 8th and 9th of February at the Staffordshire County Showground, marked my first venture into public fly tying, representing the esteemed Sharp and Gentles Fly Tying Club.

Departing from Airdrie, Scotland, the journey to Stafford in England was lengthy but filled with anticipation. Despite the distance, the excitement of participating in such a renowned event made the trip enjoyable.

Upon reaching Stafford, we checked into the Premier Inn that would serve as our base for the weekend. The accommodation was comfortable, providing a much-needed respite after the long journey. The staff were welcoming, and the proximity to the event venue made it a convenient choice for our stay.

The evenings were spent in the company of fellow club members, friends and acquaintances. We gathered at the next-door pub [The Shire Horse] and the nearby restaurant sharing stories, techniques, and our passion for fly tying while enjoying great food and drinks.

The BFFI is renowned as the premier fly-fishing show in the UK and for me to be invited as a representative of The Sharp and Gentles Fly-tying Club was a great thrill and privilege.

The club, established in 1957 by Bert Sharp, is dedicated to preserving the tying of traditional Clyde-style flies. It was a fantastic experience to share our unique style of fly patterns with the vast numbers of the fly tying and flyfishing Community who passed by the Club tying stall.

Throughout the event we had opportunity to demonstrate fly tying techniques, engage with attendees, and learn from other skilled tyers.

The atmosphere was so friendly with enthusiasts from all over the country converging to celebrate the art of fly tying.

I am incredibly grateful to the Sharp and Gentles Fly Tying Club for inviting me to this fantastic event. Special thanks also go to the United Clyde Angling Protective Association (UCAPA) for providing us with professional-looking pop-up banners that made for an excellent backdrop at our tying stall, as well as the stylish gilets embroidered with the Club and UCAPA badges.

It was an incredible experience and a fantastic opportunity to learn from some of the finest fly tyers in the country and beyond while connecting with like-minded enthusiasts. And of course, I also took a moment to explore the event, adding a couple of books to my angling library and picking up various fly-tying materials to expand my ever-growing collection.

I was reliably informed that this year’s BFFI was the busiest yet so here’s hoping the fair can go from strength to strength and continue for many years to come.

Tuesday, 31 December 2024

Stewart's Spider

As the old year fades and the new year dawns, I find myself reflecting on a very old and rather unusual trout fly. 

First documented in 1857, this fly features in a delightful book by W.C. Stewart titled The Practical Angler, or The Art of Trout Fishing, More Particularly Applied to Clear Water. (They didn’t go for catchy titles in Victorian times!) 

The fly in question is known as Stewart’s Black Spider, one of a trio of spiders described in Stewart’s book. The other two are the Red Spider and the Dun Spider.

To modern fly fishers and tyers, the Black Spider may seem unusual because it isn’t tied in the spider style we’re familiar with today. Instead, it resembles what we’d call a rather messy palmered fly, albeit tied quite short. 

Stewart himself offers the following description of the Black Spider in his book: "This is made of the small feather of the cock starling, dressed with brown silk, and is, upon the whole, the most killing imitation we know. We were first shown it by James Baillie, and I have never been without one on our lines since." 

While it isn’t tied in a conventional palmered fashion, the instructions in the book are notoriously fiddly. That’s one reason I’ve long avoided tying this pattern—it always seemed tricky to master.

Fortunately, there’s hope! The late, great fly tyer and fly fisher Oliver Edwards provides a fantastic demonstration of the traditional tying method on DVD. 

Additionally, Martin Whyte and Davie McPhail have created excellent online tutorials that simplify the process while still achieving the same results. Their methods are the ones I’ve used to tie this simple yet highly effective fly. 

I’d love to try my hand at tying the other two spider patterns mentioned in Stewart’s book, but sourcing materials like landrail and dotterel hackles may prove difficult. 

If anyone knows of good substitutes for these, I’d be delighted to hear about them. 

Thanks for reading my latest blog, and Happy New Year!
Here is the link to the demos mentioned above:
 

Tuesday, 26 November 2024

Getting Ready!

I am thrilled to announce that I have been invited to attend the BFFI 2025 this coming February at the Stafford Showground. I’ll to be tying at the Sharp and Gentles fly-tying stand, alongside a few talented tiers from the club. Together, we will be showcasing Clydestyle flies: a tradition I hold dear.

This is an event I am eagerly anticipating. In preparation, our weekly club nights have been dedicated to tying Clyde flies, drawing inspiration from Bert Sharp’s famous red book. These evenings help hone our tying and also deepen our appreciation for this  style of fly-tying.

In addition to tying the classic, small Clydestyle fishing flies, I’ve been experimenting with a selection of oversized patterns on larger hooks. These display flies, with their  detail and exaggerated proportions, are designed to catch the eye and spark curiosity among visitors at the show.

Here are a few examples of the oversized patterns I’ve been working on:

Sunday, 6 October 2024

A visit to Hardy's of Alnwick

Over the years, my longing for a Hardy fly reel has been intensifying, and about a month or two ago, I finally satisfied that desire. 

My new Hardy Marquis Reel, is a hallmark of precision and craftsmanship, it exemplifies the long-standing legacy of Hardy’s of Alnwick. 

Renowned for its durability and timeless design, it has been a favourite of anglers for decades. Hardy Bros, established in 1872, has consistently been at the forefront of fly-fishing innovation, blending tradition with quality. Their commitment to handcrafting reels with meticulous detail has cemented their reputation as one of the most respected names in the fishing world, embodying the spirit of British angling heritage. 
I wasn’t just happy acquiring my reel I also wanted to visit the Hardy shop and museum in Alnwick. 

So just a couple of weeks ago I made the 242-round trip to the Northumberland market town. 

My son and I arrived in Alnwick in glorious sunshine, parked up and walked through the town’s 15th century defensive walls to the Bondgate where the Hardy shop is located. 

We received a warm welcome in the shop and had a chat with the friendly staff. We then had a browse around the shop admiring the rods and reels on display and then went upstairs to visit the museum. 

The Museum gives a fascinating glimpse into the rich history of one of the world’s most iconic fishing tackle manufacturers. Showcasing an impressive collection of reels, rods, and angling memorabilia. 

The interactive displays and informative exhibits provide insight into the evolution of angling techniques, tackle and design and the great legacy of Hardy. 

Before leaving the shop and museum I purchased a DVD which is an excellent documentary that I highly recommend, telling the story of Hardy it’s called “The Lost World of Mr Hardy” we were then given directions to the old original hardy factory which is just a few hundred yards along the road.

Before I went to see the old building, we visited a charity book shop [ as you do] however they didn’t have any angling books of interest to me but I did have a very interesting and informative chat with the owner who informed us that he and his wife both worked in the old Hardy factory, he assisted with the rod making and his wife tied flies in the factory. 

The old factory building now incorporates a squash club and an estate agent and I was told that the upstairs space may be getting made into apartments, a desirable residence for a wealthy Hardy enthusiast perhaps? 

I had no desire to visit the relocated factory which is on the outskirts of town in an industrial estate. I think if I had done that it would tarnish the impression and legacy that I associate with the Hardy story. 

Instead, my son and I then went a walk around the very attractive and historical town and after visiting a coffee shop we visited the grounds of Alnwick castle which was the location for a couple of the early Harry Potter films. 

This wee town in the North East of England certainly cast a spell on me and I will certainly will be making a return visit sometime in the future.

Monday, 26 August 2024

Caithness Stravaig 2024

This year's much anticipated fly-fishing stravaig to Caithness was once again a great success filled with laughs, good food and drink and the pursuit of trout across the county’s numerous lochs and lochans. 
For our group of friends, this annual meetup is more than just a fishing trip it's a chance to reconnect, share stories, and indulge in our shared passion of flyfishing.
This year, as always, we were blessed with a variety of weather conditions however it was mostly sunny and windy which was challenging at times. Some of us fished from boats, while others chose to fish from the shore, casting into the unknown with hopes high.
The lochs we fished were varied, some well known some not so much. Some were expansive, requiring to keep a careful eye on the wind and a good deal of patience, while others were more intimate, their secrets revealed only to those who knew where to look. 
The diversity of the waters from shallow peaty moorland lochs to the deep, clear waters, provided a perfect challenge for all of us. As is often the case in fishing, some of our Stravaigers were rewarded with impressive trout. 
These moments were celebrated with the obligatory photos of the fish the lochs and the general views, each photo a reminder of why we love these dear wild places. For me, however, the trout were more modest. 
The trout I caught, while not as large or as spectacular as those of some of my companions, they were no less satisfying. Each one was a product of months spent at the vice anticipating these moments a reminder that the joy of fly fishing lies not just in catching fish, but in the process itself. 
These are the moments that make these annual stravaigs so satisfying and worthwhile. Our evenings were spent at our fantastic Dunbeath base with beautiful views of the North Sea, sharing tales of the day's adventures, both the triumphs and the near misses. 
I never did manage to stay up too late as most nights I was too tired as after our hearty meal and a few beers and occasional whisky I could barely keep my eyes open. As the trip came to an end, we all agreed that this year had been another success. 
The fishing had been challenging but rewarding, and the time spent together, priceless. Caithness provided us with memories that will last until our next reunion. 
 On a personal note, I was delighted to have no blank days for a change however I did come close on one of the six days we fished. A wee sparkly muddler managed to fool a trout about the size of a Tunnock’s Caramel wafer one late afternoon just when I was thinking of giving up and reeling in. Throughout the week my most successful flies were the Watten Warrior and the Blue Zulu but a variety of others fooled the trout too such as Loch Ordie, Clan Chief, Black Zulu, Kate McLaren and various other leggy wets. Caithness offers such a vast number of lochs to fish each with its own character and we collectively only fished a few, there are so many more to explore and fish so hopefully we will make a return next year to experience the wild beauty and charm of Caithness once more.

Sharp & Gentles Flytying Club At the BFFI 2025

The British Fly Fair International (BFFI) 2025, held on the 8th and 9th of February at the Staffordshire County Showground, marked my first ...