Hillend Photos.

As the sun sets on another year I thought I would make one final post before then New Year begins. Well its actually an appeal to anyone out there with old photos of Hillend who would like to share them with me. I have quite literally got hundreds and hundreds of photos of Hillend. Most are from the last ten years or so therefore I would be very interested to receive older photos. The older the better. It would be especially interesting to see photos from the area where the Club House now stands and also pics of the loch before the cycle track was constructed etc.
I recently got a new camera so I will be out and about at the loch taking photos of the surrounding area. I'm hoping to put together a slide show of photos throughout the years from Hillend so if anyone could assist by contributing any old photos I would be very grateful. If you would like to helpyou can contact me through facebook, twitter and of course email. Happy New Year When it comes.

Wonderwing Sedge

A number of years ago in a a well known flytying magazine I came across a style of wing which I thought looked stylish and realistic. This style was called the wonderwing. I then went on to tie a few patterns in this style which I thought would be good for sedge style flies. As you can imagine these patterns caught a few fish and I continued with this style for a couple of years until I turned my attention to cdc patterns. Today I decided to have a go at tying these flies again. I really like the look of these flies . They might look a wee bit tricky to tie but once you get the hang of them they are actually not too difficult to tie. Hope you like this example.

Hillend Loch Xmas Day

 

Well I woke up this morning to discover that the White bearded yin  didnt leave me any fishing or flytying related goodies. But I did get a new cameara . So off I went this morning up to the loch to try it out. Its not a top of the range model by any means but I do quite like the video camera mode. That feature is much better than my last camera which was starting to look a bit battered after ten years or so of outdoor use. Although it was rather cold today the weather has been quite a change from the last few years as the Loch has been frozen over at this time of year. Once we get New Years Day over and done with next week it will be then the time that we anglers can start thinking of hatching flies and rising fish. Only 79 days to go until the brown trout season starts. The countdown begins.

The Lecturer

I picked up the latest copy of FFFT magazine a couple of days ago. This months issue is full of features which interest me. Among the articles which caught my eye was a feature on that old fly the Professor. It was interesting to get an insight to the history of this pattern and how its developed and been used by different styles of anglers over the years. Go get yourself a copy and have a read I'm sure you will enjoy it.

I decided to have a go at tying the said fly but as is the norm when I set out to copy a pattern I always end up deviating away from the original dressing.

I thought I would share with you the result and as some readers of my blog like to point out in no uncertain terms whenever the exact materials arent used - That isnt a Professor. I therfore named it the Lecturer.

Three Today!

 

Today The Hillend Dabbler is three years old Im not sure what age that is in blogging terms though. I'm still enthusiastic now as when I typed out my first article three years ago . During that time I have watched my viewing figures steadily rise and rise until they reached a peak back in August. Which was very pleasing indeed as when I first started the blog I was aiming it at friends and fellow Hillenders. I have to be honest here and say that since the end of the fishing season my viewing figures have made a dramatic turn and are well down on what they were during the course of the fishing season. This is a wee bit concerning as this hasn't happend before since I started blogging. Infact if anything the viewing fufures usually went up during the close season.I would be interested to hear from any other fishing bloggers what their experiences are  with this matter.
Anyway like I said Im still as enthusiastic now as when I first started out and will endevour to try and make the blog more interesting and perhaps post articles more frequently.
Today as I was looking through some of my angling archives I came across this wee poem. I cant remember where exactly I got it from I was thinking it might have came from a fellow Hillender. I'm sure they will get in touch if thats the case.
Tonight I am going to open a nice bottle of red and celebrate three years of the Hillend Dabbler and who knows I mighht even tie a fly to mark the occasion in the mean time enjoy the poem!

A fellow in a boat wi’ me,
Was fishin wi’ a fancy flee
Wi’ colours braw baith black and yellie,
And hairs plucked oot a badger’s bellie.

Whaur did he get that flee sae bonnie?
He got it frae a freen and cronie.
The sportin shops – they never stock it,
The maker’s name is Bobby Crocket,

He used tae be a water bailie,
Got feathers aff a capercaillie,
This day we baith were feelin’ caul,
This flee caught yin while on the trawl,
He caught it by the dorsal fin,
But sportsman-like flung it back in,
Sae freens if fishin’ is yer hobby,
You’ll need tae get a flee frae Bobby…



Armchair Fishing

Ive not been been fishing or tying these last few weeks as Ive been rather busy with other matters and at this moment in time this has really felt like the close season.. Now that the winter weather has taken a hold with frost and ice most days this has been the ideal conditions for the pursuit of the lady of the stream. I was intending to get out after the grayling this winter but I just haven't had the time these last few weekends and anyway once I actually gave it some thought I reckon its just been far too cold for me. Maybe I'm just getting old but standing in a river in the severe cold doesn't appeal to me just right now I'd much rather get on with some armchair fishing with a glass of wine or malt near to hand. Therefore I just thought I would share with you a few second books I recently acquired in a fantastic sale. They are My Way with trout by Arthur Cove. Fishing's Best Short Stories by a selection of authors. Fishtales, again by various authors and Where the bright Waters meet by Harry Plunket Greene. I'm sure these will keep me going over the festive period and maybe even inspire me to get out by the river before the year ends.