The Red Arrow

Just the otber night a fly pattern thst was brought to may attention was "The Red Arrow"
Its a fly of Irish origin devised by Longford dentist, Syl Higgins. Aparently this pattern is deadly on the point early in the season. I was advised that I had tied the hackles too long on the first two I tied. So I tied another couple which are hopefully closer to the original.

At the end of the line!

Angling has a rich history of literature and I'm lucky enough to have a number of classic angling books in my collection!

I'm particularly keen on books that deal with the art of flytying. Flytying books are a wealth of information on not only the dressings but the history of flies. Among my favourites are "Lets Fish the Clyde" by Bert Sharp, Mike Hardings "North Country Spiders" and Stan Headley's " Flies Of Scotland."

One book which has been available for a couple of years and was brought to my attention recently by the excellent Flytyer John Ferguson of Dalmellington , is  "At the end of the line" by Ex-International fisherman and flytyer George Barron.

I recently met George and had a brief chat with him at the Glasgow Angling Centre where he was giving flytying demonstrations. 

A few days later I got in touch with him online and he arranged for a signed copy of his excellent book to be sent to me.

It's a fantastic piece of work dealing with classic loch style wet flies a style that I like to fish and tye too. 

It's been a joy to pour over the last few days, picking out a few patterns to tie and to keep in mind for future use. 

Im not gonna claim to have managed to tie exact copies of the flies there in contained in this book but what I can say is that this book has inspired me to keep busy at the vice and will keep me tying during the dark winter months until the new fishing season arrives next year! 

Naming rights!

Just tied the one so far tonight. Again I never followed any set pattern. Just a style I like to tie! Im calling it The Gallivanter!
Ive noted recently that when posting up flies publicly you need to be careful about naming them. In some quarters its sacrilidge to claim a pattern to be such and su ch for unless one sticks to the exact dressing you really cant claim the flee to be what you say it is. Which to be honest I totally get, because that just causes confusion! Lets put it this way, You buy a new car, a Vauxhall Astra! You really cant tell everybody you've got a new Porsche! 😂 Some  folk take this fly tying game a bit too serious its really only just a bit of fun! Anyway I hope you like my Gallivanter!

Tying at the station!

As mentioned earlier the flytying sesson is now underway.I've recovered my old tying station box from the loft that my wee pal made for me years ago! It was getting unused and neglected up there. Got it back set up in the spare room! Great to have my stuff all organised again! It really makes a huge difference to have a proper tying station with everthing to hand. Im currently starting to fill a box with traditional wets. Heres a flavour of my time at the vice!

Fly Tying Season

The new Fly tying season is almost upon us so Ive been in pre season training recently and been warming up by tying a few in my favourite bumble style as well as a couple of patterns I normally struggle with, muddlers and winged patterns!
I'm Reasonably pleased with my Connamara Black but really pleased with my progress with the muddlers after receiving some advice and tips about these patterns.
The new týing season starts on Sunday 7th October!

A fisher in the hills

Warning this report contains no tales of rising, catching or losing troot!
I was keen to get to Galloway  yesterday for what I imagine will be a last day at the broonies this season!
It was a disappointment troot wise as I returned home piscatorially challenged!
The 100 mile road trip South West, took longer than anticipated as did the extremely boggy climb and walk up to the loch which sits at over 1,000ft above sea level.
I was concerned about the cattle with calves blocking my way on the upward path which runs along a dyke. I seriously thought about turning back. Then I  noticed more of them coming up behind me sounding not best pleased. I had no option but to carry on. Much to my relief they moved sideways up the hill to let me past.
Eventually I made it to the  loch which looked absolutely stunning in this wonderful location.
I arrived at the back of twelve then had lunch, strung my rod and tried to find an area that was comfortable to fish.
Fishing was tough from the bank as the underfoot conditions were difficult with rutted bog, high slopes and rock. I was informed a few day earlier that the next loch further up was better for bank fishing however it took me long enough to get to the first loch. I couldn't get to the area I wanted to fish as I couldn't get across the burn as it was running fast and high and I was just in my wellies. Eventually I reached  the West shore where a big burn rushes in and managed to spend some time around that area starting off with a floating line then switching to a sink tip but all to no avail.
I really didn't  fish it hard and was just contented admiring the wonderful scenery.
Time was limited as It was a two hour walk for me back down  to the car.
On the way back I saw two mountain goats which bolted when startled!
Thankfully and much to my relief there was no sign of the Coos!
The walk back was horrendous I slipped and fell all over the place on the way down until I made it back to the forest track and then the car!
The scenery on the other hand made it all worthwhile!
Hope to return to this area next year in the early summer and hopefully have a tale or two to tell of troot!

At the vice again!

I'm yearning to travel to the southwest corner of Scotland to have a last cast at the troot before the season ends.
With this I  mind I've being tying a few flies for a trip to a couple of hill lochs that are on my radar!

A Zulu from Orkney!

Came across a pattern called the Orkney peach tailed coch zulu (which is a bit of a mouthful for a human never mind a troot) online tonight. Its  a pattern I don't have so I tied one up however I didn't have any peach so a light orange tail will have to do! Looks like a useful and  interesting pattern to have in the box!

Fiery Brown Bumble

I'm really quite keen to get another fishing trip in before the season ends but don't know where or when I'm going to get the opportunity to do so as I'm a bit busy at present. In the meantime I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm by spending some time at the vice.

Today I tied a couple of fiery brown bumbles.

Claret Dabbler

I've been trying a few flies over the weekend and today I was at the vice again. I've been trying a lot of deer hair flees recently but today I turned to Dabblers. Here's two Claret Dabblers from the Dabbler's vice. This pattern is based on a Davie McPhail pattern I watched him tie at a Glasgow Angling Centre flytying demo a number of years ago!

Kate McLaren Muddler

This afternoon I'm tying Kate McLaren Muddlers #KMM  I very pleased with the first one off the vice today!  A style that is really enjoyable to tie!

As I've said recently I haven't really fished Hillend this season and right now it's even less appealing as it looks so industrial and abandoned with the water levels being so low.
However I'm up at the loch quite frequently cycling the pathway and surrounding backroads and often nip into the clubhouse for a coffee.
Even though the loch doesn't look it's best at the moment I managed to capture some stunning scenes. You just need to be there at the right time.

How low can it go?

I've never seen the Narrows look so narrow. Its a bit worrying that it's so dry. Its gonna take a helluva lot of rain to bring the loch back up to normal levels

Up the Heelins with obliging trout

Had a good day out at the Spey Dam with my fishing buddy Scott! On arrival conditions weren't great as the loch was like a mirror with zero wind. We were therefore in no rush to get started!
Once out the low cloud cleared and a gentle breeze started. We had a few casts in the areas that had a ripple but with no success. Then the weather changed. A strong wind got up along with heavy rain. Scott got two trout in that drift.
Next drift Scott got another and I was still fishless. By this time the wind reduced and the rain cleared We had  another drift  without success. We went back ashore for lunch. After lunch we started getting frequent trout action  on various drifts between the boat moorings and the island. In total we managed 17 trout between us. Scott managed 11 and I fooled 6. The most successful flees were Loch Ordies and muddlers. The sedgehog created a lot of interest with trout splashing at it and getting numerous takes with it  however only two troot were caught with it.
All in all after a slow start we had a very satisfying and enjoyable day among some lovely scenery and obliging troot!

Sedgehog Day

Had a most enjoyable day at a Perthshire lochan with Bobfly last week.

However before we went off fishing I met up with Bobfly at his workshop where he customised my fins which I use with the tube. His alterations worked a treat. Hes very inventive is Mr Bobfly. Job done we then enjoyed a coffee and some lovely cake made by Mrs Bobfly. Then we set off!

Once at the loch we geared up and went out on the tubes! We were soon into fish. It's a lovely setting which looks sheltered but we encountered a good breeze which changed direction all day! As the afternoon got on the trout count was mounting! In the end we both  caught numerous trout. I fished most of the day with my red sedgehog which fooled all my fish with the exception of two wee trout which took a muddler. I believe Bobfly's most successful pattern was a sedgehog too.

As we were ending our day two other anglers arrived  who went out on the boat! So we called it a day and set off back down  the road. On the drive back home we picked up a bird and took her back to Bobfly's place!.

Its all quite innocent however as a poor unfortunate pheasant walked right out in front of us and met it's end! I got some nice fresh feathers for my flytying box and Bobfly got some meat for the pot!