Tom Stewart 200 Popular Flies

Away back when I first started flytying in the 90's Tom Stewart's Four Volume set of 50 popular Flies books were recommended to me most ironically by a man called Tommy Stewart (No Relation) who ran the Airdrie & District Angling Club flytying classes. 

Tommy was a fantastic flytyer and tutor and is responsible for teaching many A&DAC flyfishers and flytyers including myself.

It didnt take me too long to find the four volumes though I did get them separately over a period of a few months.

They were a great source of information to me as a novice flytyer though I wasnt familiar  with some of the flytying terms at the time described in the books.

These four volumes were first published between 1962 and 1973 and might now seem old fashioned and out of date to the modern day flytyer.

However I am fascinated by the history and tradition of old fly patterns as I'm sure many others are too and find these to be a great insight into the background and source of long forgotten fly patterns.

Recently I noticed a few omnibus editions of these books for sale on a well known online auction site. I wasnt aware that there was such editions available and was surprised to learn that they had been published in the 80's.

I was pleased to see these and recommended them to a couple of flytying friends who went ahead and got the book for themselves.

I didnt thinking of getting the omnibus edition myself until I noticed a copy of it going for an unbelievably super bargain price of £1. Which I snapped up immediately. I have noticed that there are still copies of this available from time to time. Therefore if you are interested in old style trout and salmon fly patterns? Do yourself a favour and get you hands on this old book. I highly recommend it.

To give you an idea of the patterns you will find within the book here are a couple of Sam Slicks as described in Volume One 

Tom Stewart recommends this fly to be fished deep on difficult days  when the weather is dull and Scoury and  not much fly life about on the Loch! "On such days trout invariably take the artificial fly deep down!"

The Burton!

Last week I was contacted by Jim Boyd who has a very popular angling column in that famous old Scottish weekly newspaper The Sunday Post.
Jim contacted me to enquire about the origins and name of one of my  trout fly patterns that caught his attention, which I often upload to the socials such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Jim informed me that he would like to include this pattern in his next weekly angling column.
The fly which is featured in this week's Sunday Post is my variation of The Burton.
Its an old fly pattern that was once popular on  Loch Lomond for the sea trout.
I came across this old pattern in the much sought after book by Bill McEwan, "Angling on Lomond"
This pattern caught my eye a few years ago as I liked the colour combination and style, and reckoned it would work well for me on the Outer Hebrides, which it well and truly did.
I believe the original has a wing of cinnamon coloured  turkey flank combined with teal. However I didnt have any cinnamon turkey so substituted the wing with bronze mallard instead.
I've never fished Loch Lomond as it just seems so daunting. However  the big loch does have its flyfishing devotees who know the water like the back of their hand! And I've heard that some old boys still fish the Burton for the sea trout despite all the latest modern fly pattern trends!
The variation I tied was based on a photograph from the book.
However I did reach for my "My Go To Book" too, for all Scottish fly patterns: Stan Headley's Trout & Salmon Flies of Scotland.
Stan referenced a different dressing from the one pictured in what I reckon to be the authoritative book on the matter "Angling on Lomond"
Bill and Stan both do mention a cinnamon coloured wing combined with teal,  however Stan makes no mention of the front third of the body being blue he states black!
Stan mentions a dark furnace hen hackle and a pheasent crest tail  but Bill's photo states black hen and tippet tail .
I wouldnt get hung up about which is the true dressing of the Burton as the version I tied did catch me trout on a couple of trips to the Outer Hebrides.
It may be a somewhat old fashioned pattern but it does still catch trout! Lets be realistic here! How on earth could the passage of time and variations of fly patterns ever influence the natural instinct and behaviour of trout?
The version I tied is as follows:

Size 10 hook.
Back Uni thread 8/0
Dyed orange tippet tail.
Body in three parts.
Rear: amber seals fur.
Middle. Red seals fur.
Front. Blues seals fur.
Rib. Silver Wire.
Hackle..Black Hen.
Wing. Bronze Mallard.

Hen Blackie

Ive always been fond of the rich history of Clyde Style flyfishing and flytying.

The unpretentious and simplistic tying of Clydestyle fly patterns really appeals to me in the same way that North Country Spiders and its traditions do too. 

Recently I've been enjoying tying Clydestyle flies and preparing a box for the Upper Clyde next season.

One of my favourites for the Clyde and I'm sure many others is the Hen Blackie.

It's such a simple and pleasing pattern to tie. 

This pattern has not only caught me trout on the Clyde but also at the nearby Camps Reservoir and Glen Franka Reservoir as well as highland lochans such as Loch Ba! 

Whilst looking through my flytying library I came across a variation of the hen Blackie in Stan Headley's excellent book: Trout & Salmon Flies of Scotland, wherein a pattern named the Claret Hen Blackie was referenced. I'd never heard of this pattern before and found it interesting to note that its recommended as an evening fly from June until the end of the season. Tied exactly the same way as the Hen Blackie, only difference is in replacing the yellow silk with claret silk. I look forward to using both  patterns when next on the Clyde.