The Last Chance Fishing Club.

Those who know me know I like a good read especially if its flyfishing and flytying related.
However over the last year or so it's become problematic due to space. I'm running out of shelf space as my collection of angling books has expanded quite considerably.
A few days ago a book was brought to my attention called the "The Last Chance Fishing Club" by Steven J Murgatroyd.
Rather than add it to my overloaded book shelf I opted to acquire the book on my kindle for the super bargain price of £1.99.
I do prefer actual physical books but on this occasion I made a compromise as it's easy to read on my phone and tablet and very handy to dip in an out of whilst having my coffee breaks at work.
This book is a fine collection of articles first published in various fishing magazines and e-zines and is a fantastic and entertaining read on various aspects of flyfishing.
All proceeds from the sales of the book are going towards the Wild Carp Trust. Although I've no real interest in carp, any assistance in the preservation of any type of wild fishing cant be a bad thing.
It was a pleasant surprise and coincidence to notice today on the Fly Culture Magazine social media page and website that the latest Fly Culture  podcast features the author Steven Murgatroyd.
Both the book and podcast are well worth checking out.
If like me you are fisherman who truly believes that there is more to fishing than actual fishing you will most certainly enjoy both the book and the podcast.
You'll find the book @ the usual online outlets and the podcast here @  Fly Culture Podcast or alternatively wherever you get your podcasts from. 

Whip Finish!

Do you whip finish by hand or tool? 

Does it really matter what method you use? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both options?

When I first started flytying I could do neither therefore my first flies fell apart and were rendered useless as I finished them off with a spot of varnish and glue which was a completely useless exercise! 

Back then I tried to learn the whip finish tool technique by following diagrams and pictures from books. I didnt have the great resource of YT videos and explanations that are widely available these days.

I got so frustrated that I almost gave up flytying until one day I decided I  would head over to the P&D tackle shop in Cumbernauld  village which would later expand and become the GAC, to purchase a new whip finish tool as I thought the one I had might be faulty or the wrong design.

When I enquired about which tool to buy, Gary who was behind the counter looked at me and said "why do you wanna buy a whip finish tool?. It's much easier to do by hand" then proceeded to show and instruct me how to whip finish by hand and encouraged me to try it there and then in the shop.  After a few attempts and much to my amazement I was able to finish off my flies. I will be for ever thankful to Gary who I believe stil works in GAC for that unexpected and much appreciated lesson as it improved my flytying no end!  

That was well over 25 years ago and I have hand finished all my flies ever since.

However over the last couple of months I've been intrigued why  some of the top online Flytyers in the country such as Davie McPhail and Martin Whyte use the whip finish tool. So I put the question out there about the pros and cons of finishing by tool and hand to Davie on a recent webinar flytying demo and to Martin on his YT channel.

Martin reckoned the tool gives you more precise placement of wraps when placing the final turns on your finished fly and gives a more secure knot.

Davie commented that whip finishing by hand is an excellent method to instruct a beginner in how to understand the knot as some tools are over complicated and difficult to use.

Davie also remarked that the Knot was tighter with a hand finish  but that it lacked the control and precision of the tool but noted that in some situations a hand whip finish was necessary.

Taking all these points on board I thought I would try the matarelli rotary style whip finishing tool once again to see if I had a better understanding of how to use it.

So after watching a few videos online and after several hours practicing until I ironed out all my faults I eventually worked out how to use the tool. I must say the whip finisher I have is not the best quality and I really should get a superior make however I dont think I could justify the price of a genuine matarelli.

After considering the advise and the findings of  my trials and errors of using the tool I believe I'm more competent whip finishing by hand and to be honest once I varnish the head on the fly I dont think it will matter to me which method I used just as long as the whip finished knot is tight and secure. 

In conclusion I'm pleased I can now utilise both methods however it's  really just down to a matter of personal choice and  what suits the individual. As Davie says, "There is no right or wrong in flytying"

Seasons Greetings!

At last the date that we flyfisherman have been daydreaming about all through the dark cold winter nights has arrived! 

The opening day of the trout fishing season begins today. 

The rods, reels and lines are at the ready, my flyboxes are full and my waders and jacket are  waiting to be picked up from their pegs!

However this year I'm not gonna make it out on opening day as I'm presently locked up in the virtual Covid Jail anticipating my release in the next day or two!

Whilst I frustratingly hang around here waiting on clearance I've been tying flees, reading angling  books, listening to flyfishing podcasts, watching flytying vids and arranging and re-arranging my fishing bag and rucksack! 

As you can imagine I'm sitting here like a coiled spring and will be watching with an envious eye as I watch and read all the reports and pics of opening coming in from friends and acquaintances.

Hoping to make it up to Hillend by the weekend!, fingers crossed! 🤞 

Tight Lines To All!!

 

Geordie McLaren!

After two years of avoiding it, last night I tested positive for covid! 

Therefore those couple of hours I had planned for after work on the opening day of the trout season next week have been scuppered.

I suppose one way of looking at it is that if I'm going to miss a few days of the fishing because of it, the first few days of season is a good compromise.

Anyway enough of my woes.

You may have noticed in my last blogpost that I've been fairly busy at the vice recently in preparation for the season ahead.

Yesterday I had an Idea. 

I believe that the Kate McLaren is probably my most successful trout pattern when fishing wets! I've also had success with the green tailed Kate too!

In order to find a solution on which to chose Ive tyed a pattern combining  both standard and green tail in an Irish George style!

So here we have the Geordie McLaren!!!! 🙂

Once I'm over this virus I'll be looking forward to pulling this through the water at Hillend and beyond! 

Gorgeous George

If you thought Gorgeous George was an excellent solo album by Edwin Collins you'd be correct and have great taste in music too! 

However you'd not be thinking like a fly fisher and flytyer! 

The original Gorgeous George Irish trout fly, devised by Paul Cantillon of Cork is a fantastic  trout catcher of great repute!! 

There are so many variants of this modern classic pattern that it's difficult to actually determine which dressing is the true original.

However I'm led to believe the true dressing is the one described in Patsy Deery's  excellent Irish Mayfly book.

Whilst the Gorgeous George is featured in Deery's book it is not strictly a mayfly pattern as it covers so many bases. 

The George has every trigger point imanigable  that you would wish to have in a general purpose  trout fly it can be fished wet or dry but I love to pull it as a wet! 

Not only is it a very successful fly on the Irish Loughs it can used to great effect here in Scotland too!

I believe it is the profile and trailing legs that make it so attractive to trout but colour too can be decisive depending on what the weather is doing above the Loch.

Therefore its wise to have a few different  variations to suit what ever the weather conditions are like on any given day! 

It's also a very satisfying fly pattern to tie. Over the last few days I've been experimenting in tying a few variants to cover all bases. Hope you like them and feel inspired to tie some for your box! 

Visit to GAC Open Day!

This weekend saw the return of the very popular GAC open day! 

Today Sunday, I had a drive through to Possilpark in Glasgow to visit Europes largest Angling retail outlet to have a gander at the flytyers row which this year because of covid restrictions I guess,  was somewhat reduced to about 5 tyers! 

Whilst wandering around the aisles I met a couple of work colleagues who were stocking up for the forthcoming trout fishing season at Hillend.

I had a chat with renowned flytyer Paul Little about North Country Spiders and the grayling flies he was tying.

Paul very kindly tied and gave me a simple but very attractive wee grayling flee called "Tommy's Favourite" Paul informed me that the pattern  comes from a book  "Modern Trout Fly Dressing" by Roger Wooley and is contained in the Grayling section. It's a very simple fly which I fancy tying but first I'll need to get my hands on some Macaw wings!! 

One of the main reasons for having a visit along there today was to stop by the Cookshill Flytying Materials stall to stock up on a few quality items. I order from Cookshill regularly online so it was very enjoyable to have a proper browse at their flytying materials in person so to speak!  I'll be busy at the vice tonight and look forward to using the materials from the haul I took home with me today!