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.

Fish Wild

If like me you sometimes get tired of the repetitive nature of mainstream fishing magazines such as Trout & Salmon and also Flyfishing & Flyting. There is an alternative. Click the following link.....

Fish Wild

The first issue of the new Fish Wild has just been published and is available for download as a pdf for online or offline reading.

It is available as a high (35MB) or low resolution file (7MB) - high is recommended for best image quality.

You may also be interested in visiting the long established forum at WildFisher Forum where you will find a wealth of information dating right back to its early days in 2004. No politics, no aggro, no hassle, just Wild Fishing and the Great Outdoors!

On the River Clyde

Thoroughly enjoyed a couple of hours earlier in the week  on the River Clyde! Hunting Grayling with heavy beaded bugs!
I must have been doing something right as I hooked but lost a fish! No idea if it was a grayling or a troot as it wasnt on long enough!  Im a total novice at this game but once I started to gain  confidence wading with the aid of the wading staff I soon got into a rhythm of  taking a step then making a short cast. My new rod was a real joy to cast and was ideal for the river! 

It was most enjoyable fishing along the river despite a couple of heavy squals of rain and strong downstream winds.

The UCAPA freshwater ticket is outstanding value as it covers me from now until March 2023 yes 23 . So for £60 you get two grayling seasons and the usual trout season!

Lets Prepare for the Clyde!

Having secured my UCAPA ticket for next season I've been focusing on patterns for the River Clyde! With inspiration coming from Bert Sharp's book and Davie McPhails excellent instructional videos!

I've also been delving into North Country fly literature and tying up North Country Spiders!

I really enjoy the rich history of the above flies and style of fishing upland rivers.

I last fished the Clyde regularly over ten years ago but didn't go often enough to really get to know the river and all its peculiarities. Its all very well being clued up in the tying and theories etc but I really need to get more experience of the river.

I visited the Clyde down by Abington and Crawford a few weeks ago and it really whetted my appetite. Its such a lovely area to fish. 

I recently read a quote from Arthur Ransom who rather accurately  Identified that  flytying during the dark winter months is indeed a good substitute to fishing itself. He says “It is the sort of licking of the lips that eases a thirsty man in a desert” I couldnt have put it better myself! 

The Davie McPhail Vlog

Heres a very interesting and enjoyable vlog from Fulling Mill on Davie McPhail who is in my opinion the most inspirational, influential and best flytyer in Uk!

Davie McPhail Interview

That'll be it then?

Well that's the brown trout season over for another year! I made one last visit to Hillend yesterday to say farewell to the troot but none of them turned up!
I used my new #5 weight Snowbee Diamond 2 rod for the first time  and I have to say its the best rod I've ever used. Its even better than my Sharpes Gordon #6 weight rod which I'm very fond of
It casts perfectly with ease.
I've always shyed away from the lighter rods thinking they would be too light for my use especially at Hillend. However I was wrong.
I'm really looking forward to using the new rod on Highland Lochs next season where it will perfect for using on the float tube etc.
It's a real joy to use, as the rod and line are matched perfectly! 

The Luck of the Draw

Last week I was absolutely delighted to be one of the very lucky winners in the UKs premier fly tier, Davie McPhail's monthly draw on his you tube Channel.

As always there are amazing prizes up for grabs each month and I was fortunate enough to win nine beautiful Scandanavian tube flies in the September draw.

The prize I wanted most was the wee box of Loch style wets as I could put those to good use as the chances of me going to Norway to try out my tube flies maybe slim. However I really should make the effort to try for silver up north next season with these patterns.

Davie is a real inspiration and has been a big influence in my flytying endevours over the years. His flytying tutorials are second to none.

If you would like to take part in the October draw head over to his channel here and find out how to enter. You never know your luck! 

Davie McPhail Monthly Draw

Mixed Fortunes

Since getting back from South Uist last month my fishing opportunities have been few far between with not much success. As noted in my last post Hillend produced one trout for me.

A few days later I had a very tough night at Cobbinshaw where once again a solitary trout was my only reward.

I then had an outing at the Lily Loch for the first time this season where I blanked.

I next ventured down the clyde for the first time in about ten years. Although I didnt tempt any trout I had a thoroughly enjoyable day down in the Abington and Crawford area reaquainting myself with the lovely river Clyde.

I'm hoping to have a few more days on the Clyde for the grayling this winter and hopefully another day down there for the trout before the season ends.

In between those outings as usual I've not been far away from my vice tying a mixed selection of patterns for both river and Loch. 

With just a couple of weekends remaining of the season I hope to get out at least a  couple of times before the flytying season begins! 

Back to basics at Hillend

After a week away on the Outer Hebrides it was back to basics at the local club water, Hillend! Tried my new boat seat for the first time! Really liked it and will be great on a calmer day as it wee bit rough out there last night as there was a fair auld westerly blowing down the Loch all night! probably too rough for the electric outboard but we managed! 

Benbecula & South Uist Stravaig

Last week I had a fantastic week of fishing on Benbecula & South Uist!

I'd been looking forward to this Stravaig for a while. The planning and preparation for this trip really did help ease the frustration of the last year and a half of lockdown etc! 

I managed to squeeze in 5 days fishing! Three days on the tube and two on foot! 

I had mixed fortunes as on the first two days I actually blanked! 😄 It was very frustrating on those first couple of days, for me anyway.

However I did manage to fool a few troot on the other days! 

There was nine of us on the trip. Most got there by ferry but one of us flew in a few days later like a  rockstar, caught some belting fish and buggered off on the plane a few days later just like Bono! Unfortunately another one our Stravaigers had to leave early too due to urgent work committments. The rest of us slugged it out for the whole week!

A few of the guys got some very memorable trout indeed. My catches were more modest!

Hope to get out there again next year as we had a great week of fishing, craic, laughs and memories! As well as a bellyfull of good food, beer, wine and whisky.