I live within easy driving distance of the Rivers Spey, Dee, Don, Ythan, and Deveron in the Northeast of Scotland. The river Deveron has historical significance with a 61lb salmon being landed in 1924 by Clemintina Morison on a Brown Winged Killer, I
don’t think that’s going to be surpassed any time soon. I have always been extremely interested in the history of the old traditional trout wet/dry flies and Classic Salmon patterns from Britain and Ireland.
For me, fly dressing has always been a very enjoyable and extremely important part of fly fishing. When I first started dressing flies, finding decent hen or cock capes was extremely difficult or almost impossible. This has dramatically changed and today
we can find with ease a range of neck and saddle capes to satisfy the pernickety fly- dresser.
Despite the excellent and vast array of readily available synthetic materials, I am always drawn back to natural materials and enjoy the challenge of trying to produce subtle colours by using local plants and roots including everyday items such as
onion skins. I record the results of my dye experiments and a book detailing my notes on the use of natural dyes was published in 2016 by Coch-Y-Bonddu books. I enjoyed the experience leading up to the publication and am grateful to Paul
Morgan for giving me the opportunity to publish the book. I have always enjoyed reading old angling books and am continually impressed at the levels the fly dressers/anglers of days long gone went to in pursuit of their sport. I admire the way they communicated without the availability of modern-day computers, fast broadband, and mobile phones. They documented everything in meticulous detail, without their books and records a significant amount of history would be lost to the passage of time.
I continually strive to gain an understanding of the skills used and the problems met by fly dressers/anglers of yesteryear. Making a horsehair line is something I thought would add to my understanding. The first line I made consisted of short lengths of twisted hair joined by knots to other lynkys. I progressed to making knotless tapered lines. I don’t think it is as resilient/hard-wearing as modern fly lines, but one thing that has surprised me is the strength of the hair, it is extraordinarily
strong. One of the challenging aspects of making the lines is obtaining the horsehair in reasonable quantities and quality.
Having a better knowledge and understanding of old skills and techniques will add to the satisfaction I already receive from this fascinating and rewarding passion.
I have been fortunate enough to attend all three earlier ASFI’s of 2014 and 2016 in Seattle and 2018 in Miramichi and enjoyed the incredibly positive experience of each one. I am looking forward to Calgary and hope to see you there.
don’t think that’s going to be surpassed any time soon. I have always been extremely interested in the history of the old traditional trout wet/dry flies and Classic Salmon patterns from Britain and Ireland.
For me, fly dressing has always been a very enjoyable and extremely important part of fly fishing. When I first started dressing flies, finding decent hen or cock capes was extremely difficult or almost impossible. This has dramatically changed and today
we can find with ease a range of neck and saddle capes to satisfy the pernickety fly- dresser.
Despite the excellent and vast array of readily available synthetic materials, I am always drawn back to natural materials and enjoy the challenge of trying to produce subtle colours by using local plants and roots including everyday items such as
onion skins. I record the results of my dye experiments and a book detailing my notes on the use of natural dyes was published in 2016 by Coch-Y-Bonddu books. I enjoyed the experience leading up to the publication and am grateful to Paul
Morgan for giving me the opportunity to publish the book. I have always enjoyed reading old angling books and am continually impressed at the levels the fly dressers/anglers of days long gone went to in pursuit of their sport. I admire the way they communicated without the availability of modern-day computers, fast broadband, and mobile phones. They documented everything in meticulous detail, without their books and records a significant amount of history would be lost to the passage of time.
I continually strive to gain an understanding of the skills used and the problems met by fly dressers/anglers of yesteryear. Making a horsehair line is something I thought would add to my understanding. The first line I made consisted of short lengths of twisted hair joined by knots to other lynkys. I progressed to making knotless tapered lines. I don’t think it is as resilient/hard-wearing as modern fly lines, but one thing that has surprised me is the strength of the hair, it is extraordinarily
strong. One of the challenging aspects of making the lines is obtaining the horsehair in reasonable quantities and quality.
Having a better knowledge and understanding of old skills and techniques will add to the satisfaction I already receive from this fascinating and rewarding passion.
I have been fortunate enough to attend all three earlier ASFI’s of 2014 and 2016 in Seattle and 2018 in Miramichi and enjoyed the incredibly positive experience of each one. I am looking forward to Calgary and hope to see you there.