Over the years I have often written about dying fly tying materials but never gone into any great detail. Since I was dying a few things today I thought perhaps it is time to address this subject? One of the big questions is why bother? These days you can buy just about any material inContinueContinue reading “How to colour feathers”
Author Archives: Claretbumbler
Reminiscing
The end of the year is now upon us and by way of wrapping up 2025 here is a bit of light reading for you. Perhaps due to advancing years, or maybe it is just that I have a bit more time on my hands these days, but I have been reminiscing more than usualContinueContinue reading “Reminiscing”
1,000 up, and still going strong
Happy to report that I reached my self-imposed target of 1,000 flies this week, a full two months ahead of my plan. I guess it wasn’t too much of a stretch really, given that I don’t tie very complex patterns and had a lot of time on my hands due to the horrible wet weatherContinueContinue reading “1,000 up, and still going strong”
2026 salmon fishing
I have been thinking long and hard about what to do about salmon fishing next year, and in particular should I buy a salmon licence at all. Here is a rough outline of my thoughts and my decisions. We anglers have been saying for years that trouble was brewing due to the decline in salmonContinueContinue reading “2026 salmon fishing”
Three quarters of the way there
My target of 1,000 flies tied for the winter is well on course. Indeed, I am far ahead of where I thought I would be at this stage. That will probably change as Christmas hits over the coming weeks, what with shopping , cooking and the occasional libation (hic). Today I cracked the 800 barrier,ContinueContinue reading “Three quarters of the way there”
Silver Blue Bumble
I am risking life and limb here as I commit fly tying heresy. The ‘bumble’ patterns devised by the late, great Justice T.C. Kingsmill Moore were ahead of their time in many ways. His use of multiple different coloured hackles to impart ‘life’ into his flies were an inspiration and his prodigious catches of troutContinueContinue reading “Silver Blue Bumble”
A tough day
There has not been much fishing for me of late. Either I have been busy with tasks around the house or the weather has been awful, either way my gear has been gathering dust in the spare room for most of the month of November. Met Eireann, our state weather forecaster, promised us a halfContinueContinue reading “A tough day”
Clyde style
A day of lashing rain outside, a bitingly cold wind hammering the water against the windows and finding every small crack or opening to chill the air inside the house. I lit the fire early, the kindling crackling and spluttering until the flue warmed and the heat began to flow in the kitchen. Too wetContinueContinue reading “Clyde style”
Half way
In an earlier post I said that I was aiming to make 1,000 flies over the winter period. I envisaged it would take me until the end of February 2026 to complete that number, but it looks like I might be a bit wide of the mark. This week the 500th fly rolled off myContinueContinue reading “Half way”
No particular place to go
It seemed a shame to waste the current unusually mild spell of weather so I decided to go coarse fishing on Thursday. My only problem was figuring out where exactly to fish. The Royal canal had died away weeks ago, so that was out of the question. The rivers are all still swollen and evenContinueContinue reading “No particular place to go”
Claretbumbler 