Cheap fly tying material

A very quick post for you fly tyers out there. It feels like everything in our lives just gets more and more expensive with every passing day so any way of reducing costs in our pastimes has to be a good thing. For fly tyers the cost of some synthetics can be quite high, soContinue reading "Cheap fly tying material"

Reversed Zulu

Before I get on to this fly I want to apologise for the near total lack of posts here on my blog. For some time now angling has slipped down my list of priorities and that meant writing about my fishing suffered the same near terminal decline. Yes, I have been tying flies, but allContinue reading "Reversed Zulu"

Helen’s new website

As many of you who follow me are pet owners I thought I'd share a link to Helen's new website. She takes commissions for paintings of dogs, cats and other animals. Get in touch with her if you want a lovely picture of a beloved pet. https://helenmariepetportraits.com

Boat’s ready!

A very quick post just to let you see the great job Adrian has done to re-timber my boat. I bought her 18 years ago and she was in poor shape back then (hence the very low price I paid for her). Adrian's father put a new back board on her for me and despiteContinue reading "Boat’s ready!"

A well travelled fly

A good friend and regular client, Derek Woods is down in Patagonia at the moment dong a bit of trout fishing. He sent me some snaps of the action down there and it looks like he is having a whale of a time in the 32 degrees heat. Strangely, his most productive fly is oneContinue reading "A well travelled fly"

Ethics of angling technology

My endless rantings about about the injustices of modern life seem to consume me these days. I'm aware this makes me sound like a particularly mean-spirited curmudgeon but I genuinely feel this society we live in is on the wrong path in so many ways. Until recently my moans have been directed towards those outsideContinue reading "Ethics of angling technology"

Curlybums

Known to most anglers as the yelllow owl, I still call those small, brown caddis with an abdomen the colour of lemon curd by their Scottish soliloquy. Curlybums were a great favourite on Loch Leven many years ago, and indeed they may still be for all I know. Summer evenings were when these flies hatchedContinue reading "Curlybums"

Lighting

Growing old does have some benefits. More rational thoughts due to experience, a sense of self worth, an inner calmness which was so obviously lacking in a younger me are all examples I can point to. The rest of it is just crap though. Aches and pains, slowing down in virtually every physical function, maleContinue reading "Lighting"

Never heard of this one!

As regular readers know, I have a habit of buying up joblots of old fishing tackle and then spending hours of my free time sifting through the detritus looking for bits I can use or salvage. This harmless idiosyncrasy keeps my amused and on the odd occasion turns up little gems of old gear. AsContinue reading "Never heard of this one!"

Fly sizes

It's December, and fly tying season is now in full swing for me. The run up to Christmas is usually when I do the bulk of my tying as I try to distract myself from the rampant consumerism around me. To be perfectly honest, due to a total lack of any sort of fishing forContinue reading "Fly sizes"