Two lovely Speys from Pryce-Tannatt …

 

The Lady Caroline…

Just the nicest of all the Spey flies, I like the way the wing hugs the body and the ribbing shows throw. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but its the way the wing mount process positions the wing; that soft loop technique again.

The Carron Fly…

Rather unkemped in the hackle, the Carron fly still has a nice appearance. the hackle at the front needs a little care, strip one side and don’t end up winding the thick part of the rachis here; it hampers the wing mount trust me. Both flies are now framed along with the Grey Heron and they look good together. The most pleasing thing is that little room was left for the heads, so economical thread wraps with well waxed thread was the order of the day.

Waxy threads

Paul

Keep them streamlined, fine and sleek for the Spey …..

The Grey Heron

(Thomas Edwin Pryce-Tannatt)

Dressed on a partridge He2 long shank 2/0, the limiting factor on this fly is the length of Bronze mallard available. I like it just short of the hook point but slightly longer than the body. Sadly, no instructions as to the length of the throat or hackle are give by PT. Pt suggests the feather from a game hen rather than a Heron hackle. Remember to keep the Mallard in a box so as to retain the curvature in the fibres, this will give the shape to the wing like Pryce-Tannatt suggests, “Spey fly wings should lie over the hook  at a very horizontal inclination, and the relation of each wing to its fellow should be that the effect produced is that of a keelless racing-boat placed upside down”. Enjoyed dressing this fly, one for my own collection and display purposes. And so to the framing …..

Waxy threads

Paul

The Teal and Red and the Furnace Brown from Pryce-Tannatt …

The Furnace Brown …

The attraction of simple flies tied well (and I cannot be the judge of that) is a goal that I think fly dressers should strive for. I am striving for that goal and so far am pleased with the results. My great friend Terry Griffiths told me the he would prefer more of the body on display than in these flies. There in lies a problem, I like a broad wing and to narrow it too much would not suit me. From a fly dressing standpoint Terry has a valid point.

The Teal and Red …

The wing in this fly is not Teal but Pintail, one of the alternatives “Ed” allows in the dressing. The wing may be too broad here but I was not prepared to take it off! I am searching for the source of tapered hackles other than Schlappen, in both of these flies I used a hackle from the neck of a Metz cape but the result although pleasing is not quite tapered enough.

More work to be done Mr. Little ….

Waxy threads

Paul

The Kate MacLaren …

The Kate MacLaren …

Week of our fly dressing class sees the Kate MacLaren. A tough little fly to dress with a Seal’s fur body and two hackles this presents a challenge to get the proportions right. Moving the tinsel through the body hackle quickly tends to trap less fibres  (it works for me). I like to see the front hackle a little longer than that of the body hackle, it’s a style thing ….

Waxy threads

Paul

 

Another from the Pryce-Tannatt stable ….

The Claret Alder (Size 2 Bartleet)…

The wing shape pleased me on this fly, especially the shape near the tail. The wide slip of Mallard looks well on this fly and I like the pointed tail on the fly. Mounting the wide slips of Mallard is not easy, they didn’t go on first time. The cock hackle for the body is something I don’t normally use, but this has a pleasing appearance. This ones ready for the frame.

Waxy threads

Paul

A great day with a long time friend …..

What a lovely pair (the fish aren’t bad either) …..

Nothing better than fishing with a good friend; company, banter and great story telling. This was an impromptu fishing trip, in January with cold winds and rain for most of the day. The two Browns pictured above fought well, one slightly more spotted than the other. The only story that really matters is that Mr. Little’s Brown edged it on the scales by miles …. (however, Mr. Bell was firmly in first place when it came to the Rainbows …).

Another lovely Rainbow in fine condition for Mr. Bell …

Some of the rainbows were silver in colour however, some were had a lovely pink tinge like the one Mr. Bell is holding, but in every it as good a condition.

Tackle tart and proud of it …..

A nice plump specimen rainbow for Mr. Little, but just look at that reel, a lightweight Nautilus 5/6, fresh in the post from Fly Only yesterday (thanks Viki). All fish were caught on lures retrieved slowly with various jerks in between (no not the two anglers !!).

We had a great day ……

Tight lines

Paul ( The tackle tart !)

A forgotten pattern from Pryce-Tannatt, the Bumbee …….

The Bumbee, near side

The Far side ….

One of my goals in fly dressing was and still is the control of bronze mallard. All I can say is that I am on the way. This fly, the Bumbee one of the lesser known patterns from Pryce-Tannatt has what is described as a mallard wing, set horizontally. To me that means parallel to the hook shank. Other than a Spey type wing this is how I like to think this is what the author meant. To mount the wings atop of the shank would lead to a more upright wing and hence I have used the “soft loop” technique to mount the wings slightly on the side of the hook. I think the final wing, front and back looks nice. I was a little concerned about the heavy throat, but it balances the wing and tail, so I’m happy for now

Waxy threads

Paul

Start of the new LFDG classes, The Black Francis …

 

 

The Black Francis

Start of the new fly dressing year at the Lakeland Flydressers Guild, the first fly in the salmon class is the Black Francis. A nice fly to dress, my preference being cock pheasant side tails for the short feelers, they are nice and straight. the head instead of coloured varnish is Glo-Brite floss, shade 10 with two coats of Hard as nails.

Tight lines

Paul

Once in a while “Along comes a spider” (sorry ABU )……

 

 

Once in a while along comes a little gem of a reel. This ABU 5000 not an uncommon model (some would say it is an ABU 5000B, the B model meaning that it has a clicker). In mint condition it is a lovely reel. So what is special about this reel (other than the price of £80). Look at the number on the reel foot, 127100. This is a lot number (reels in the same batch will have the same foot number). The number means that the reel was made in December 1971 and has a version number of 00. This is unusual in that the ABU factory was I think closed at this time of year. Anyway, it is the lowest lot numbered 5000 that we have.

You may be thinking we need to get a life, but life would not be the same without ABU reels …….

Tight Lines (pun intended)

Paul

First of the new year ……

 

The Logie (The Salmon Fly, G M Kelson)

Two dressings for the Logie are given in the usual texts, this one is by Kelson.  I like the claret body and also the addition of Jungle Cock cheeks. the wing in this fly is Swan, as called for in the original dressing. the head looks quite nice (we always strive for a small neat head on a fly. the hook, a Ron Reinhold and it looks great. I have dressed the body short, I like the appearance it gives. Working with Bronze Mallard is fun, in this instance, the mount worked second time (were all human after all). my preference is for the Mallard to come short of the length of the wing, a transition topping being my preferred option for the tail. Again a simple fly, but still skill needed to execute the dressing well. Were I to dress the fly again, I would look for slightly smaller and narrower cheeks.

Happy New Year to all fly dressers out there.

Warm Regards

Paul