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I tied flies for Trout for a few years and had many happy hours at the kitchen table in front of the vice. I gave all my stuff to my son a couple of years ago.

Somehow today I stumbled upon fly tying videos on Youtube and watched some of Davie McPhail's work. Great to watch, good dialogue and demonstration and took me back many years. It also made me think... I did all my work without the benefit of a computer, let alone Youtube, such videos would have made my early days so much easier.

I was fortunate enough to be taught fly tying by the late Megan Boyd, a true queen of the art and her flies were of international renown. I was a young un at the time and couldn't appreciate the sophistication of her art but I could tie a sound fly because of her time and have had many a seatrout, salmon and browny on the back of what she showed me.

My father has been tying flies since he was a lad. He'd always press a small wallet of flies into my hand whenever i was deployed in the army. I'd take them and a 7ft travelling (collapsible) rod with me.

Funny thing is that some of his flies are truly beautiful; real works of art but if you viewed his own flies, the ones he uses then you'd think him barely average. With the exception of the occassions daddy-long-legs, his trout flies are all tiny Clyde style flies. Barely any body or wing at all.

I have tied my own ... and with reasonable success. However my B-i-L is better than me and has time on his hands and another friend who lives up to the north of Speyside ties some real exquisite flies so I am never short.

Nothing better than landing a decent salmon on a fly you have tied yourself or tied by a good friend.

That reminds me that I haven't had time to get down to the river yet this season. Every time I have time the weather is dreadful and all enthusiasm vanishes.
I caught a 2lb browny with a John Story I tied myself, that was lost of fun. Haven't tied a fly for years now though.

I tied a few John Storeys with a variety of wings but never took anything with them, a two pound Brownie would certainly have been nice. What part of the world did you fish in, I was always in Derbyshire.

Its North Yorkshire, River Nidd just outside of Harrogate.
A John Story or G/H Sedge will always do the trick on that river (in that location anyway) I get these little sedge patterns with a muddler tied body and brown deer hair wing, they work well.
We get a good hatch of Mayfly as well but the weather with us has been that crap so far I haven't been down to take a look, they got later and later each year (mid June last year for a hatch) but I think they must be done by now.
Spider patterns are good here also, you know the standard fare of Snipe & Purple, Partridge & Orange etc...

I've had a quite a few wild Brownies at well over 4lb ... biggest being something over 8lb. They tend to get a priest to the back of the head and given to the local pensioners! I landed one of about 6lb and it promptly tried to empty its stomach - and out came a small Salmon Parr - still alive.

Ive never connected with a brown trout that big. Sea Trout at 4-6lb but not a brownie. My local river isn't very big so i was supprised to pull that 2 pounder out.

There is a great pool on the River Spey named Polchraine by the way:)

When were bairns we used to catch a lot of big ferox in the up to 12lb league, trolling on the hill lochs with otter boards.

Probably someones decided its illegal now.