In reverse

Reverse para olives served me well during the early season evenings last year

Speedy Czechs

Concept of quick tying some Cz Nymphs.
Single layer of lead sheet underbody.
Main body Glo Brite floss, ribbed with copper.
Thorax hares ear topped with body stretch

These are super slim when views from above

Hey, don't forget to add nail hardener and colour to the backs of the Glo Brite

Prepping for a warmer month

#20 Shuttlecock




#18 SunFly variant with mole body



#16 Olive Para (Didn't realise I had put so much spider's thread down when tying off the hackle :-()


#16 Cul de Canon with corded rib



#14 Quil bodied Wally Winged Emerger

Duo float!

Tied a couple of these on a 12, inspired by Gwilym's buoyant indicator dries. Palmered as well as the parachute to hold plenty of Gink when supporting the rats

Cormorant

Quick trip to ithells Bridge on Sunday. Levels looked OK, probably up by 12" on normal winter levels. Dropped some bugs in the likely pools, but not a twitch.

Got startled by some real splashy commottion 10m below me where a cormorant surfaced and scarpered after seeing me. Perhaps they are there if the cormorants are attracted.

Found this dead salmon also:


Don't often see 'em this big

Alyn recce

From the office window I could see that the Dee levels had dropped and was running clearer.



With that in mind a quick recce to the Alyn was called for this morning.



What a sight. The south bank field were flooded, not necessarily from the Alyn, but most probably from the Dee at Almere ferry. Looking at the river I felt the hoped for trip tomorrow would have to be cancelled. The river is clearing and dropping, but with the high banks in this area I felt it is too dangerous.

Nice view of Ithell's Bridge now the leaves have gone

Dead parrot sketch

Spent Sunday in the presence of Gwillym Hughes letting a few of us into his tying secrets.
Tells a tale quite well does Gwillym, and this fly came from his tales about a welsh team captain who keeps parrots. This pattern accounted for 57 Dee grayling in an afternoons fishing

Dead easy to tie. Take one discarded Macaw feather, in this case blue and red. Pinch out two biots, using the tips as a tail, wind just short of the eye. Catch in 5/6 natural cdc plumes, making sure tips are aligned and they are laid (), and whip finish. Couldn'e be simpler. This one is on a #16 B100.
I'd love to get hold of a blue and yellow feather, as wound on the hook the blue and yellow mixed will produce........

Gwillym gave a good lesson in wing tying, this one is made with CDC for the wing post and dun hackle.