The upstream presentation of traditional soft hackled wet flies on rivers is a subject close to my heart. It is a presentation method I favour, even though it is not a productive searching technique for trout and requires more effort […]
It is safe to say that for the past century a certain brand of silk thread has become synonymous with the tying of traditional north country spiders. I am of course referring to Pearsall’s Gossamer which after two centuries of […]
It goes without saying that to dress the finest of flies, you need the finest of materials. And now thankfully, with the growth of online retailing. An expanded choice of flydressing materials is for many of us but a mouse […]
A number of years ago I set out to dress a selection of traditional North Country spider patterns in the most authentic manner possible. With a degree of enthusiasm that bordered on insanity, I scoured the internet and fishing tackle […]
Providence often takes a hand in the world of collecting vintage fishing tackle and fly-dressing materials. More often that not, valuable collections are split up, and dispersed around the four corners of the globe, without ever coming to form the […]
Arthur Ransome remarked that “Anglers, make fine old men”, and George Morrell, angler and schoolmaster comfortably fits into Ransome’s characterisation of a “fine old man”. A native of Darlington, and a leading light in the Congregational Church. George Morrell first […]
I am a distant relative of a famous North Country angler/author. And this simple quirk of fate has in many respects dictated my views in regards to the tying of the traditional North Country Spiders. (Best not mention number of […]
Waterhen Hackles & North Country Spiders The Waterhen or Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a common sight around the rivers and lakes of the UK. Easily distinguished from its close relative the Coot by its red and yellow beak. The Waterhen […]
The Snipe and Purple spider traditionally known as the Dark Snipe and Purple, is one of the most famous and widely fished of the north country flies. It first comes to prominence in Robert Lakeland’s Teesdale Angler in 1858 and […]
