I was always a bit strange. When the other boys in my class in school were drooling over 'Fast Car' magazine, "...Ohhhh, Maclaren F1, 0-60 in 3 seconds...." etc. I was drooling over Trout and Salmon magazine. "...Ohhhh, Ally's Shrimp, caught 14 fish in one day on the Tay..."! Fishing was my main interest back then. Or,should I say, trying to catch fish.
Like most things I get into, they always seem to start by accident. Fly tying is no different for me.
I was about 14 or 15 when I was at my aunts house one Sunday for some reason or another. I'm not sure why we were there. My friend from school, Craig Smith, lived a few miles up the road from my aunts so I borrowed one of my cousin's bikes and went up to Craig's house to see if he was in.
I don't know how the craic came round about fishing even, never mind fly tying, when he said he had some fly tying equipment that he had brought from America or his aunt had brought from America or something along those lines. He said he hadn't used it too often so I asked if he would sell it. He agreed and I gave him the vast sum of £10 the next day at school. I still have the vice I bought in that kit from Craig and still use many of the tools to this day. Another passion had been born for me.
Some of my early 'tyings' were more than a bit ropey and that is being more than kind. Trying to use the small selection of materials to create masterpieces. I was well out of my depth.
A few of my very early creations.
It is so easy now to learn how to tie flies. Youtube is awash with brilliant fly tyers showing their tips and techniques. Internet forums where many people are only too glad to give their advice and help if there's something you are having trouble with. The number of blogs etc. There is information available in seconds. When I started in 1994 or around that, the 'Internet' wasn't even a thing. Most of my early tying was done by trial and error with more errors than anything else. There wasn't even anyone locally that I knew who tied flies that I could ask for help. It was up to me with occasional assistance when Trout and Salmon Magazine did a Step by Step feature every now and then.
My parents had a Caravan at Benone on the North Coast of Northern Ireland. I was dragged there every weekend and for most of the summer when I was young. I probably did enjoy it when I got there but to me now looking back, it just took me away from my river and my fishing.
Again, my dad tried his best. Taking me to Portrush to do some sea fishing off the rocks at the Blue Pool or Ramore Head. The weekly shopping trip to Coleraine involved a run to 'The Great Outdoors' or 'Smith's Country Sports' to buy rag worm to fish with at the beach in Benone. You dreaded to hear the words, "I'm sorry, we're sold out". It passed a few hours but it wasn't the same. The Faughan was always on my mind.
I used to take the fly tying equipment with me to Benone and while the normal kids were away on bikes, spending their days at the beach, trying to chat up girls, I was sat in the caravan wondering how many salmon were getting caught in the river. It used to drive a mum mad when my dad would arrive after work and tell me my neighbour got 5 salmon and they'd never seen fish like it in the river. God how I missed the river.
It used to drive my mum mad too that the caravan looked like a turkey producers during Christmas week with feathers lying everywhere. You'd be sat at the table and a gust of wind would come and stuff would be flying everywhere. It annoyed her too when she went to knit something and found pieces missing out of a ball of wool that I'd cut as I could find the end and wanted to try some weird colour on a fly.
It was at Benone that I put a pile of stuff on a hook one day. I remember it had red and blue wool for a body and there was some Golden Pheasant tippits in there somewhere. I can't remember what else was on it. It looked like nothing. A real mess of a thing. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that that mess I'd tied in Benone, while putting in the days until I got back to my river, would be the first 'fly' that I would catch my first salmon on!
That was over 20 years. I dare not even think what I have spent on tools and materials for fly tying in that time.
Fly tying now is so much a part of me that it a passion on it's own. I could pack in fishing tomorrow but would still tie flys. I enjoy it so much. The creativity and ideas of what materials will look well with others etc. I just enjoy it so much.
I am still learning and trying different techniques and patterns. I suppose that is what keeps in interesting for me.
I will continue to try to improve and try new techniques and patterns.
I'll hopefully get a few patterns added soon.
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