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©North West Branch of the Fly Dressers Guild.

http://www.northwest-fdg.co.uk/

Issue 112 – August 2020

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Affiliated branch of the Fly Dressers Guild.

http://www.flydressersguild.org


From your committee to the 112th edition of your branch newsletter. Obviously the branch has been impacted by the COVID-19 control measures, but we intend to keep the newsletters in circulation each month as a means of keeping contact with members to assure you that we will pick up as soon as we can, along with the rest of society in the process of returning to normality. We may find that when measures are eventually lifted that limited gatherings will be allowed such that we can reconvene, and we will of course ensure we can follow all required guidelines before meeting up again. So there’s of course currently no next meeting scheduled, but we will start the newsletter with a look back to previous meetings, of course the content is still valid. COVID19 UPDATE AUGUST 2020: We hope you are all staying safe, but still managing to get out and about fishing, weather permitting. The committee initially imagined that things would be pretty much back to normal by now, but as time has gone on and we learn more about the virus it is clear things are going to remain different for some time to come. The club house remains closed apart from a couple of nights at weekends for members and their families, who must maintain strict social distancing measures. When things will reopen mid-week, we have no idea at present. As with any people who have an indoor hobby or craft they can turn to, as fly tyers we could be considered lucky, because we still have something that can even be considered a normal positive activity to turn to while stuck inside to help us from climbing the walls and raging with cabin fever. So for now please do keep tying flies, the therapeutic affect will help maintain spirits and a positive outlook Branch update also that the PAAS have kindly placed a branch flier in the Hook, Line and Sinker e-magazine, click here to view. A call always goes out for members to get in touch with updates that will be covered to help the newsletter continue to provide an interesting read for us all. In focus is something that can also do with input from other members, and support is always appreciated. FDG meeting Tuesday 17th July 2018

TBC 2020: Speaker night - From Surf to Loch with Ian Crook. New branch chairman Ian will give us an insight into his experiences of highland fly fishing with some interesting patterns and techniques! TBC: Speaker night - Trout and Flies – Getting Closer with Don Stazicker. Don will bring us a visual based presentation showing original footage from his new E-Book collaboration project with Peter Hayes. (See below for the complete 2020 diary. Click Here) An update on upcoming branch competitions, events and shows. An update on upcoming branch competitions, events and shows.

Updates from our Members on news, discussion points or just general chit chat that’s

Timperley Sports Club, Altrincham, WA15 7LU Issue 112 – 01/09/2020

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https://www.paperturn-view.com/?pid=OTY96141&v=1.1




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Casting Night with Bernie and Phil Ratcliffe.

Another great night provided by Bernie and Phil jam packed full of advice and tips starting from the basics of the overhead cast to more advanced techniques and common problem areas. Bernie is GAIA qualified instructor and Phil is an APGAI and FFI Master & THCI Instructor in both single handed and double handed disciplines. Phil as ever provided a really lively demo with great advice including a focus on coupling the skills of fly tying and presentation casting – an emphasis that was well received by the members present. Phil covered in detail each stage of the SASCP concepts of Slack line, Accelerate, Straight line path of the rod tip, Casting stroke and Pause.

Bernie continued with info on the distance benefits to be obtained from proper shooting of line while Phil went on to cover various casting

techniques including how to cope with wind from all directions. Phil showed the Perry Poke cast where the line is placed at short distance in front with an almost false roll cast allowing a full rod load to take place on the subsequent roll cast.

worth a read.annual branch BBQ

Facebook still active, trying to get used to posting and allowing others to comment, please bear with us! Our chance to have a chat about anything we’d like to kick about, books, materials, patterns, tools, tactics, you name it we’ll give it a go. A brief pattern outline that we will change from one month to the next covering a variety of materials, tools and techniques to help you develop your skills. A brief summary of the key foodstuffs to keep in mind if you are planning a trip any time soon!

Updates from the national Guild - shows, meetings and general communications and updates. Useful links and excerpts from the Internet of handy information known only to the lucky few!! View the full annual diary for the current year here.

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The Galway cast is one of those simple ideas that can be so powerful. Making use of a ‘forward’ cast in both the forward and back cast directions by turning the body and wrist allows the cast to either overcome strong winds from the back or more shrewdly to pick holes in overhanging trees that would otherwise snag an unsighted ‘normal’ back cast on an overgrown river bank. With practice this could be one of those tools that can give the edge when needed, allowing us to get that perfect fly to those special, normally out of reach fish. Phil demonstrated how side winds can be managed using the Barnegat Bay cast where the angler basically turns 180 degrees and the forward /

back casts swap their respective functions, or using the Belgium oval cast which also helps when casting multiple heavy flies. The members were set free on the field to put into practice what had been learnt with Phil and Bernie available for 1-1 advice.

The distance competition then followed with members having a try at shooting and hauling with a final competition for the combined total. Results provided from Bernie as follows:

Seven members took part in the distance comp. Each had two casts shooting line and two casts double hauling. As we pointed out in the presentation there is only about a 15% - 20 % difference in the extra distance achieved with hauling (in normal casting) This proved to be the case. Shooting line 1st Place Carl :- 127ft 2nd Place : Mike W :-126ft 3rd place Phil :-120ft Double haul 1st place:- Mike W :-146ft 2nd place:- Phil :- 144ft 3rd place:- Eddie:-132ft Overall :- 1st place MW :- 272 ft 2nd place Phil :- 264ft 3rd place :- joint Carl / Mike S :- 248ft Not sure if MW should be disqualified as he forgot to bring his own rod and borrowed mine maybe this could be considered at the next committee meeting

Thanks for a great night to both Bernie and Phil. Phil has an excellent

website you can access by clicking here.

A few light hearted lines to finish off the newsletter, before we tackle down and head off home!

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http://www.philratcliffeflyfishing.co.uk/flyfish/




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TBC 2020: Speaker night - From Surf to Loch with Ian Crook. Branch chairman Ian will give us an insight into his experiences of highland fly fishing with some interesting patterns and techniques!

Currently no events lined up, but we will be on the look out once the Covid restrictions start to clear.

JULY COMPETITION FLY I have decided to postpone the original fly that I had planned to ask you to tie, the fly I have chosen is a personal tribute to my good friend Pete Bowcock. The new challenge was one of Pete’s favourite flies and one that he used to use on one of his favoured stretches of river, the River Dane at Wincle. I had the pleasure of fishing there with him on several occasions and saw just how effective this fly was but, for whatever reason, it rarely worked for me. One particular occasion springs to mind when we both fished with Martin James, who recorded the session for his BBC Radio Lancashire fishing programme. To cut a long story short he gave us an object lesson on how to catch wild Brown Trout. The fly in question is the Pheasant Tail dry, a great classic fly from the turn of the twentieth century. This classic pattern has stood the test of time, this is probably due to it being a good generic spinner pattern and it is also relatively easy to tie. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the dressing of this fly, it is one of the flies that if you make any mistakes in the tying they will stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. For those tying the July competition fly, will you please tie up two identical samples. Pheasant Tail Dry Fly: Hook: Dry fly # 12 – 14 Thread: Brown 70 denier (or equivalent) Tail: Honey-Dun Cock Rib: Fine gold wire Body: Cock Pheasant centre tail Hackle: Honey-Dun Cock If you haven’t got a Honey-Dun Cock cape there are alternatives: either a Bright-Blue Dun or Rusty Dun. Failing that use any suitably sized cock hackle as a substitute, as I will be looking at the quality of the tying and not the colour of the hackle.

Happy tying and good luck.

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Thanks to Chris for putting this together, hopefully it will be a well-supported competition. Fly submissions to be sent to Chairman Ian Crook, whose address has been provided separately. Next fishing event will be the inter branch with the Dee and Clwyd branch, date and venue TBC but possibly a venture into Wales, Wal-Goch, Tree tops?

Some of the members have been sharing a few rather nice fishy pics lately, here are a few from Bernie Ratcliffe.

Here’s a look back from an article in our August 2018 newsletter. Chris Watson had a trip to the Lowther show in August, and has kindly provided the following update.

LOWTHER SHOW

One of my wife and I’s highlights of August was spending a very enjoyable day at Lowther Show. The show is set in the most perfect location of the beautiful grounds of Lowther Castle.

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The car parking, entry into the show and purchasing a programme (a worthwhile purchase to ensure that you don’t miss anything) was well organised and painless with minimal queueing. A swift perusal of the

programme quickly revealed that we were going to have more than enough to keep us entertained for the whole day, perhaps we should have purchased a two day pass. The show ground was very well laid out with plenty of room to get around, despite the large number of people attending. There was a huge array of trade stands offering

a huge selection of goods related to country pursuits, interspersed with country crafts and charities. Amongst the stands I found Teesdale Alpacas and had a lengthy discussion with their owners. I discussed with them how useful Alpaca fur was in fly tying, something they were not aware of. Later in the day I revisited their stand and whilst observing their beautiful Alpacas, a large bag of Alpaca fur in four natural colours was thrust into my hand. If any of our members wants any Alpaca fur to experiment with, please ask. Also on offer was a number of arenas with various displays, presentations and competitions, there was certainly more than enough to keep everyone entertained. Exciting all action family entertainment for all the family in the main arena At the far end of the show was the main arena with the fishing village and river behind it. The slope down to the main arena created a natural amphitheatre, excellent for viewing the superb displays that were on offer. These included the spectacular Stampede Stunt Company who provided breath taking displays of Cossack riding skills, the highly entertaining and informative Essex Dog Display Team and Ye Olde Redtail Falconry. One of the beautiful falcons being displayed by Ye Olde Redtail Falconry. I am sure that it won’t surprise you when I say that I spent a lot of time in the fishing village. My cunning disguise of not wearing my glasses and donning a peaked cap didn’t work, the inevitable question was constantly ringing in my ears: ‘where are you tying Chris? I must admit it was most enjoyable to have the opportunity to walk round a show without having anything to do Although I will say I did miss not tying and would have enjoyed it, it must be over ten years since I have attended a show just as a punter. It was great to catch up with some friends, some of whom I had not seen for a number of years. Needless to say there was a number of familiar faces represented in the fishing village including Lakeland Fly Dressers, AAPGAI, Prince Albert Angling Society, Flytek, The Fly Tying Company and Orvis. It was

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wonderful see that substantial numbers of visitors to the show including a high proportion of youngsters were taking casting lessons and having a go at fly tying. There was a lot of real talent on show both with the

casting demonstrations and some excellent fly tying. Spey casting demonstration and tuition from AAPGAI Amongst the fly tyers it was refreshing to see on the Lakeland Fly Dressers stand there was a very talented young lady who had only been

tying for a couple of years. She displayed a talent and confidence well beyond her years and experience, with a natural ability to teach. She is very definitely one to watch and will be tying on the Deer Creek stand at the next BFFI.

Hands on tuition from Lakeland Fly dressers Finally I have an admission to make, I have fallen in love????, with a fishing rod. Whilst talking to John Green on the Orvis stand he asked me if I had tried the new Helios 3 rod, I hadn’t. He explained to me that there was two

different rods types in various lengths and line weights. The 3D is designed for accuracy/distance and the 3F being for accuracy/feel. John encouraged me to try the 8’6”, #4 weight 3F, to cut a long story short it only took me a couple of casts before absolutely falling in love with the rod. It performed extremely well generating great line speed, with that all-important tight loop and great accuracy. This combined with absolutely no vibration in the rod tip, makes for one of the finest rods I have ever had the pleasure to cast with. The Helios 3 rods start at £849, not cheap but very well worth the price tag. My next challenge is to convince Pam that I really do need a new fly rod (might well involve a new reel and line), save up before visiting Orvis and choosing the best rod in the range to match my requirements. Put Lowther Show in your diary for next year I would also recommend extending your trip to take in the fabulous fishing in the area, not to mention great scenery, wildlife and hospitality.

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July and august certainly turned out to be hotter than average, and the fishing on the smaller stillwaters particularly was expectedly slow, and rivers eventually received the water needed at the back end of August to give the refresh that was needed. Fishing now picks up as we head into the second emergence of the early season Large Dark Olives, so be sure to have a #14 emerger or dry fly available if the fish are looking up. There are still stacks of caddis emerging around this time also and usual deer hair and CDC / Elk patterns will continue to turn up the goods. Large sedges like the Caperer are about now and these will be seen scuttling around the surface of stillwaters in the evening. Olives such as the lake and pond olives will also be around and a #14 nymph or dry parachute can fish well on stillwaters alongside midge and fry patterns. The waters are now cooling putting the fish into more of a feeding mood with rainbows feeding well into next month before the temperature starts to drop off. A good dry pattern that has served me more than most over the years is the iron blue dun parachute. On rivers and stillwaters it often proves just right and it is well worth having a few on hand, in a variety of sizes as it is taken well as a general olive pattern.

Hook DE dry 12-18

Thread 8/0, red

Tail Coq de Leon or Blue Dun cock hackles

Body Small red thread tag, then natural mole dubbing.

Post Grey antron

Chris Watson has been asked to act as a remote mentor for a guild member who does not attend a branch – that’s a challenge, but good to hear that Chris has been selected. The main guild website has now been updated and is working well. The member’s area is fine, they have done a really good job and it is very readable. Click here to access the new website. We were due to have a demo in April on Don Stazicker’s co-authored E-book with Peter Hayes, Trout and Flies – Getting Closer, which will now take place later in the year. I really cannot overestimate the benefit that

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getting access to this e-book will provide. I’ve used the kindle reader for Windows to access the e-book on a PC, it can also be read on smart phones and tablets that have up to date operating systems that can support the Kindle reader apps. Either way, the content is simply stunning, you really have to see it to believe it. Available from Amazon, here. Pat and Sue O’Reilly’s First Nature website is well worth a visit. Great coverage of all things nature with special interest for entomology and fly fishing with excellent photos, well worth a visit. www.first-nature.com

BRANCH FACEBOOK PAGE – this is a public page that all of us can view and where anyone with a Facebook account can post a message or upload photos. We will use it initially for basic communications and some photos so let’s see how it goes. Photos from this month’s meeting are on there. Please see link: https://www.facebook.com/NWFDG/ 21/01/20 49th Annual General Meeting followed by Bring and Buy 18/02/20 Midge Lifecycle with Chris Watson 17/03/20 From Surf to Loch with Ian Crook 21/04/20 Trout and Flies – Getting Closer with Don Stazicker 19/05/20 Norvice Workshop with Ni Rogers plus others. 16/06/20 Tying Class (TBC) 21/07/20 Casting + DVDs night with Bernie (TBC) 18/08/20 Tying Class (TBC) 15/09/20 Tying Class (TBC) 20/10/20 Speaker Night Les Lockey 17/11/20 Speaker Night TBC 15/12/20 Fly-tying Competition with Chris Watson

I’m sure we’d all welcome the release of the Coronavirus away from

society completely.

North West Branch FULL DIARY – 2020

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