Back at the BFFI

Certain events in the year, even those where you don't wet a line, get you really enthused to try new ideas and make new connections. The BFFI (British Fly Fair International) is one of them. I took my stall of books, flies, prints and the rest for the weekend and had a blast. You find yourself talking to a midlander about chub on the fly one minute, Italian and Icelandic fly fishers the next. The only trouble is the sheer range of fly tying products that always tend to put a dent in my profit margin!
As a fly tyer, you couldn't ask for a more vast selection. It's a bit like being a chef browsing the world's greatest food market. The basket quickly fills, but here were a few things on my list:

First up, I'm seriously beefing up my predator flies at the minute. "Foxy Tails" make some fantastically coloured materials that add serious presence to any pattern. I'm going to have some fun with these samples. Almost as much fun as my cat Harry, who is currently kicking seven shades out of an off cut of the same material that Jo, my other half, brought back for him.

Next up we have Deer Creek. I'd given Bristol tyer John Horsfall a lift to the show and was soon mesmerised by their stall. They make eyes to die for- loved by jerk bait makers as well as tyers. I'm also keen to play with their articulated pike fly mounts- which I'm going to make some big, hinged beasties out of. The barred zonker strips (above) look great too- can see the mackerel colour working wonders for bass flies.

Still on the predator front, I'm also a fan of Funky Flytying. There's been some rivalry with the Deer Creek boys, but the way I see it there's room for everyone. I use their dumbell heads for lots of my pike and zander flies, while I also love their big, glitzy tinsels- a single strand of "Lateral Scale" tinsel makes a cracking "lateral line" on a big fly for a beautiful extra dose of flash.

When it comes to the smaller stuff, the options are even more infinitely varied. I love stripped peacock bodies on so many of my flies. How do I get a perfect result? I cheat! It's a fiddly job at the best of times- and the "Polish Quills" sold by Fly Tek are so much easier. A beautiful material and a real time saver.

To be honest, it's a good job I have a stall to man at this event. Otherwise I'd need a trolley, not a basket! It's nice to make some impulse buys too, and just have a good rummage for materials that might make your next killer fly. Cookshill Fly Tying are superb for the traditional stuff- top quality for a lot of the hackles I use on my spiders especially and loads of the flies that feature in "Flyfishing for Coarse Fish".
There are many stalls to name however- and I got some seriously good value bargains through having a good rummage. Bargain of the show had to be this beautifully marked section of hen- for the princely sum of 80p this will make one hell of a lot of soft hackled flies:

To my shame, I've yet to get back on the rivers for coarse fish just yet. I must get after the chub again soon. Give me a sunny afternoon, a big dry fly and I'll be a happy man. Do keep me posted with your own catches at "Fly For Coarse" (www.flyforcoarse.com) too- I'm betting we see some cracking dace and chub now it's open season for these fish. I've also written a special article on fly fishing for Dace for next months "Fly Fishing and Fly Tying" magazine.
My own bestsellers for this years show though, were the new soft fish we have in stock. Joining the pike, perch and trout we now have some terrific looking char, salmon and grayling. I'll post some pictures as soon as I manage to add them to the site at www.dgfishing.co.uk

Gathering Flies

I always love a quiet hour or two at the vice tying some flies. Lately it has felt more like a week or two of solid work however, with some 60 or more patterns on the go for both a book project and also material for an American magazine feature on "The Perfect 10 British Trout Flies"- a great honour if something of a nightmare narrowing down centuries of great flies into a mere ten classics! So where do we start? Those who have never tied a fly of any kind might take heart from the Black & Peacock- which consists of thread, peacock herl and black hen... and that's it! Bloody good for trout but also useful for coarse fish:

I also have a liking for traditional stalwarts, and for anyone suspicious of passing angling fads, the March Brown has been catching trout for some 500 years!

Turning out flies to a publishable standard is always a great challenge. With a quality macro lens (Nikons are used for micro surgery, such is their quality!) every little fault shows up. The messier results fill my fly boxes- only the best go to the publishers! It's a bit like a ruthless modelling audition- you pick and preen the best little buggers to look spot on... and the slightly fat or scruffy ones are asked to leave. After several attempts, here is my version of Richard Walker's classic Hanningfield Lure- it was designed for trout, but Walker found it even deadlier for perch, the jointed effect giving it extra wiggle:


The range of flies and materials is truly vast. This week I've used everything from partridge feathers to strips cut from a Doritos packet in this little buzzer:

The fussy flies can drive you to madness, which is why I always welcome some meaty predator patterns into the mix. And who says pike flies can't be pretty (before they get bitten, obviously!). Here are a pair of poppers, I paint the bodies by hand:

June has thus been a mixed blessing with all the rain I guess- at least you don't feel like you're missing much by spending hours tying up flies when outdoors looks less than appetising. For those less than keen on tying their own flies I am always willing to consider any requirements you may have too. And unlike the shops with their imports I can always produce patterns for less fashonable species- from roach and rudd, to perch and zander.

Fair of a Thousand Flies

Is there any event which shows the brilliant, diverse creativity of the art of fly tying as well as the British Fly Fair International? I very much doubt it. So much for this being a "niche" hobby- the fair has everything from rare traditional materials to modern synthetics, magnum to micro sized flies, not to mention a fantastic cast of international tyers.

What strikes you is the unique vision of each tyer and yet this is very much an event about sharing ideas, of being surprised and feeling inspired. And from a writer's angle there are countless strange and fascinating tangents to be explored here.

Perhaps we should begin with a tip of the hat to tradition however- I'm always staggered by the craftsmanship and beauty of the work on display such as Jörg Schuft's classic salmon fly pictured above. Just as fishing is about far more than catching fish the same can be said of fly tying- in this case elevated to pure art. In truth though the lines of practicality and aesthetics often blur- and an event like the BFFI is all about originality- sometimes useful, sometimes audacious. Here is Bulgarian tyer Stoyan Filipov's imaginative take on the life cycle of the frog- cute:

In my opinion, fly tying has never been a broader church. Definitely something to be celebrated whilst other branches of fishing become more and more predictable and coldly efficient. To take two ends of the fly fishing spectrum, we have hulking great pike flies and the tiniest trout flies- both are beautifully made, both have their place. Riny Sluiter of the Netherlands provides the "kingsize" snack below,
In the "fun size" category right at the other end however, small is most definitely beautiful for Andrew Baird with some delectable, tiny flies (his blog www.smallflyfunk.blogspot.com is also well worth a look):


Of course, besides the tyers themselves, the fly fair is also an unrivalled place for new and rare materials. Cookshill (check my links) are first choice for rarities and I couldn't resist taking notes on some of their weirder requests. How do you fancy polar bear fibres or condor? Parakeet is another current special- these birds are pests in London currently and some individuals have been using green fairy liquid bottles as decoys to lure them in! On the stall itself I rather liked the look of these rare Argus Pheasant wings- but at £50 maybe not eh?:

Perhaps the real surprise material for this year however was the Taser wire Caroline Emmet was using to make some cute bugs. No, I'm not losing it- the wire really does come from Taser gun wire used in training exercises. Better still, if you buy some all the proceeds go to the "Fishing for Heroes" charity to aid our ex-services people in need. With different plastic coatings this produces some interesting effects and attractive finishes ( see www.fishingclass.co.uk / www.fishingforheroes.net):


Another place of surprises, Chris Sandford's angling collectibles and antiques are always worth a look and another welcome surprise was meeting Bob James. Whilst some folks need a dodgy joke to get them grinning, these chaps were jovial enough already:

I always have a daft question or two for Chris regarding his curiosities- among which were various bugs and creature style flies and lures made from cork, fur and goodness knows what else, along with more traditional classics. Curiously, unlike the flies bought loose in todays tackle shops, patterns were once commonly sold in lots already tied to gut:

After a long day and a real tour around all the corners of the show, I just about had time to get those items of tackle on my list- odds and ends I hope will spice up my winter predator flies as well trout patterns. In the nick of time really- closing time sounded and I was absolutely knackered. Spare a thought for Keith Passant however (below), who will have (just about) completed a 24 hour tie-a-thon by the time this blog reaches you. Except that he forgot about the changing clocks and so it becomes a 25 hour session! All in the aid of another excellent cause- "Casting for Recovery" which reaches out to breast cancer sufferers and really demonstrates both the generosity as well as the theraputic value of our sport (www.castingforrecovery.org.uk).