Tuesday 20 August 2013

A Bit of Old Yorkshire

I had a bit of a tidy up today and going through my book case I came across the first proper Grayling Book that was ever bought for me which was “The Grayling Angler” by John Roberts, first published in 1982, with the acclaimed Arthur Oglesby writing the forward for him.


 John a born & bred Yorkshireman wrote about all these wonderful places where he often caught lovely Grayling around Yorkshire and I now have the privilege to call some of these places my back yard, with probably one of the greatest Grayling Flies, The Sturdy’s Fancy being created by Tom Sturdy the West Tanfield Club’s first river-keeper on the Ure not 8 miles from my home, one of the first flies I ever learned to tie from John's book.


 John was an author I followed with great delight in my days stuck abroad in the British Army of the Rhine, and I always looked out for his publications and snapped them up as & when I could. 

It wasn’t until finally settling in our current house that I had the privilege to talk to John and to make him some trotting floats in exchange for some of his wisdom and fly patterns which I have now gone on with and caught some lovely Yorkshire Grayling, non more so than with his fly called the Supa Pupa which takes centre stage in my Grayling fly box. 

John has always promised me he will sign the many books I now have belonging to him & I've often thought as I pass his home in Fulford what he is penning next, I suppose I will have to wait & see.

6 comments:

  1. Hello George

    They look quite like a red tag. Can you divulge what the hackle is made from, and are they weighted in any way?
    When I eventually get my fly tying head back on I will try and knock some of these up.

    Regards

    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Dave,
    A lot of Grayling patterns look similar, especially the Yorkshire or North Country Flies, There are a few with tags, Bradshaw's fancy, Sturdy's fancy, Green Wizard, Priest, Red Tag & that's just red, got plenty with yellow tags on too, these are not weighted as they are all mainly dry/wet flies. In my opinion better dry than wet.
    The dressing for the Sturdy Fancy is :

    Hook: 14 - 18
    Tag: Red Wool or Fluorescent red Floss
    Body: Wound Peacock Herl
    Hackle: White or Cream Cock Hackle

    Like I say there are lots of Traditional Patterns from Yorkshire which are still as deadly for the Grayling today as they were all those years ago.
    All the best
    George


    ReplyDelete
  3. Cheers George

    Are these types of peacock bodied flies used in the Autumn mainly or are they successful in the spring and summer months?

    Regards

    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dave,
    To be honest I've used most traditional Grayling flies all season through, remember they wont catch just grayling, trout will feast on them too. The peacock herl flies do catch most of the year through as trout & Grayling mistake them for small beetle & other crustaceans , if you look at a lot of older patterns peacock herl is incorporated in quite a few of the flies wet & dry.
    cheers
    George

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks George

      I have a close affinity with Peacock Herl. The first fly I was ever taught to tie was a black and peacock spider. This pattern also accounted for a 12lb Rainbow from Lockwood Beck a few years ago. It seems to be a rather overlooked pattern nowadays.

      Regards

      Dave

      Delete
    2. A black & peacock spider, never leave home without at least 4 in my box, still very much a good fly in my eyes and has accounted for several good fish from the river this year.
      Tight Lines

      Delete

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