The mind of W.C. Stewart

[DOUGSDEN]

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
When you set down at the vice and tie one of the classics, have you ever felt the presence of the one who created it? I do (spooky isn't it?) and I feel like asking over my shoulder, "what in the world were you thinking?"
The spider series of Mr. Stewarts are almost absurd in their simplicity. But, they work! And I am so glad that they do! When I first started fishing them I did not want them to work because there wasn't enough stuff to make them attractive to fish. The great Dave Hughes once claimed that the hackle is where the action is at on a spider (or soft-hackle) and Syl Nemes in one of his famous books challenged us to try a hackle only fly. Well, low and behold, it works too.
If I am not mistaken, the spider series that Mr. Stewart loved was an immitation of diptera. I am just wondering if Stewart had accurately duplicated this natural fly with what amounts to a hackle only fly or if he found out that leaving the body off of an established pattern worked just as good? In other words was he just playing around with an idea and found a killer pattern?
Could anybody swing my interpritations and impressions one way or another on this intruguing subject? What was he thinking anyway?
I have read somewhere recently "how" Stewart fished his famous patterns and to me it is very close to the now popular "Tenkara" system of tying and fishing. Please comment on this too and correct me if this is a bad observation.
Don Nicholson, I have not even started down the happy path toward your fine web-site to look for clues on the above. What do you have for me? I am headed there soon to look around.
Thanks everyone,
Dougsden

[Ruard]

Hi Doug,

To take a look at minimum spiders see also the third article of David Westwood about tummelstyle spiders on my site.

Greeting

[CM_Stewart]

was he just playing around with an idea and found a killer pattern?

WC Stewart was shown the black spider by James Baillie. There is apparently no information on who showed it to Baillie or if he developed it himself. Similarly, I believe there is no information on whether Stewart or Baillie created Stewart's other two spiders, the red and the dun.

Although Stewart urged anglers to fish a short line, a light line and to keep as much line as possible off the water, which is clearly common ground with tenkara, Stewart would not have liked modern tenkara rods. He called for a stiff rod, and the tip sections on a tenkara rod are very soft to allow casting what is essentially just a 15-17' leader.

Although Stewart fished with a reel, James Baillie, who Stewart introduces as "considered by all who know him as the ablest fly-fisher in Scotland" did not. He fished with a "hazel rod and string tied to the top of it".

[DOUGSDEN]

Ruard,
I will check out your web-site soon.....just not tonight! It's late and I was up early to work today. You have my interest in this! Thanks friend!
CM,
Thank you for your response about Stewart (any relation?) and Baillee. It seems the tenkara system and Stewarts method of fishing are indeed very similar. I appreciate knowing these things and thanks for filling me in!
You guys are something else!
With gratitude,
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ........

[CM_Stewart]

(any relation?)

Not that I know of, but I haven't looked into it.

If you go back far enough, we're all related.

[DNicolson]

The spiders Stewart learnt from Baillie were probably well known
for many years to the local anglers and their origins are lost in the
distant past. The three spiders covered most flies on the smaller
tributaries of the Tweed that Baillie fished (the Gala and the Leader.)
As they are simple and basic flies, they cover almost everything
to be seen on these waters.
The fact that they used only silk bodies was an advantage as the commonest flies are smallish stone-flies with very slim bodies.
These are not rich lowland streams but rather acidic streams feeding
down off the moors and hill pastures. This is a very common type
of stream in Scotland, thus the flies are very successfull here.
As to rods, I have just re-read Stewarts comments, and Chris' statement
is correct, he preferred a stiff rod and what was rather unusual for the time,
a nine or ten footer, preferably the ten foot rod. Which is very short for the
time.
Have a look at 'How to Catch Trout' by Three Anglers.
You can download a free copy from the Internet Archive
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query ... ch%20Trout

You will find a lot of traditional Scottish patterns in this small book.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Donald,

After starting to read the downloadable copy, I found a 1945 edition for $5.00 in Very Good condition, and ordered it. Once again, your suggestions have led to an increase in my library, and I am thankful for it. There were several reprint editions available as well, but after comparing an original copy of Pritt's book and a reprint, the reprint lacks the color illustrations that are so beautiful in the original. I now prefer the original, when the wallet allows.

REE

[BobSmith]

I can't remember what the name of the book is now, but there is one that talks of fishing upstream soft hackled flies on the river Tees, it predated Stewart by several years. The idea put about in several quarters that Stewart was the first to write about and publicize this method is false. Anglers in Yorkshire and the North East have been practicing this style of fishing for centuries. Indeed who is to say that Cotton did not fish his Derbyshire flies upstream with a short blow line. Stewart's only claim to fame is that he twisted his hackle and thread together when wrapping his hackle in a half palmered style, and even then Baillie was probably responsible for that.
I will probably get some stick for this but I view Stewart and his book as a complete waste of time. If I were to list the ten worst angling books his would be in the top three.
Feel free to throw stones.

[DNicolson]

I could not quite understand what BobSmith's complaint was, then I realised,
Stewart was not a Yorkshireman.

[BobSmith]

Thank God!!!