Bill,
I just have to marvel at your handiwork! So fine indeed! It is a pleasurable thing just to look at your work! Really, really top notch stuff! Keep'm coming!
Doug
Endrick Spider
Moderators: William Anderson, letumgo
Re: Endrick Spider
Fish when you can, not when you should! Anything short of this is just a disaster.
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daringduffer
- Posts: 2195
- Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:11 am
Re: Endrick Spider
In the July issue of the Scottish Magazine Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, the creator of this pattern tells the story about how it came to be. Initially he thought of it as the "Free Fly" since he paid no money for the materiels utilized.
"John Harwood has been fishing since 1953 and took up night fishing for sea-trout 1969".
His application for membership to Loch Lomond Angling Association came through in 1969. He was shocked when he saw the other fishermen rubbing shoulders in the comfortable parts of the stream, and decided to look for solitude. This meant fishing places like the "Snag Alley" during high water. Total darkness resulted in plenty losses of fly casts. Eventually he decided on four flies for different needs. One of these was the Free Fly. He had aquired lots of pheasant and partridge by helping out on several of his local gamekeeper's organised shoots. He asked if he could have some centre tail feathers from one and neck-and-back feathers from the other. He expected to receive maybe two or three bags, but was given bin-loads. When searching books for patterns dressed with this combination he came up with nothing. Meanwhile, a West Germany engineering firm was assembling a new printing machine at work. He found plenty of off-cuts from electric wire lying about which he collected. This provided him with both copper and silver wire, for free.
His original fly was tied on sz 8 hook, with copper underbody and, for clear water copper rib, for coloured water silver rib. Silk used was hot orange. His third version, for low water, had no copper underbody and was tied with brown silk for easy identification. Copper rib includes brown hackle and silver rib uses grey.
John Harwood goes on to tell a bout initial disappointment with the fly. He was about to discard it when, by chance, he had to use it with a floating line on the River Endrick, which flows into Loch Lomond from the west. He ended up with seven sea-trout and three grilse on that outing. He has lived happily ever after...(my comment).
A friend of his, the late Peter McKenzie-Philps, found out about his secret free fly and was sent several to try out. He was owning his own tackle business and soon wanted to include the fly in his catalogue. "Free Fly" was then not an appropriate name and PM-P suggested the name Endrick Spider. The fly was an immediate success in both rivers and reservoirs, and is now tied in many different sizes.
Master Schuck's version is close to the published sbs in the article, although Harwood makes a slimmer body.
Except for the quote, I have told the essence of the story with my own words (I think). It is much longer in the magazine.
dd
"John Harwood has been fishing since 1953 and took up night fishing for sea-trout 1969".
His application for membership to Loch Lomond Angling Association came through in 1969. He was shocked when he saw the other fishermen rubbing shoulders in the comfortable parts of the stream, and decided to look for solitude. This meant fishing places like the "Snag Alley" during high water. Total darkness resulted in plenty losses of fly casts. Eventually he decided on four flies for different needs. One of these was the Free Fly. He had aquired lots of pheasant and partridge by helping out on several of his local gamekeeper's organised shoots. He asked if he could have some centre tail feathers from one and neck-and-back feathers from the other. He expected to receive maybe two or three bags, but was given bin-loads. When searching books for patterns dressed with this combination he came up with nothing. Meanwhile, a West Germany engineering firm was assembling a new printing machine at work. He found plenty of off-cuts from electric wire lying about which he collected. This provided him with both copper and silver wire, for free.
His original fly was tied on sz 8 hook, with copper underbody and, for clear water copper rib, for coloured water silver rib. Silk used was hot orange. His third version, for low water, had no copper underbody and was tied with brown silk for easy identification. Copper rib includes brown hackle and silver rib uses grey.
John Harwood goes on to tell a bout initial disappointment with the fly. He was about to discard it when, by chance, he had to use it with a floating line on the River Endrick, which flows into Loch Lomond from the west. He ended up with seven sea-trout and three grilse on that outing. He has lived happily ever after...(my comment).
A friend of his, the late Peter McKenzie-Philps, found out about his secret free fly and was sent several to try out. He was owning his own tackle business and soon wanted to include the fly in his catalogue. "Free Fly" was then not an appropriate name and PM-P suggested the name Endrick Spider. The fly was an immediate success in both rivers and reservoirs, and is now tied in many different sizes.
Master Schuck's version is close to the published sbs in the article, although Harwood makes a slimmer body.
Except for the quote, I have told the essence of the story with my own words (I think). It is much longer in the magazine.
dd
Re: Endrick Spider
Good stuff, Stephan. Nice little story behind this great pattern.
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daringduffer
- Posts: 2195
- Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:11 am
Re: Endrick Spider
I didn't know any of the details until I read this article. All I knew was that some people considered this fly as revolutionary a wet fly as the Klinkhåmer an emerger pattern. It served me very well last September when fishing for grayling. Veri, veri oälll!Smuggler wrote:Good stuff, Stephan. Nice little story behind this great pattern.
dd