It�s a wonderful thing to catch a trout on a fly, and especially so if you tied the fly yourself. Bob Church described fly-dressing as not a science, but an ancient and romantic art, and so it is: carried out by hand, incapable of automation, the processes described by antique words like hackled and palmered. Although the traditional materials of silk, fur and feather have now been joined by glittering modern ones, there is still something of black magic about the mysterious business of tying flies which will deceive fish.

I teach fly-tying for beginners and improvers, for brown trout, grayling and still water rainbow fishing, as well as salmon and sea trout. I have a particular interest in some of the more traditional patterns once used on Welsh rivers as well as the North Country spider patterns, the so-called �soft hackle� flies which unfortunately (as the hackles are soft), don�t last that long once a few trout teeth get a hold on them! For this reason you need to re-tie your successful patterns regularly and quickly. Please contact me if you are interested in fly dressing lessons or for advice on traditional flies and materials.