Your comments and opinion on game-fishing matters
ANDREW FLITCROFT BLUE WANDERER
I read Rob Denson’s excellent article on the use of the colour blue in fly-tying and just wanted to add my thoughts on the subject.
I first discovered the Donegal Blue as a trout fly nearly 35 years ago, while working on the Isle of Lewis. Eddie Young wrote about it in the fishing report, so it had to be tried. We caught lots of brown trout, and good numbers of sea-trout too. I remember one day on the sea-trout when I ended up fishing a team of three. I never caught a salmon with it, but others did. The pattern was simply a dubbed blue body, silver rib and black hackle. We tied them quite “plump”, in a similar style to that other great Irish export —the Goat’s Toe. Since then, it has always been in my box and caught fish consistently in the peaty lochs of the Western Isles and Argyll.
I spent seven years living in Lancashire. I tied on my killer fly, but it had lost it “killer” status. If the river was dropping back and carrying peat stain, then it would take a trout or two. When the peat stain went, so did its allure. I used to fish some of the tarns in the Lakeland Fells. They were often very peaty, and given a good wave, it caught fish again.
My next move was to the chalkstreams of Hampshire and Wiltshire. When the mayfly is over, I fish North Country Spiders a lot, particularly a size 16 Partridge and Orange. It works well when trout are sipping in the evening at Lord knows what. I tied up the Donegal Blue in the same sparse fashion. Trout and grayling looked at it with disdain. I have come to the conclusion that water clarity and especially Donegal Blues with wide ribs. Best in peaty water, says Martin. peat stain are the key to its success. Where the water is dirty but not peaty, its appeal wanes. Where the water is clear, it fails.
About ten years ago, I was on holiday in Ireland. I walked into Charlie Bonner’s shop in Dungloe to buy some Donegal Blues from home turf. I discovered that the fly we had fished for years was nothing like his version. The colours and materials were the same, but the pattern was much less bulky, and the silver rib more prominent. A black-and-silver Spider with hints of blue.
I had a day on the Loch of Kirkbister this September off the bank. The locals had said that was the place when wading, but the fish will be small. The Donegal Blue outshone the other flies on the cast. It also consistently took the better-sized trout. Kirkbister was peaty; I tried it on Harray, which was clear, and didn’t get a pull. Orkney proved the theory two days running.
Martin Browne, Wiltshire
Inviting poachers
I hesitate to criticise Nick Measham’s “Soapbox” missive as it is written by a man who is running an organisation doing much good work with regard to Atlantic salmon conservation. However, the campaign aimed at persuading the public not to eat farmed salmon is futile and
