Yorkshires soft hackle tradition by robert smith really caught my eye. The book will be launched at the british fly fair international, stafford county showground, 7th and 8th of february 2015. It seems to me as a modern landmark in the history of the soft hackles, flymphs and spider style flies on par with the art of tying the wet fly and fishing the flymph by leisenring and hidy and the classic north country flies by thomas evan pritt, and for people into this type of flies or fly history in general its a musthave book. Buy a cheap copy of a guide to north country flies and how. We carry a wide range of fishing, sporting and countryside books, and try to supply any book that you need, in or outofprint. Many of the spidertype flies were devised in the yorkshire dales, mainly for fishing rivers and are frequently referred to as north country patterns. Its written by robert smith, a new friend and fellow aficionado of the softhackled fly. At first glance it looks like a simple book photos and recipes for 141 different fly patterns, but as you read the text you will discover that the author has included a great deal of history on each of the flies. Similar to a wet fly, soft hackle, or spider, this fly features minimal components, though can be highly effective in various situations. North country flies flytying all fishing books cochy. Many flies tied by the author are depicted, exquisite tying needless to say, followed by chapters on tying techniques, materials, bird feather anatomy and much more. This account of north country fishing found resonance with flyfishers around the world. Also modern masters are covered, including my own first proper introduction to the correct tying of these patterns, oliver edwards. Jackdaw corvus monedula shoulder and neck hackles are in fact little used in the dressing of traditional north country spiders, other than for the dressing of probably one of the most famous of patterns, the dark watchet.
Dec 19, 2016 north country spiders are wonderfully simple but very effective flies. The book is titled the north country fly and is written by robert l. Mike harding covers some fifty variants of fly, as well as the techniques of tying and the history of the north country tradition. The north country angler has been in the valley for over forty years. Oct 31, 2018 on close inspection of the flies, it seems the walletbox was originally used during a period when north country flyfishers were moving from traditional gut and horsehair leaders with their patterns dressed on blind hooks. I love the histories of flies and this is history ramped up to the max. These are not an imitation pattern an exact match like blue winged olives, they are impressionistic patterns. Comprising eleven plates of handpainted illustrations, from the authors own drawings, with particulars of the dressings and season of each fly. We post uptodate stream reports in season on facebook, but please feel free to call us for uptotheminute fishing information.
These little flies are real gems, with their soft hackle and sparse body they epitomise the simplicity of flyfishing. Smith takes you back to the origins of these flies to the present. This book takes you through the history, where it all the uk, with original fly tying recipes starting in the 1600s on up to present day, and covers present day authors. The main course is still the north country flies with a detailed description of each pattern, its history, its prime season and the materials you need to tie it. The research that was done to fill its pages is to be commended.
One of the largest selections of flies in new hampshire, with over 700 patterns. A quick flick through sealed the deal and money was exchanged for a signed copy. The examples that we feature this month were all mentioned in a list, written by an angler called sylvester lister. The saco and ellis rivers, two of the best fly fishing rivers in the east, are just a short cast from our. A lot of these books cover coarse fishing methods too. Comprising eleven plates of handpainted illustrations, from the authors own drawings, with particulars of the dressings and. And this simple quirk of fate has in many respects dictated my views. By an old man well known on the derbyshire streams as a firstclass flyfisher a century ago. Jul 04, 2015 the book also, partly, tells the story of the north country angling clubs, which sets these flies into their correct historical and social context. Read about how to dress and fish north country spider flies from the black magic sider to. Author is the great grandson of harwood edmonds edmonds and lee brook and river trouting 1916. These neck and shoulder hackle have a distinctive silver grey often with a faint bluish sheen to them. E pritts book north country flies which i tyed for a collection for displayi would say.
The head is tied first, followed by the hackle, then finished with silk thread for the body. Ive been meaning to tie up a few different old soft hackle fly patterns and include them as throw back thursday flies. The origin of north country spider patterns, as with all flies, is a little cloudy. May 14, 2016 pritts north country spiders may 14, 2016 blog, fly patterns 1 comment having fished north country spiders for a number of years, i have always been fundamentally aware of one of the greats, t e pritt and his book on north county spiders. In addition, i wanted to provide a brief history about historic soft hackle flies as well. Pritts north country spiders fly tying company news. The flies featured are successful even if you are not in the north country.
Many north country flies were tied what i think is backward. Cochybonddu books are leading international dealers in new and outofprint books on angling, game shooting, sporting dogs and falconry. Im willing to trade it for a several schroeder, payne, leonard, hardy, etc. North country spiders, partridge and orange, snipe and purple. These designs of fly, conceived in the north of england around bolton abbey in the yorksire dales near skipton, are renowned for. Fished upstream with long rods and short lines, they are very effective on the spate, or freestone, rivers and streams that are common to the region. North country spiders the sliding stream flyfishing blog. The title of this book is a guide to north country flies and how to tie them and it was written by mike harding. The book features his own superb closefocus photography his previous little books on church iconography for aurum are evidence of his photographic skill, and. This slideshow is of the 62 flies listed and described in t. We offer quality fly fishing gear as well as guiding services. Collingwood, also additional notes on char fishing by a. In his dressing of the little dark watchet, pritt stipulated.
The only guide to tying one of the most popular cult kinds of flies in flyfishing. The flies are quite simple and similar and most of them are color variations over the pattern body, hackle, head. Robert smith on tying north country spiders currentseams. Read about how to dress and fish north country spider flies from the black magic sider to the waterhen bloa. The book north country flies gives history of the famous tyers pritt, stewart,hidy, liesenring and other tyers both past and present and going back as far as the 1700s, and he tells how they tied in hackles from the tip as well. A classic book on soft hackle flies first published in 1885 and now photographically reprinted in high quality with. Comprising eleven plates of handpainted illustrations. Aurums flytying bible by peter gathercole has so far sold over 43,000 copies, and has become renowned both for its superb closeup photography, and the wire binding that enables you to lie it flat to read from and keep both hands free for actually tying your fly. A book is referenced during the video, entitled a guide to north country flies by mike harding. It concentrates on the simple yet beautiful soft hackle flies of yorkshire in the uk, flies basically.
Handpainted illus, from the authors own drawings, with particulars of the dressings and season of each fly. It was published by aurum press ltd and has a total of 192 pages in the book. Pritt, angling editor of the yorkshire post, and honorary secretary, yorkshire anglers association. Nov 26, 2009 mike harding is the author of a guide to tying north country flies and eight little books for aurum, including the perennially successful books on the green man and gargoyles.
A comprehensive history of this area of fly fishing was written a few years ago by leslie magee and is titled fly fishing the north country tradition earlier books on this subject include those by john jackson. Published on oct 19, 2018 this slideshow is of the 62 flies listed and described in t. North country flies a classic book on soft hackle flies first published in 1885 and now photographically reprinted in high quality with a great foreword on its history. It chronicles the history of soft hackle flies over three hundred years and provides assistance for todays tyers to find substitute materials to tie the flies listed. Inside i found a selection of superbly tied wet flies and one in particular caught my eye. They are at the foundation of all north country fly fishing and are tied intentionally to be very sparse.
Located in north conway, new hampshire a sales tax free state, north country angler is a fullservice fly shop in the shadow of mount washington. This book covers a wide range of traditional north country soft hackle, aka spiders flies. At north country flies our aim is also to provide todays modern fly fisher with the finest tackle and flies available for fishing with north country spiders in the truly authentic north country style. Two of the classic works concerning this style of flies are t. North country spiders is the name given to wet flies tied in a particular style in the north of england. Many have great comments and opinions expressed by the author. Some of the first descriptions were discovered in an 1807 document written by a yorkshire farmer named john swarbrick. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. This book was first published in 1885 as yorkshire trout flies, and again in 1886 as north country flies. The waterhen bloa along with the partridge and orange and the snipe and purple form the holy trinity of north country flies. Mike harding is the author of a guide to tying north country flies and eight little books for aurum, including the perennially successful books on the green man and gargoyles. A friend had loaned me his copy about a year ago and i read most of the book. We are dedicated to providing a range of stylish and practical equipment and accessories including many products that are unique to us in the uk. Some traditional yorkshire fly fishermen fish with nothing else all season and catch plenty of trout.
Pulled out my virtually spotless copy of mike hardings book that i purchased from alibris on 12 november 2009. Beautifully illustrated with examples of actual flies and materials, and with images from the original manuscripts, this book tells the definitive story of the north country fly. Although the flies featured are similar in nature, having the use descriptions along with their tying instructions sets them apart from each other making a good book even better. The book also, partly, tells the story of the north country angling clubs, which sets these flies into. Hmh, regal, orvis, wapsi, hareline and ewing feather birds. If the link takes you to the download page you can download it as a pdf or click the flip book and read it on line. The north country tradition of flytying and fishing has long been celebrated as a remarkably successful way of catching fish. I liked it so well, i just purchased my own copy from the rogue anglers website i found the purple partridge soft hackle listed with john william binns 1860 1907. It concentrates on the simple yet beautiful soft hackle flies of yorkshire in the uk, flies basically consisting of a body and a hackle. The north country fly yorkshires soft hackle tradition. Better late than never i suppose, i had always been meaning to add this book to my library of angling books and.
Since were in flytying mode, i wanted to share this. Apr 06, 2015 the book is titled the north country fly and is written by robert l. Spider flies are over 300 years old and still they still catch fish. I received a new book a few weeks ago, the north country fly. By john beever, late of the thwaite house, coniston, a new edition with a memoir of the author by w. Details the fascinating history of the traditional spider patterns of yorkshire. He is also a highprofile radio presenter with his weekly folk music show on bbc radio 2, and hosts the annual bbc folk awards. The book features his own superb closefocus photography his previous little books on church iconography for aurum are evidence of his photographic skill, and is laid out in the same style as the flytying bible. As some of you will may know, i am a descendant of a famous north country anglerauthor. To a period when north country flies were dressed modern eyed hooks as well as nylon leaders. North country spiders are wonderfully simple but very effective flies. A guide to north country flies and how to tie them book. North country flies these flies are tied on small, light wire hooks with very slim bodies and a sparse hackle of game bird or hen feathers.
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