There is something quite beautiful in these simple flies, honed over generations of anglers. Sparse yet perfectly balanced, using the finest natural materials. Simple yet with every turn of thread counting.
When I first started fly fishing, missing the saltwater fishing I had tasted and loved in Australia it occurred to me that there was good trout fishing on the doorstep and so I began to learn to fly fish. After some days learning to cast a fly on a still water I joined a local fishing club with some stretches of fly only river. I called in at a tackle shop and was advised to try Partridge and orange, Snipe and Purple and Waterhen Bloa. So I bought a few and with a bit of advice on how to fish them off I went to fish the river Aire at Gargrave. Well my casting was not great but it was a lovely spring day and I could see fish rising every now and again. I kept trying and was eventually rewarded with a lovely little brown trout to my Orange & Partridge spider.
Not long after that I bought my first tying vice from the same shop and started to learn how to tie flies. North country spiders were some of my first attempts, some say they are easy to tie and a good starting fly. I would say easy to tie an average one but difficult to master, every turn and every detail counts in a north country spider. Years later I still love tying these small sparsely dressed flies, the pure silk is an amazing material, with a kind of sheen and glow that becomes translucent when wet. Selecting the correct feathers and getting them to play ball. I definitely haven’t mastered them yet but each time I turn to them I learn something new. It’s a privilege to be able join in a tradition spanning centuries in tying these wonderful flies and to get to fish them in the same rivers as Walbran, Pritt and so many others.
I am very happy that we can now offer Ephemera Pure Fly Tying Silk from Au Ver Γ‘ Soie, owned by the same family since it’s naissance in 1820 and now run by Marc Boucher, 5th generation of the family line. This spans deep into the history of North Country fly tying. The silk is dyed in hanks to garuantee perfect uniformity. Certainly a worthy material for Classic Wet flies and North Country spiders.
