Fly tying demonstrations

This activity will take place in a special fly tying mall.  An opportunity to watch some of Scotland’s best fly tyers in action and to ask questions. Come along and see how it is done.

Junior Come and Try

A feature of this marquee this year will include a junior come and try where youngster will get an opportunity to design and make their own fly or lure under the supervision of a professional.  A daily prize will be given to the junior who is judged to have made the most fishable looking fly of any style.  This prize is also sponsored by Fish Pal.

This year we are anticipating 8 -10 tyers over the weekend and the names include:

PETER MCCALLUM

Peter has been fly-tying now for over 50 years and is a qualified casting and fly-tying instructor as well as a Pro-Team member for Semperfli fly tying materials.

Originally living in central Scotland his first love is fishing for wild brown trout and tying the flies that tempt them.

Having started fishing on the river Clyde and its tributaries, Peter has a real passion for Clyde style patterns with their sparse dressings which make them effective for picky trout.

Peter enjoys fishing in the northwest of Scotland wild lochs and tying the flies which work there. He also loves chasing salmon on his local rivers around Angus where he now lives.

Peter regularly attends many different fly-tying shows and fairs throughout the UK and Europe and has demonstrated at the game fair has done for many years.

ARCHIE FERGUSON

Former Scottish Anglers National Association (SANA) President, founding Director of Angling Scotland Ltd, international angler with multiple caps and occasional angling author, Archie has been fly fishing and fly tying from the age of thirteen.
His passion for the sport grows daily, and he prides himself in the notion that he still knows too little to give up learning just yet.

GRAHAM FORBES

Graham started fly fishing and fly tying at the age of 13 with his late father on the river Eden in our hometown of Cupar. His introduction to Fly tying was his means of making a bit more pocket money by selling flies to his dad.Graham fished for trout on the Eden, at Loch Fitty and Lochore Meadows until at 20 he moved to Elgin with work. I continued to fish for trout at the local trout fisheries of Glen of Rothes, Forgue and Loch Insch.Work then moved him to Inverness, and it was here he started my salmon fishing journey. A regular on the Ness and his favourite river the Thurso. Graham has also enjoyed fishing the Tay, Spey, Findhorn and Carron. Living in Inverness, he is very lucky to have so many great rivers close by.In the winter months loves to spend his spare time at his fly-tying vice. Hi is honoured to be a pro tyer for Semperfli and get the chance to use the full range of their wonderful materials, especially when new products are released.Graham has regularly tied at Scone for the past 5 years and really enjoy engaging with the public at such events especially encouraging the next generation to take up the sport.He has also demonstrated fly tying at the British Fly Fair, Irish Fly Fair and the Salon Occitanie show in Toulouse in recent years, all of which are great social events and a chance to catch up on friends old and new.

CONAN FYVIE

Conan has fished for wild trout since I was 5 years old, thanks to his late dad who passed on his love of the sport.His first forays into fly fishing came where he learned to love the ‘Traditional Loch Style’ of ‘Tripping the Bob’ fly from the boat across a nice wave.Now living in Caithness and surrounded by the wild lochs that abound in Scotland’s far Northeast corner.Wet and dry flies are his favourite flies to tie although Conan also specialises with predator patterns for pike and saltwater species and is a Pre-Team member for Deer Creek fly tying materials.

ALLAN LIDDLE

Allan has been a regular contributor to Fly Fishing and Fly-Tying Magazine for over 20 years writing about the wild fishing of Scotland and beyond as well as the flies he creates and uses along the way. He is a Brand Ambassador for Partridge of Redditch and Fishing Matters as well as a Pro-Team Member for Semperfli fly tying materials, Marryat Rods, Sprite Hooks and Patagonia and is also a former Scottish International angler. In addition, he is a qualified Trout Casting Instructor (GAIA) and regularly guides on the rivers and lochs close to his Morayshire home, and abroad in Greenland where he chases Wild Sea-Going Arctic Char. Allan fishes regularly on rivers (Deveron, Don and Spey) using a range of different methods for Wild Brown Trout although his passion is to use dry flies. Allan also has a passion for the Wild Lochs throughout Scotland and the Outer Isle on all fly-fishing styles, methods and tactics for wild brown trout, salmon and sea trout on boat, bank and float tube.

He is also a regular Salmon / sea trout and occasional grayling river angler as well as often found in salt water where he likes to chase sea trout and Bass in estuaries and open sea. No stranger to Stillwaters for stocked fish Allan often coaches young anglers introducing them Fly Fishing as a member of the River Spey Anglers’ Association, and has regularly demonstrated fly-tying at shows throughout the UK and Europe.

BART REITSMA

KEVIN MUIR

I have been fly fishing and fly dressing for over 40 years.  As a novice fly dresser, I read everything I could on the subject, I was happy with my flies but I had no benchmark to compare my fly dressing to.

When I attended my first Partridge Fly Tying Day I was introduced to the work of some amazing fly dressers, including the late Oliver Edwards and Davy Wotton, what a revelation.

After the inspirational Partridge Fly Tying Day I was desperate to learn more, I plucked up enough courage to join the Aberdeen branch of the Fly Dressers Guild.   Joining a fly dressing club was very important in my development as a fly dresser being a member of a club allowed me to attend many fly dressing workshops over the years hosted by fly dressers with an astonishing level of technical ability.  These workshops allowed me to receive one to one tuition from the late Oliver Edwards, Paul Little, Marvin Nolte and Wayne Luallen and many more demonstrators.

Being able to attend hands on workshops provided the inspiration and guidance to allow my fly dressing to improve far quicker than it had before.  I would urge anyone looking to acquire new techniques or improve their fly dressing to join a club.

I am a qualified Scottish Game Angling Instructor (SGAIC) in single handed fly casting and fly dressing, I have also been fortunate to have passed my AAPGAI Advanced Fly Dressing Assessment, something I found very challenging but also very rewarding.

I will be dressing a variety of traditional and modern trout flies at the Game Fair.  I look forward to sharing my passion for fly dressing with you.

MELVYN WOOD

The fly-fishing bug engulfed me about twenty-five years ago when I was in my mid-thirties and like many other fly anglers from the industrial north of England, I started my journey on small stocked still waters, fishing for rainbow trout. My fly tying started at this juncture, tying lures and buzzers. I soon became involved in the competition scene which changed my interest to large still waters, fishing lough style. I was lucky enough to be a member of the 2002 England lough style team. In 2001 I was invited to fish in Ireland. This event changed my life.

I now have a great love for Ireland, its people, its wild brownies and the sea trout. I have fished all over Ireland from Carrane in Kerry, Corrib and Inagh in Mayo, Sheelin in Cavan and Arrow in Sligo. Whenever I fish in Ireland, I never want to come home and incorporate a lot of Irish style and blend colours in to my flies which are now often influenced by the Irish style. I also fish all over Scotland from Perthshire to the Outer Hebrides and Orkney. I have also salmon fished in Norway.

 My local river is the Yorkshire Calder. It’s full of brown trout and grayling. You would not believe the quality of the fishing from such a small industrial river. My preference is to fish spiders’ upstream when the fish are sipping. The water I simply love to fish is Malham tarn. You will find me fishing their every week throughout the season, casting sedgehogs and dabblers to some truly wonderfully huge brown trout – in some of Yorkshires finest scenery.

As far as the fly tying goes, I tie all types of flies. From classic salmon flies – which I have a love hate relationship with – to the simplest of lures. My passion is for tying lough flies in the Irish style. I am also a member of two branches of the fly dressers guild – Pendle and Leeds and in Leeds I also teach the beginners class which is something I really enjoy.

I was also involved in my local Rivers Trust Board and set up the invertebrate monitoring section which hosted seventy members at its peak. I am also a Riverfly trainer and have trained over one hundred volunteers.

DAVID MATTEER

David has 60yrs fly fishing experience all over the Uk, Ireland and Patagonia. In addition, he has four International Caps representing Scotland at traditional loch style fishing.

He is also a fully qualified casting instructor with the Scottish Game Anglers Instructors Certificate (SGAIC), for both Double Handed and Single-Handed casting, along with Fly Dressing. David’s also a Level One Coach and also runs his own coaching / guiding business: David Mateer Casting Tuition.

David has been teaching since 2007 and is involved with the River Spey Anglers Association (RSAA) teaching beginners, ladies and juniors.

He especially enjoys helping people improve their fly casting, whether it’s beginners, intermediate or more advanced, who want to improve their technique as much as he enjoys helping people on their fly dressing journey.

ROBERT MCDONALD-LEWIS

DONALD STEWART

I have been tying flies for well over 40 years, in my early years I mainly fished the Water of Leith in Edinburgh and the surrounding reservoirs, as well as the Hill Lochs of Assynt before finding my way to The River Clyde at 16 years old. A river I have fished and loved ever since.

I quickly learned the Clyde Style way of tying from other anglers on the banks on the river, even if the accents led to some unusual fly names at first before I became familiar with the books of Reid and Sharp as well as the very old hand written patterns of Sanny Patton.

The Clyde Style way and proportions have been a huge influence in my tying for all my flies, river and loch!

I am the current secretary and instructor at the Sharp & Gentles Fly Tying Club where we teach the Clyde Style way of Tying that Bert Sharp and Willie Gentles so loved.

I am an ambassador for the very well-known and respected fly tying company Veniards.

I have tied at shows such as The Irish Fly Fair, BFFI and am a regular at The Scottish Game Fair where I look forward to seeing a lot of old and new friends, please feel free to ask me about any of your fly tying and fishing queries.

ALLAN HUTTON

My name is Allan Hutton. I’m from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire in Scotland. I’m an enthusiastic Flyfisher and Flytyer.

I’m a regular at Cobbinshaw reservoir but my true love is fishing for wild brown trout in the lochs and Lochans of the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

My interest in fly tying began not long after I started flyfishing in the early 1990’s when I joined the local fishing club and attended the weekly club fly tying classes.

Over the years as my tying improved and refined, I developed a real passion for tying Scottish and Irish Loch style patterns and studying the history and origins of these old traditional regional flies as well as the traditions of tying Clyde style flies.

 So much so that I joined the Sharp and Gentles fly tying club which promotes the traditions and use of the Clyde Style flies and have since developed a real passion for tying these unique old-style dressings as well as North Country spiders. As much as I appreciate and admire traditional flies, I also like to incorporate modern fly-tying materials into old traditional, which in many ways can on occasion enhance these patterns.

It is true to say that I’m as passionate about fly tying as I am flyfishing.