Storm
Day in Stillwater
As I write this, on Saturday evening, we’re being warned by the weather service
of an approaching snowstorm. After a run to the liquor store we’re prepared for the worst, we think. We’ve all
committed those checklists for storm survival preparation to memory, and, like most Canadians, we’ve come through some
epic winter storms in our time. If experience is the most important requirement for the job, Canadians are well qualified!
My rule
is, make good use of a storm day. When we were school kids we certainly enjoyed an unscheduled holiday, so why not now? We
can do some of those things we never get the time to do otherwise, inside, at home, of course. My plan
is to tie a classic salmon fly, something I rarely get a chance to do, but thoroughly enjoy.
When
Sunday arrives, the storm isn’t really bad, by our standards. But bad enough to call it a storm day and proceed with
the plan. The fly I’m tying is an Atlantic salmon fly called the Beauly Snow Fly. Its pattern is found in a very old
British book by Francis Francis called A Book on Angling, published in 1867. It was Francis Francis who said, “Some
fishing is better than others, but there is no such thing as bad fishing.”
Mr.
Francis writes “There is a singular fly used on the Beauly (Scotland), which is termed the Snow Fly, and as long as
there is any snow water on the river that fly kills well; far better indeed than any other.” A Mr. Snowie of Inverness
is credited as the originator of the fly. In my opinion, it should work well for our late autumn salmon fishing in Nova Scotia.
A simple fly, though a “classic”, it shouldn’t intimidate anyone from tying it for fishing, using a modern
eyed hook, of course. All materials required are inexpensive and available locally, and the fly has certainly stood up well
to the test of time. So, as the snow flies in Stillwater, here’s the Beauly Snow Fly.
The Beauly Snow Fly:
Thread:
Wapsi GSP thread, 50 Denier, white
Hook:
Partridge Bartleet Traditional size 2/0, made about ½” longer than normal by heating and straightening
the looped hook eye.
Hook Eye: Silkworm gut twisted, 2 heavy strands.
Ribbing:
Seven turns of large flat silver tinsel followed by gold twist.
Body:
Light blue seal fur (Francis used pig’s wool)
Body Hackle: From the fourth turn
of tinsel, black Spey hackle as long in fibre as the hook or longer. The new Whiting farms Spey hackle is a perfect substitute
for Francis’ heron hackle.
Wing:
A large bunch of bronze peacock herl.
Head:
A ruff of hot orange seal fur (Francis used mohair), giving a brilliant and unusual look to the fly. The head, forward
of this, is finished with black 8/0 Unithread and 2 applications of Angler’s Corner wet head cement
Please
stay on the line …