Rained off!

      Ok, the Dee and Glyde are still out of order. The Dee is dropping away at the minute but absolutely rotten dirty and the Glyde's still rising. The Glyde has a number of lakes at the head of it's system and takes quite a while to rise, the flip side of this is that it drops relativley slowly and good fishing can be had for an extended period of time.
I spent this morning at the vice and knocked out a few Curry's Red Shrimps and a Canadian pattern called the Aldo. The Aldo's a lovely pattern that I came across on a speypages thread about Canadian tier Marc LeBlanc. The flies are truly stunning and I am definitely gonna be swimming them in Irish waters this season.
      Fly fishing for salmon is a strange sport. It's a kind of affliction, an addiction that needs regular fixes. A fix can take many different forms; an hour at the vice, several hours browsing through the myriad of forums and websites dedicated to salmon fishing, money spent on some of the latest gear or tying materials, a chat at the tackle shop or on the phone with similarly affected buddies. The ultimate fix of course is actually getting out and at it on the river.
       I've my first Hardy reel on the way later on today. I'm picking up a Mk VI Bougle so hopefully it won't be long till I get my knuckles rapped by an angry springer.
In the meantime, here are a few of today's creations:

 Franc 'n Snaelda

 Ackroyd

 Modern v Traditional

 Aldo

Curry's Red Shrimp