Post by macd on Aug 5, 2010 22:23:56 GMT
This is my favourite fly- I first tied it in 2004.
And here is the wee tale of how it came into being.
I had some lovely bucktail from Nigel Griffiths- used in the Marcatair. I had also seen an article by Davie McPhail about lite brite- T&S in 2002-2003 I think. I fell for lite brite and bought some yellow from Somers in Aberdeen, which sat, like so much fly tying stuff often does, doing bugger all for months
I had always been taken by Irish Shrimps and the use of seal's fur and had been struck by an article by peter o'reilly on the irish shrimps (illustrated by some excellent tying by Robert Gillespie).
This was from around 1997. One of the points O'Reilly had made was concerning the dubbed body and strong profile of the irish flies- he reckoned it was a key part of the succes of that style and it struck a chord.
I have dubbed the bodies of my shrimp flies ever since. Of all the parts of the fly- waggly tails and flashy stuff- the dubbed body has always stood out for me and in that regard O'Reilly's article remains a big deal.
Nigel's Marcatair, McPhail and O'Reilly all played a part. As did Eddie McCarthy whose brain had been picked clean by me over the years- both he and my father like flies with presence. I gave the first few flies to the old man and he fell in love with it.
I suppose the Park Shrimp will be the better known fly, but the Mairi's Shrimp is the template.
I hope you dont mind me sharing this nonsense.
This Mairi landed me 5 fish last week- i use runner in the tail now.
and here's an unchewed one
And here is the wee tale of how it came into being.
I had some lovely bucktail from Nigel Griffiths- used in the Marcatair. I had also seen an article by Davie McPhail about lite brite- T&S in 2002-2003 I think. I fell for lite brite and bought some yellow from Somers in Aberdeen, which sat, like so much fly tying stuff often does, doing bugger all for months
I had always been taken by Irish Shrimps and the use of seal's fur and had been struck by an article by peter o'reilly on the irish shrimps (illustrated by some excellent tying by Robert Gillespie).
This was from around 1997. One of the points O'Reilly had made was concerning the dubbed body and strong profile of the irish flies- he reckoned it was a key part of the succes of that style and it struck a chord.
I have dubbed the bodies of my shrimp flies ever since. Of all the parts of the fly- waggly tails and flashy stuff- the dubbed body has always stood out for me and in that regard O'Reilly's article remains a big deal.
Nigel's Marcatair, McPhail and O'Reilly all played a part. As did Eddie McCarthy whose brain had been picked clean by me over the years- both he and my father like flies with presence. I gave the first few flies to the old man and he fell in love with it.
I suppose the Park Shrimp will be the better known fly, but the Mairi's Shrimp is the template.
I hope you dont mind me sharing this nonsense.
This Mairi landed me 5 fish last week- i use runner in the tail now.
and here's an unchewed one