Knee Problems

I have been having problems with my knee, which I injured a year ago, damaging the tendons and they still haven’t healed properly. As a result I find it difficult to stand up when I have been sitting for long periods, the knee seeming to seize up. Walking on the flat is fine but going downhill is really painful, as is going down steps, probably a result of the jarring motion when descending. Wet or damp weather seems to make it worse, so this past year has been a painful one for me with the near constant rain we have had here in Scotland.

I imagine that every angler who ties flies is always on the lookout for cheap or free materials to use. I have had lots of opportunities to pick up dead pheasants and partridges as there is an estate near me that breeds them for shooting and as a result there are lots of road kill but I don’t fancy the idea of bringing untreated feathers into the house, so will stick to shop bought products.

I only started tying flies earlier this year and after a lot of frustrating attempts I have come to love tying my own flies but I have to remember to get up and walk around every so often or the knee really seizes up if I sit for too long.

My partner owns a small Gift Shop and I often drive her to wholesalers to look for and buy supplies. I have found a couple of outlets that sell Marabou, Ostrich and Peacock Plumes and coloured wire, raffia and several other products that I can use in my fly tying and all at wholesale prices. It’s amazing the price difference between buying Marabou from a Florist and from an Angling shop.

The flies on this page were all self-tied and are far from perfect, but I don’t particularly care as I can only improve and I do get a kick out of catching a trout on something I tied on my own. It sometimes annoys me when reading some of the posts on fly forums, where some anglers criticise other anglers efforts at tying flies. I have read comments such as “the tail is too short” or “the dubbing is too thick”. If it catches fish then it's a successful fly as far as I'm concerned.

I did the best I could when taking the fly shots but I will need to try to sort out some decent lighting and invest in a macro lens for my DSLR in order to get quality shots. I would probably be cheaper buying a compact digital camera as most come with macro facility and the picture quality is usually very good.

Hopefully the weather will improve as I am hoping to get over to Burnhouse Fishery for a few hours to practice my casting, which is extremely rusty. If I catch something then it’s a bonus, but I really enjoy getting away for a few hours, breathing in some fresh air and enjoying the scenery and the sights and sounds of nature.

I have heard some good reports about Harvieston Fishery out past Stirling, near Tillicoultry and want to drive through there for a couple of hours fishing. When I do I will write a report on my findings.