Sewin Needles
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 31 July 2012 13:14
- Written by John Gray
John Gray looks back on the early days, and nights, of the Needle Fly.
My fishing diary of November 1998 records:
"I have an idea for the design of a lightweight sea trout fly for late night fishing, especially in early season on the Earn, say late May or early June, when a larger fly may be required. Tube flies and standard Waddington lures always seemed to be rather bulky or heavy and the hook attachment not ideal....¨
So, to while away the long dark nights of that close season, I set about the task of devising a sea trout lure which would overcome the shortcomings of these earlier designs, while retaining some of their best features. Such a lure, I thought, would ideally have the following characteristics:
- It should be simple to construct, in a variety of sizes and weights, using inexpensive and readily available materials.
- It should be easy to attach to the line or to change at night.
- The hook should be easily replaced if damaged, without the loss of the lure itself.
- It should be generally light in weight, even in large sizes, so that it can be easily cast and fished effectively on both floating and sunk fly lines.
- It should have a slim profile to give the impression of a small fish.
- The lure should always swim in line with the leader.
The result, after much experimentation, was the Needle Fly.
So, by the beginning of the 1999 sea trout season, I had the prototypes all ready to go. All dressed up and nowhere to go would more accurately describe the situation, as things turned out. It was a wet start to the season and the Earn ran high for the whole of May, too high for night fishing. It was the end of the month before I could try out the needle fly in anything like good conditions. But my diary of 31st May eventually recorded the following:
"The river had dropped a further couple of inches but was still covering the bottom of the log, with no stones showing. So still a shade high for night fishing and running cold due to the generation water from the power station upriver. I had a good pull at the top of the dyke before it was properly dark, using a neutral line and 2 size 6 flies. Caught a half pound brownie later on a two inch Needle Fly..... my first fish on the needle. I was pleased to note that the needle fly fishes well in the water and remains intact, provided the needle is pushed well into the rubber tube. I had one other pull in the tail of the pool at around 12.45 am....."
The river continued to run high for most of June and the night fishing was difficult. Things improved, though, towards the end of the month and I was eventually rewarded for good attendance. More importantly, the new fly proved a great success, as my fishing diary later records:
"In eighteen hours of night fly fishing on the Crieff Angling Club stretch of the River Earn, between 25th June and 7th July, I had seven sea trout, the Needle Fly accounting for six of these, weighing between two pounds and four and a half pounds...."
Since its early successes on the River Earn, the Needle Fly has become my favourite fishing lure for late night sea trout. It is also useful earlier in the night, or even in daytime, when the river is running a bit high or cold, particularly in early season. It has also accounted for a few salmon. In addition to its extremely slim profile, its great advantage is that it is simply and quickly tied, using materials which are generally inexpensive and readily available. Indeed, I prefer to dress my needles very sparsely, in the hope of creating that tenuous and impressionistic lure so favoured by Falkus.
The needle can, of course, be dressed in any way which fashion or fancy may dictate. The photographs below, for example, illustrate the dressing of a simple shrimp pattern, consisting of little more than a hackle and some badger hair, to produce the Needle Shrimp. Colours can be varied and other hair, such as bucktail or squirrel, may be substituted for the badger.
For a detailed step by step, by John Gray, on how to tie The Needle Shrimp please click HERE
John Gray has always been a keen angler, giving up the security of a teaching job in 1983 to open a tackle shop in Kilsyth, which he ran for twenty years.
Thoughts on game fish brown trout fishing, a pleasant recreation; salmon fishing, a bloody hard day’s work; sea trout fishing, a glorious obsession
Fondest Memory
Of a time when sea trout swam in our north western rivers and lochs.
John is now fascinated by computers and the power of the internet, and sees Fish Wild! as an example of the worldwide web at its very best. He is currently developing a new website, www.trout-salmon-fishing.com, which aims to provide information on wild brown trout, salmon and sea trout fishing opportunities in Scotland. He would be grateful for any information, which might be usefully added to the website, particularly about reasonably priced, publicly accessible fishing in Scotland. Fishing hotels, tackle shops and angling clubs are also invited to submit details for free inclusion. Readers will find contact details on the website.