It all started many years ago.

My parents had a caravan and most weekends we would head off to somewhere in the North Yorkshire Moors with lots of trout streams to fish. 

 

One year my friend received a fly tying kit from his parents and taught me to tie flies.  Shortly after I got my own kit, a neat little wooden box of treasures from Veniards and I was hooked. The small wooden box soon became a small leather suitcase and then a bigger wooden case. 

 

In the summer of 1977 whist touring around south west Scotland, it rained a lot and I bought a book.  A little book called "Fifty Popular Flies" by Tom Stewart.  Along with the trout fly patterns were those for Salmon flies which caught my imagination, Jock Scott, Durham Ranger, Yellow Torrish.  Having none of the required materials I improvised. Sea fishing hooks coloured black with a marker pen, married wings replaced with hackles tied streamer style one on top of the other.  And that was the beginning.

Over the years I obtained more appropriate materials and practiced between tying patterns to fish with.  We progressed from trout streams to lakes and on to the Salmon rivers of Scotland using modern hairwing patterns but I still tied the classics, framing then up as presents for friends.

At a recent such occasion an artist friend came out with the immortal line, you should sell those. I thought about it, tied up a couple put them for sale and they were snapped up, that was late 2019.   Then we entered lock down.   There was no fishing.  My fly boxes were full so I started tying more Salmon flies for my own interest and photographed them.  To my surprise they attracted a lot of interest so I stepped up my sales.  Since then I have sent frames to all parts of the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, USA and even Australia.

My ethos harks back to those early days when with few materials and little pocket money to buy them I was hooked by these little gems.

That's why I try to keep the frames affordable using substitute materials and recycled frames for stock.  When I need to obtain matching sets I use a local small business wherever possible. 

​

Today I have a vast array of materials and books so most patterns are within my ability to produce. 

I also support the Leeds branch of the Fly Dressers Guild, now in my second term as Secretary and hold thier Bronze and Silver awards.

Mike