Trout Flies for North Wales by Emrys Evans
Plu Stiniog was first published in a Welsh language edition in 2009. Just 500 copies were printed and they sold out entirely within six weeks. That first edition has now become a bit of a collector's item and commands a fairly hefty price tag. Thankfully for those of us whose Welsh is not quite as good as it should be, Coch Y Bonddu Books have translated it and published a new edition in English.
It opens with a brief history of the Cambrian Angling Association and gives a good insight into how and why this collection of flies came into being. Though only a few short pages, it does make for some fascinating reading concerning the Blaenau Ffestiniog area from both an angling and social history perspective.
The main section of the book is then divided into nine chapters as follows:
Each double page spread lists just two flies. A clear, high quality photograph on one side together with the dressing and a few notes about the history and use of that particular fly on the facing page. Set out like this it is a clear and easy read, perfect for dipping into when you need a bit of inspiration at the vice. Don't expect too much from the Sea Trout and Salmon sections as they are both very short, containing only a handful of patterns. This book is really about flies for brown trout fishing in hill lakes.
Due to the fact that most of these patterns originated in the late 19th and early 20th century, some of the materials will now be almost impossible to find. Corncrake being a prime example, having an entire chapter of flies dedicated to it. This bird is now protected of course so corncrake feathers are few and far between. Other materials are just plain terrifying to collect. Anyone who can extract a sample of "red-black wool taken from the scrotum of a black ram" is a better man than I. Thankfully, for both the tyer and the ram, alternatives are suggested.
For anyone planning a visit to the Snowdonia area this is essential reading. Not because it's a list of killer flies (though all are of course well proven over a considerable period of time) but because of the insight it gives you into the lakes of this area and the little snippets of information you can take from that. If you are at all interested in the history of flies and fly tying then it is most certainly an essential read. Written as it is by someone who was there as these flies were being designed, sitting in the Tai (houses by the lakes) at the vice and tying them himself before taking the short stroll down to the water's edge and proving their worth. Nothing beats first-hand knowledge.
Sadly, the author, Emrys Evans, passed away in November 2008. Just weeks before the first edition of his book came into print.
Standard hardbacks and the limited edition leatherbounds are available direct from the publishers - Coch Y Bonddu Books. Second hand Welsh editions come up for sale there every now and again too, though not often.
The first edition was privately published in 2009 by the author and his family. This review was written after reading the 2010 first English language edition. A leatherbound English language edition was also published in 2010 by The Flyfisher's Classic Library. It was limited to just 50 numbered copies. Also, to coincide with the publication of the English edition, a deluxe issue limited to just 10 numbered copies of the first Welsh language edition was commissioned.
Click here to go back to the list of all reviews.
It opens with a brief history of the Cambrian Angling Association and gives a good insight into how and why this collection of flies came into being. Though only a few short pages, it does make for some fascinating reading concerning the Blaenau Ffestiniog area from both an angling and social history perspective.
The main section of the book is then divided into nine chapters as follows:
- The Sedge Series
- The Corncrake Series
- Miscellaneous Patterns
- The Partridge Series
- Alder Flies
- Un-named Patterns of 'Pen-Ffridd' (Dafydd Dafis)
- Dry Flies
- Sea Trout Flies
- Salmon Flies
Each double page spread lists just two flies. A clear, high quality photograph on one side together with the dressing and a few notes about the history and use of that particular fly on the facing page. Set out like this it is a clear and easy read, perfect for dipping into when you need a bit of inspiration at the vice. Don't expect too much from the Sea Trout and Salmon sections as they are both very short, containing only a handful of patterns. This book is really about flies for brown trout fishing in hill lakes.
Due to the fact that most of these patterns originated in the late 19th and early 20th century, some of the materials will now be almost impossible to find. Corncrake being a prime example, having an entire chapter of flies dedicated to it. This bird is now protected of course so corncrake feathers are few and far between. Other materials are just plain terrifying to collect. Anyone who can extract a sample of "red-black wool taken from the scrotum of a black ram" is a better man than I. Thankfully, for both the tyer and the ram, alternatives are suggested.
For anyone planning a visit to the Snowdonia area this is essential reading. Not because it's a list of killer flies (though all are of course well proven over a considerable period of time) but because of the insight it gives you into the lakes of this area and the little snippets of information you can take from that. If you are at all interested in the history of flies and fly tying then it is most certainly an essential read. Written as it is by someone who was there as these flies were being designed, sitting in the Tai (houses by the lakes) at the vice and tying them himself before taking the short stroll down to the water's edge and proving their worth. Nothing beats first-hand knowledge.
Sadly, the author, Emrys Evans, passed away in November 2008. Just weeks before the first edition of his book came into print.
Standard hardbacks and the limited edition leatherbounds are available direct from the publishers - Coch Y Bonddu Books. Second hand Welsh editions come up for sale there every now and again too, though not often.
The first edition was privately published in 2009 by the author and his family. This review was written after reading the 2010 first English language edition. A leatherbound English language edition was also published in 2010 by The Flyfisher's Classic Library. It was limited to just 50 numbered copies. Also, to coincide with the publication of the English edition, a deluxe issue limited to just 10 numbered copies of the first Welsh language edition was commissioned.
Click here to go back to the list of all reviews.
