Easter in Victoria

We had a lovely Easter break in Victoria. On Easter Sunday we went to Church in the morning and had tea at the Empress Hotel, quite possibly the last remaining outpost of Victorian England in British Columbia (and the most quintessential).

Feast of Red

Had an evening tying some red patterns this week for a bit of a change. From the top: Royal Wulff, Red Nymph and Chronomid.

Olive Marabou Streamer

Marabou feathers, once wet, produce lovely movement in the water. Used here with big eye beads they are designed to simulate a baitfish meal for larger sized trout.

Blue Winged Olive Dun

Seems my blog has morphed into some sort of fly tiers almanac. Not quite sure why this one is called blue winged, something to do with the colour of the feathers sometimes used. No blue in sight on my version. Fiddly to tie this one on a small size 16 dry fly hook. Hopefully will have more interesting photos for you after our Easter trip in Victoria this weekend.

Mayfly Cripple

This dry fly is supposed to simulate a deformed mayfly (with it's forward swept wings) as it passes from nymph to adult stage but is unable to escape the water's surface.

Streamer 0001

K had her book club meeting last night at our house so I didn't have access to my fly-tying book. Instead I came up with this experimental streamer design. I think I'll name it after the water where it catches its first fish.

Royal Wedding Fever

A sure sign pre-wedding hysteria is setting in. Kate M apparently has now been elevated to the status of the Virgin Mary and Jesus with this sighting of her image on a jelly bean .

Silver Invicta Mk I & II

I'm trying to pick up new core techniques and the flies are beginning to look a little more complicated as a result. At my first try of the Silver Invicta, I totally forgot to catch in the ribbing wire before the beard hackle and wing and so couldn't complete the body hackle. The result (above) still looked quite pretty so I kept it anyway. Below is the second attempt complete with body hackle.

March Brown and Flashback Pheasant Tail Nymph

Getting bored yet? Self -tie effort numbers 3 and 4. The March Brown (below) was a little tricky at first but managed the wing and hackle on the second try. The wing is a little on the large size but we'll see how it fishes.

Diawl Bach "Little Devil"

Self tied fly no.2 and I'm on a roll. This one looks a little more like the one in the book. Had to substitute "holographic red tinsel" for plain silver so it may no longer qualify for its original Welsh name but if I was a trout I think I might still try it. Now orientating the vice in the right position!

Fat Hairy Cruncher Mk I

I was lucky enough to receive a fly-tying kit and book for my recent birthday and this is my first attempt! It's supposed to look like a hybrid wetfly/nymph called "The Cruncher" but it turned out fatter and hairier than the picture in the book. All I need now is a trout to fall for it.

Comfort food

Looks like winter has turned its nose up at us one more time as we woke up to an inch of fresh snow this morning. Thankfully, I doubt it will last the day. In consolation, feast your eyes on some lovely french bread I made last week. I rarely bake bread from scratch due to time constraints but found myself with a morning around the house doing chores.

Spring Skiing

Managed to squeeze one more fabulous day of spring skiing out of the season at our local hill. There was a BBQ on the mountain and everyone was enjoying themselves.