Some flies tied by Emyr Lewis a Welsh Ghillie

[fly_fischa]

This will probably be my last contribution for 2011. The flies were not tied by me but by a 70 year old welsh Ghillie called Emyr Lewis. I realise they're not all wet flies but thought you'd be interested anyway. I was fortunate to get to spend time with Emyr and after our day on the water we exchanged flies and contact details. The prop in the photo was a deer horn priest made by Emyr. Before we parted ways he came over to our car pressed it into my hand and in his lovely welsh accent told me it was something to remember him by.


The man behind the flies...













Sorry for the poor quality photo's, I only have my compact with me, a reflector and bits of aluminium foil




For those of you that are interested here's my blog story of my day on Tal-y-Llyn Lake, Wales Sept 2011.

I was lucky enough to squeeze in a half day of fly fishing on Tal-y-Llyn Lake in Wales recently. My Ghillie for the day was Emyr Lewis, a very knowledgeable guide, just shy of the big 70. Our meeting the day earlier was one of those pure chance incidents, like it was meant to happen.
The fishing was ridiculous as we had to contend with 40+mph winds. We were the only boat out on the lake, I guess you could say we aren't that bright. We persevered with a traditional 3 fly loch style rig, yours truly got into some unrecoverable tangles. Fishing some of Emyr's own ties, very sparse and considered renditions of flies like the Harry Tom, Haul a Gwynt, Green Peter and various hoppers and daddy long legs.
I managed to convince Emyr to fish and we hooked and landed 3 small wild browns each, the biggest going to Emyr at about 10 inches. I think we were lucky to catch anything at all, a real credit to his knowledge and skill on the water.
I'm glad that I got to meet Emyr and that we braved the weather together. I will cherish our day spent on Tal-y-Llyn Lake together for a long time to come.

[letumgo]

Lovely post, Karsten. The flies and the antler priest are real treasures.

EDIT - I think you've got the makings for a beautiful framed set (flies/photo/priest) to remember your trip.

[Old Hat]

Very classy ties.

[tie2fish]

Thank you, Karsten, for letting us see these. They are beautiful examples of what get labled as "guide flies" in the US.

[CreationBear]

Outstanding--any chance of you matching names with flies in the future? I suppose the classic lough design isn't optimal for my high-gradient streams here in the Appalachia's, but the fly series in that last photo is calling my name.

[willowhead]

Man, this is one COOL thread.......i was so taken by these flies, i hadda get up and tye somethin'.........think it was that setting there on the lake.....WOW! i'll try to get a pic up by tomorrow sometime and post it here at this thread.........so you'll know it. It was just the first thing that poped into my head, when i saw these flies...........it's a dream of mine to go to Wales someday. Been to England many many many times, and Ireland and Scotland, but never Wales. They gotta get some Jazz clubs.
Those flies are just incredable...........all the way REAL DEAL......that's as good as it gets when it comes to fishin' flies, and for my money they're definately worth framing.....just because the ARE so real deal. It's beautiful work, and i know you had a GREAT day with a one of a kind cat. Thankx for sharing.
Kars Inspiration
Hook: Gamakatsu Split Shot Drop Shot size 6
Thread: Danville 6/0 orange
Tail: Orange dyed Ringneck Pheasant tail
Body: hand blended Seal fur, bright Yellow & Olive picked out
Ribbing: UTC fine gold wire, small
Wing/Colar: French Partridge (Chucker)

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Karsten,

What a treasure! Not just the flies and priest, but your Ghillie as well. Each and every one of those flies looks like it was dressed by a perfectionist, and they were his fishing flies. A treat to look at. Thanks for sharing.

REE

[willowhead]

Kars.....i just did up another one..........two reasons. One, because i was still so inspired by this thread, and two, because i had seem where one-a-the cats had tyed up somethin' here the other day usin' MaCaw fibers for the body. So i grabed bout a half dozen MaCaw feather off the base of a tail feather and did up the body with that.....Targus hook.....black nickle finish, straight eye, nice curve.......killer little hooks. Then i tyed in a few or so Peacock sword feather by the tips and twisted and wraped them for the thorax. Then i went huntin'.......and found some game bird skin............aint even sure what it is.........just some raggedy skin i found...........might be a Quail or a Woodcock........... ......... Who the heck knows............i just wanted a brown mottled feather bout the right size. It's all "paint" anyway....... Don't even know why i used grey thread........prolly cause it was handy.
i'll try and get a pic up (here), with the other tomorrow..........i gotta tell ya........the MaCaw feather fiber twisted bodies KILL! i've twisted and wraped other feather fibers before, but it was a first usin' MaCaw.........sure as hell won't be the last. Same deal with the Sword.......twisted & wraped like that.....that was also "a won't be the last time" first.

[Kelly L.]

Wow, those flies are just jaw dropping gorgeous. I really think they are first rate. I would definitely put them on the wall. Then I would try to copy them,and fish THOSE, not these. These are too impressive to fish. Just totally incredible ties here. I loved them.

[kanutripr]

So beautiful Karsten. Thank you for showing us these. I'm rather partial to the ones in the second last pic. I will have to save this in a special place so I can find it again.

What a wonderful day and stunning memento.



Vicki