Tactical Flyfishing

My new book has been published by The Crowood Press and I am offering it through this website at the normal retail price of £25. This is for a signed copy (and a personal note if requested) Royal Mail Second Class delivery within the UK currently costs £2.70. This is a guide to the tactical aspects of the single-handed fly rod discipline, largely for trout and grayling. There is a strong emphasis on the lessons learned from international competition, focusing on the principles of presentation, which is absolutely the most crucial element of the sport. Bank and boat still water and river disciplines are covered in detail and there are chapters on watercraft, casting, tactical flies as well as considerations of the engagement of the tactical sport at the highest level, illustrated by giant figures of the past, such as Frank Sawyer and Arthur Cove, and contemporary masters such as my England team mates of recent times. Please contact me (see below) for details. You can purchase the book directly through Paypal here:

Specialist fly fishing Products

Although I do not really sell fishing tackle, I do strongly endorse certain products, such as the rods, reels, lines and other items within the outstanding Hardy Greys range. I am also very happy to comment and advise on tackle selection, within the river and lake fishing spectrum of the sport.

This is a wild Eden trout, taken on a tup wool bug.

You will see details of my trout and grayling patterns published in the angling press, particularly in my current series in Fly Fishing and Fly Tying magazine. The flies I can offer through this website are either tied by me or by Barry Unwin's Fulling Mill, the top commercial fly producer in the world. These are tied to our exact specification and quality control is exemplar. I do not offer for sale any other flies but this narrow tactical range of patterns. If you want other patterns, you could do no better than go to stockist of a Fulling Mill flies. For details of the flies I offer, please contact me directly by email.

This fly is the hare's mask version of the outstanding Muller range of dry flies which have been developed over the years. These flies evolved as general purpose emerger-style patterns for both river and still water. The Mullers are the most technically advanced dry flies ever designed, with a down-kinked hook shank which presents the hook point below the surface, and a loop-winged cul-de-canard wing and wing post, around which a genetic hackle balances the fly's attitude on the surface.

The dubbing materials for the thorax and abdomen regions of the Mullers have been chosen both in terms of colour and texture, so as to yield the ultimate range of 'generic' dry flies ever produced. Fulling Mill launched this range of flies for the World Class 2007 range.

If you tie your own flies and want to copy the Wilderness Flyfishing patterns, or those featured in my book and articles, or some special patterns of your own, I strongly recommend that you visit FlyTek. This company, headed by our friend Pat Stevens, selects the most superb range of fly tying materials and tools - those we use and trust ourselves. You can find fly-tying materials everywhere, but you will not find a whole range that is so dependable and complete as FlyTek offers.

We fish a lot in continental Europe, especially on the San River in Poland, the ultimate grayling fishery that exists. There, and with the England Team in Slovenia and Norway, the Pioneer net was perfected. Made exclusively for us in Poland, it is ultra-light and alloy-framed. The net is knotless and seamless, and also the ideal shape; scooping and cradling, rather than smothering, the fish. There is an integral elasticated extension system, and a fastening which clips to any D-ring or attachment on your vest or waders. The perfect net system: at £25, inclusive of postage (Royal Mail second class, UK only).