Tay Salmon Fly Home Of The Original Ghillie Salmon Fly

While the Ally’s Shrimp deservedly takes most accolades, other wonderful long-tailed patterns can be traced to our biggest river. Well-known gillie Tony Black, who works at Murthly2, has created several of these, notably the Ghillie, a superb fly that combines most of the killing colours we favour in Scotland: black, yellow, orange and blue, with a touch of gold. What’s not to like? It’s versatile: Tony fishes it all season, tied on big copper and aluminium tubes for springers and later on every size of hook, from large doubles to size 14 and 16 doubles and trebles. The proof of the pudding is in the tasting and the 34 lb fish Tony landed in the Tronach pool at Murthly in 2002 must have approved of the recipe. The Ghillie is a Tay favourite, but it has established a good track record throughout Scotland and abroad. You can immediately recognise what inspired the pattern: the Munro Killer and General Practitioner. These two classics were the favourite patterns of Tony’s grandfather, Callum Gillies (with a nod to the two-part body he admired in the Ally’s and Curry’s Red Shrimp). The fly was in service for some time before it was christened. Tony first tied it in 1991 and finally named it in honour of Callum following his passing in 1994. The Ghillie is a fitting tribute to a man who had a long career as a gillie on the Conon and on the Tay at Kinnaird until his retirement in 1975. Lured out of retirement, Callum also spent time at Dalguise and Newtyle until he gave up for good in 1983. The Ghillie is a happy marriage of two distinctive Scottish styles: the classic hairwing and the longtailed shrimp. The finished article tempts fish but it’s not complicated; that’s not Tony’s style – he prefers simple, effective patterns. Tony also ties a variant, the Spring Ghillie, in which he uses a black and yellow fox wing. It looks the part and is very successful. The original Ghillie uses squirrel tail, which I have used a lot even though I find it disagreeable to work with. Perhaps it’s because, like all modern fly-tyers, I am spoilt for choice and to me squirrel now seems “old hat”. However, there is something about the barring on dyed squirrel tail that I like and while it isn’t as mobile as fox, it suits a lightly dressed wing. So in keeping with the spirit of the public backtrack, I am reconsidering my position. That said, I’m well known for my fondness for Arctic Runner, a material I use a lot in my own patterns, so it might be worth trying that in the Ghillie, too. There was no flash in the first version of the fly, but Tony plays around with the dressing, adjusting it for the conditions, perhaps adding a little black over the wing to dull it down, or a little extra flash when tying on a gold hook for stained water. He doesn’t view it as a static pattern: it should be manipulated. The Ghillie is a fly for all seasons and if you are seeking a pattern that is simple to tie and has good pedigree, look no further.

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