Saltwater and Freshwater Fly Tying
Welcome to Chasing Silver
The Begining
It started with a trip to SEAi in Wexford a few years back, an experience I'll never forget, a guide so passionate about his sport his enthusiasm was infectious. I'd been fishing for bass a long time using bait and lures. I wouldn't by any standards call myself an expert but had a fair understanding of bass angling. Bass were always my favourite sporting fish, the fly fishing aspect of it seemed a natural extension and now it has become an obsession. I don't get to fish that often these days. My work has put a stop to that, however the tying aspect keeps me sane until my next Bass fix. This site is about my fishing and my tying.
Custom Work
Of late I've been doing a lot of custom work... specific colors, profiles and actions. The shop only shows some of the basics. If you need something tailored to your fishing environment please don't hesitate to get in touch via the contact page. Recently Jim Hendrick blogged about working with me on the custom patterns, you can read it here. It's a pleasure to work with Jim and develop new patterns.
I think the proudest day in my tying career was this report and more pictures here.
Tying and delivery times
I was overwhelmed by orders during August, September and October. This led to a two to three week waiting list - I do have a day job too so my tying time is limited to the evenings and weekends. Over the winter now I'll be able to build up a stock of standard ties, although orders are still coming in at time of writing (Dec '09). Thank you for your patience.
The Forum
I will publish step-by-steps for the patterns that I tie and a general guide to materials and tools. If I knew at that start what I know now about materials, I would've saved myself a fortune. the problem with materials is getting what you want, there are few UK/IE suppliers that cater for the salt water fly tier so the majority of the materials I would use come from the States. However you can sometimes get lucky and pick up materials locally.
If I can help you in your tying please don't be afraid to post up some pictures and I'll offer advice. There's a picture of one of my first flies there already. I do sell flies through this site but if you are competent at fly tying feel free to use the step-by-steps. My flies aren't the cheapest in the world but they do work and they last well. I use the best materials I can get my hands on. Most of the hooks I use would be Gamakatsu, Owner and Tiemco. The hackles come from Whiting Farms and Metz. I dye a lot of them myself to get the colors that I want.
Please note I only accept PayPal as payment; no cheques, postal orders or credit cards. I hope you find the site useful.
Andy Elliott
South East Angling Ireland , Jim Hendrick Bass guide
Bug bond a light curable resin .. fantastic stuff
Artifly - for quality fly tying materials
