Angler gives back to the sport he loves
John Hood was spotted tying flies to an audience in one of the corridors in Edinburgh Angling Centre.
The soft-spoken angler provided an in-depth quide to a mixture of beginners and more experienced fly tyers.
By doing so, he believes he is giving back to the sport he loves, and he is also trying to encourage a new wave of tyers. He just keeps on giving in other ways, using angling as a means of support to others.
During his angling career, the Kirkcaldy-born fisherman has worked with youngsters who have issues, including drug and alcohol abuse, plus behavioural and mental health problems, and that has involved linking with schools and support centres.
He also forming the Scottish Disabled Fly Fishing Association, chairing it for ten years, and furthermore, Hood has been involved in the organisation of national and international events, and assisting in improving access for disabled anglers to rivers and still waters.
The Wheelyboat Trust has benefited from time and the Kirkcaldy-born angler’s story goes back to his first cast as a teenager. Since then, he has tackled different disciplines including coarse, game and sea fishing, extending his knowledge of the sport.
Fly fishing and fly tying remains one of his passions. He is self-taught but qualified as a game angling instructor in 2000, understood to be the first disabled person to do so.
However, there have been hiccups. His fishing career was halted due to work and career commitments, with Hood only returning to the sport after being diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition.
Looking back, he has fished in ten internationals for the Scottish Disabled Fly Fishing team, winning four gold medals and numerous trophies.
Many anglers in Central Scotland will have seen Hood demonstrating at the Glasgow Angling Centre's popular open weekends, and some of the beginners who were shown the ropes there are now tying professionally.
Now, the Fife-based angler is one of the instructors at the recently-inaugurated, free fly tying events being hosted by the Edinburgh Angling Centre at Granton. The next one is on Thursday, January 8 (4pm to 8pm).
The 66-year-old is booked to do another session early in the New Year and the organisers remind anglers that they can bring their own equipment if they prefer.
Hood stressed proportion and the need to keep things simple during his four-hour session. He tied flies with deference to the Ray Bergman book called The Trout and he demonstrated four patterns. Here are his instructions.
The Luzerne: size 10-12 wet fly hook: thread, UTC 70 denier black: body, dark claret or burgundy wool and he uses one strand from a piece of three ply wool); rib, UTC wire, red, size small: wing, teal flank feather: hackle, black cock hackle suitable for size of hook. Method: attach thread wraps to just above the barb of the hook, tie in red wire, then the wool for the body. Wrap the thread back to just behind the eye of the hook, leave a gap of about 2mm. Wrap the wool in the same direction and tie-off with a few wraps of thread. Wrap the wire forward leaving a uniform gap, four or five turns, and tie off with thread wraps. Tie in the teal flank feather using two turns of thread and pull over the eye of the hook until you get the length you require. Hold it in place and unwind the two wraps, move the thread back slightly, and re-wrap to secure the feather. Attach the black cock hackle and wrap two to three touching turns forward towards the eye and tie down with thread wraps. Tidy and form a neat head with a few thread wraps and whip finish.
The Lake Green: this is tied in a similar way to the Luzerne, but using chartreuse wire, yellow wool, and a cream head hackle. I find the yellow wool and chartreuse wire over black thread gives a very nice shade of green for this fly.
The Gordon: size 10-12 wet fly hook: thread, UTC 70 denier, black; tail, summer duck hackle fibres: body, yellow wool: rib, UTC wire, chartreuse, size small: wing, summer duck flank feather, grey mallard flank feathers dyed summer duck are also suitable: hackle, brown cock hackle, suitable for size of hook. Method: wrap the black thread down to just above the barb. Select some Summer duck hackle fibres and tie in, using two to three wraps of thread. Check length of tail is correct. Tie in the wire rib and the yellow wool. Take thread forward to 2mm behind the eye of the hook. Wrap the wool body and secure with thread. Wrap the wire forward with a uniform gap, four or five turns and secure with thread. Tie in the summer duck feather using two turns and pull forward over the eye to get the required length. Hold in place and unwrap the two turns, move thread back slightly and re-wrap to secure the wing. Attach the brown cock hackle and wrap two to three touching turns, forward towards the eye and secure with a few thread wraps. Form a neat head with thread wraps and whip finish.
The Cahill: tied using similar materials as the Gordon, but using grey darning thread for the body and no rib.