82days since
Dr Cyril Bennett Entomology and the Riverfly Partnership

63days since
Our Fishing Day @ John O'Gaunt

47days since
* * Xmas Bash * * Quiz, Mini Comp American Supper

35days since
Christmas 2011

32days since
Our Fishing Day @ Meon Springs Shaking off the Christmas Blues

Home Page

This site outlines the activity events and provides information past and present relayed to the Wessex Branch of the Fly Dressers Guild.  If this is your first visit please visit our Welcome page for more details.  Please join us for a couple of events, you will always be welcome, our Diary below will let you know where we are.

 Looking forward to meeting What's Changed?you, soon...

 
This site was updated on 5 November 2011
  • Sidebar Updated
  • Shows Updated
  • Winter/Summer switched on Contact/Finding Us
  • Winter/Summer switched on Home Page
  • Just for fun... moved to balance the page
  • What's Changed Updated
Site was updated previously on 
10 June 2011
  • Show Dates Updated
  • Sidebar Updated
  • Summer/Winter switched on Contact/Finding Us
  • Summer/Winter switched on Home Page
  • July Fishing Day TBC
  • What's Changed Updated


Full details of changes at What's Changed


What do we do?

We are a Branch of the Fly Dressers Guild, the Guild is one of if not the largest organisations in the world that promotes the art and craft of fly dressing.  The Wessex Branch of the Guild meets almost every Tuesday in the year to develop our understanding of the art and craft of fly dressing.  

This means that typically for three evenings a month we meet and have a Tying Evening, where we dress a couple of flies.  All material is provided, you need to turn up with your tools and silks (threads if you prefer).

On the second Tuesday of most months we have a Guest Evening where we invite a Speaker, Demonstrator, etc. with some association with fly dressing and/or game fishing to share their experience and knowledge with us.

We meet at the Atherley Bowling Club from the beginning of September through to the end of May for the Winter programme and at Toronto Court from June through August for our Summer programme.  Follow the links for location details.

[We are currently in our Winter programme and therefore we meet at the: Atherley Bowling Club ]

To add to the mix we organise fishing trips to a number of local fisheries through the year and a growing number of us have a good day out drowning some of our creations and testing the theories in a live environment.  Banter has proved to be significant and our numbers are growing on these trips, a few more rods will see us starting to book venues exclusively.

When do we do it?

The calendar below is updated regularly and you can see our programme by clicking here or as a PDF download on the Download Information page were it is listed... 

Both the calendar below and the programme linked above identify the venue of an event and the nature of that event; i.e. a Tying Night, a Guest Evening, a Show, a Fishing Day, etc.

The programme is printable calendar are printable and you can transfer an electronic copy of an event to your diary.

PLEASE NOTE - while we make every effort to maintain the published programme on occasions we are forced to revise event details, therefore BEFORE TRAVELLING, you are advised to confirm an activity by contacting one of the committee, details are on the Contacting/Finding Us page

Public




See us at work, rest and play: 

These photos show Members at work and the end result of their endeavours.  Oh yes, we do have to work very hard to enjoy ourselves. *-)

 

Work, Rest and Play...


See us at these shows:

Wessex Branch had a busy and succesful year at shows around the area demonstrating and supporting during 2011.  We are currently finalising our calendar for 2012.


* * * 2012 Shows * * *
TO BE CONFIRMED
If you have a show and would like 
us to support it please contact us.

We hope that you will support some of the events that we visit in 2012 and say hello to us and share some of the fun we have dressing flies.

If you know of any other shows in the Wessex area (roughly south Hampshire) please let us have details as we would subject to diaries be pleased to attend shows and demonstrate fly tying.

News and Views:

The following "Recent Posts" bring to your attention some of the recent events and outlines some of our activity.  Please explore these to see how we do things... 

Recent Posts

  • Charles Jardine's visit a great way to start the New Year's Speakers Charles Jardine, one of the worlds best known fly tiers visited the Branch on Tuesday and presented his talk "the fly and why?".  With an audience of 30 he resented a general discussion on matching the hatch, identifying the rise, targeting  fish, what they can see and the frustration of early strikes.  In the second half of the evening he tied 7 different flies developing the concepts from his earlier session and demonstrating his control and mastery of the materials.In the process of tying these flies Charles kept the audiences attention with his humour and banter.A long session of growing our knowledge of why a fly works and how to tie s some new patterns. THANK YOU Charles ...
    Posted 14 Jan 2011 16:21 by Paul Eslinger
  • Patience Patience is said to be a virtue.  I am drawn therefore to thank you all for being virtuous.We have now resolved most of the technical challenges, the remaining one is frustrating and relates to the photo slide show on the home page.  Guru is working on the resolution and will resolve this shortly.Diary is now correct all the way through the year, athough I still need to add detail after March.Thank You!Tight Lines!
    Posted 2 Jan 2011 12:45 by Paul Eslinger
  • Fist Fish by Noon A couple of us turned up at Meon Springs (it was close and I enjoy fishing there) to have a fish and landed my first trout of the new year on my new Sonik rod to a Partridge and Orange by noon on 1-1-11I finished with a three fish bag of 2 1/4 lbs, 5 1/4 lbs and 6 1/2 lbs for a total weight of 14lbs.Second two fish came to a heavy damsel pattern fished slow.That gets 2011 off to a cracking start...
    Posted 1 Jan 2011 07:45 by Paul Eslinger
  • Looking Forward 2011 2011 is taking shape to be a bumper year for us.  We have a complete programme, waiting for a couple of speakers to confirm, we have a number of shows we will be attending and our numbers will continue to grow again this year.  We have an excellent track record with Members starting to dress flies from complete novice and catching trout with these flies, through to those that have now been with us for several seasons, still dressing flies and still catching.  Our most important ingredient is that we have fun.We have Charles Jardine, Steve Cooper, Alan Middleton, Ian Misslebrook, Simon Cooper all booked. We have 12 fishing trips lined up. 37 tying nights and we have several ...
    Posted 1 Jan 2011 01:23 by Paul Eslinger
  • Looking Back at 2010 2010 saw Wessex moving out of what had been a very difficult phase in its life.  The previous year had started with the Branch in some distress and through the hard work of Members, the strengths of 2009 were built on in 2010.  It seems odd to look back at January 2010 and talk about cold given the snow has just left us now, but in January we were complaining bitterly as we gathered about the wet and the cold.  Fishing trips started off slowly with a couple of us making the trips a regular diary event Manningford, Felix Farm, Holbury Lakes, Frensham, John O'Gaunt, Chalk Springs, Chiphall, Moorhen, Meon Springs saw us through the year.  As the year ...
    Posted 31 Dec 2010 01:50 by Paul Eslinger
Showing posts 1 - 5 of 30. View more »

Please enjoy our site and let us know what you like.

The best thing about tying flies is the pleasure of fishing with friends and occasionaly brining a fish to the bank.  So tight lines and enjoy...

Just for fun...

As a bit of fun here is the Sawyer Nymphs Fly Selector, this comes courtesy of Sawyer Nymphs and tends to select flies from their range.

Fly Selector


The following link to entomology as a subject in the Encyclopedia Britannica will provide you with some light relief and just might be the answer in the next pub quiz that you happen upon.

entomology - Selections from Encyclopaedia Britannica

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