Willie Gunn (On a Waddington)

Salmon fly, for salmon and sea trout. Beginner.

An oval gold tag and rib over a black floss body, a short orange throat, and a long wing of yellow, orange and black bucktail.

Materials

Steps

  1. Attach thread Attach the thread at 86% of the way along the shank with a few turns and trim the tag end.
  2. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to the start of the bend in touching turns.
  3. Tie in: fine oval gold tinsel Tie in the fine oval gold tinsel with a few firm thread turns.
  4. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 6% of the way along the shank in touching turns.
  5. Wind: fine oval gold tinsel Wind the fine oval gold tinsel forward to 6% of the way along the shank in 4 turns.
  6. Tie off: fine oval gold tinsel Tie off the fine oval gold tinsel with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  7. Tie in: gold oval tinsel Tie in the gold oval tinsel with a few firm thread turns. Under the shank.
  8. Tie in: black silk floss Tie in the black silk floss with a few firm thread turns.
  9. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 84% of the way along the shank in touching turns.
  10. Wind: black silk floss Wind the black silk floss forward to 84% of the way along the shank in 12 turns. Back to the tag and forward again, slim and even.
  11. Tie off: black silk floss Tie off the black silk floss with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  12. Wind: gold oval tinsel Wind the gold oval tinsel forward to 84% of the way along the shank in 5 turns.
  13. Tie off: gold oval tinsel Tie off the gold oval tinsel with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  14. Tie in: yellow bucktail Tie in a bunch of yellow bucktail so the tips reach well past the bend (6.5× the gape from the tie-in point), angled about 4° up from the shank. Let it flare out round the sides of the body. All round the shank, equal parts of each colour.
  15. Trim: yellow bucktail Trim the butts of the yellow bucktail flush.
  16. Tie in: orange bucktail Tie in a bunch of orange bucktail so the tips reach well past the bend (6.5× the gape from the tie-in point), angled about 6° up from the shank. Let it flare out round the sides of the body.
  17. Trim: orange bucktail Trim the butts of the orange bucktail flush.
  18. Tie in: black bucktail Tie in a bunch of black bucktail so the tips reach well past the bend (6.5× the gape from the tie-in point), angled about 8° up from the shank. Let it flare out round the sides of the body.
  19. Trim: black bucktail Trim the butts of the black bucktail flush. Cut at an angle so the head tapers.
  20. Whip finish Form a small head, whip finish with 5 turns and cut the thread. A small, neat black head.

History

Named after Willie Gunn, who worked for the Sutherland Estates as keeper and gillie, and linked in every account to Rob Wilson's tackle shop in Brora. Who designed it is disputed. The best-known story, told on GlobalFlyFisher and by John Gray, credits Flight Lieutenant "Dusty" Miller, who tied flies for Wilson; Gray dates it to the 1940s. Ross Macdonald gives the account of Gunn's nephew, Jim MacKenzie, who says he tied the first ones, with a blended wing, in March 1968. Gray describes the colours as those of the Thunder & Lightning. Fish4Flies says the first were tied on Waddington shanks, while Macdonald's telling of the Miller story speaks of tubes. Macdonald also thinks the gold-bodied version may now be more popular than the black.

Fishing it

To Ross Macdonald it stands for spring fishing in Scotland, and it is tied in every size from small summer flies to the biggest tubes. Big Waddingtons and heavy tubes are for the cold, high water of early spring, fished deep; small, lightly dressed singles and doubles for low summer water. Swing it across and down. Changing the share of each colour suits it to dark or clear rivers.

Sources