BAILLIE'S [STEWART'S] SPIDERS

James Baillie was a commercial trout fisherman around 1850. His job was to catch trout for the local hotels to serve to their guests. He was very successful as a trout fisherman using three flies of his design. When WC Stewart, a gentleman fly fisher and author of fishing books, was in the area he asked James Baillie to be his guide (Ghillie). While acting as Stewart?s guide, James Baillie showed Stewart how to dress his three spiders. The flies were so effective that Mister Stewart published a book containing the recipe and tying instructions for the spiders. The credit for these flies is usually given to Stewart, while James Baillie is often forgotten completely. Such is the power of the pen. These flies are so simple to tie that I?ll just demonstrate the Black Spider and list the recipes for the other two.