Two Spiders

An Olive Spider
Hook: Size 14 Capt. Hamilton Wet Fly
Silk: Primrose, Waxed.
Body: Primrose silk.
Thorax: Dark Olive Camel dubbing.
Hackle: Olive Hen from Jim.

http://donaldnicolson.webplus.net/_w...5f11109_0a.jpg

Brown Hen and Camel Spider
Hook: Size 12
Silk: Hot Orange.
Body: Brown Camel dubbing.
Rib: Amber Fluo Thread doubled twisted.
Hackle: Natural Brown hen.

http://donaldnicolson.webplus.net/_w...a0788d1_0a.jpg

Neat flies! Donald are you tying for the sake of tying or are you fishing these? Just curious.

Donald,

Lovely wee flees. I really like the olive spider. Simple, yet elegant. Okay, I like the brown hen and camel as well.

REE

Very nice ties Donald! Good to see you back at the vice, or at least the results of that. Is the Capt. Hamilton the Captain Hamilton of NZ, or is that a coincidence?

- Jeff

Yes, Here is a quotation from Partridges catalogue -
THE CAPTAIN HAMILTON "L" SERIES
Captain Hamilton was a Scot who emigrated to New Zealand in about 1860. He fished regularly over there having stocked his nearby river with trout in about 1875. The fish in the New Zealand river grew to average over 2lb in weight. (He compares this with 132 trout taken on a fly in his youth - total weight just over 30lbs!).

In 1904 Captain Hamilton published a book on "Trout Fishing and Sport in Maoriland". Shortly afterwards he approached Hardy's for them to supply a new range of hooks for the large trout in New Zealand.

The main features of the hooks were:

• An almost round bend
• Point with neat barb
• A wider gape to take a larger "bite" and hold the fish better.
  

These are the features which we at Partridge have designed into the ranges of Captain Hamilton hooks we successfully re-introduced in 1980.
http://www.partridge-of-redditch.co..../TROUT/L4a.gif

This is a copy of Captain Hamilton's book. very readable, if you want to know how to kill a wild boar
with just a knife and two good dogs, this is for you.
He had a great life in NZ, look at the picture of his house, near the beginning of the book.
It is a fantastic looking house.
Of course, it did help that he was the uncle to the Earl of Mar, the oldest noble title in the
whole of Europe.
Still, it is a very good read, and he was a very good angler.

http://www.archive.org/details/trout...spor00hamiiala

Hi Donald,

I've read his book. I wrote an article on his recommended flies a while back (here's the link). He was very much influenced by Stewart's book.

- Jeff

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/arti...es20100419.php