7 - Dotterel Dun

In this video I demonstrate pattern number 7 of the A Guide to North Country Flies Series, the Dotterel Dun found in my book: A Guide to North Country Flies and How To Tie Them by Mike Harding My intentions are to tie all 140 patterns and place them in their own playlist as a video library and bring these old traditional North Country patterns back to life. This pattern has proven to be quite a challenge for me regarding the colour of the tying thread. It is quoted as Pearsall's Gold 6A, the same as the Partridge and Orange, yet it looks more Yellow in the photo, so I wonder if its a mistake in the text. However I managed to match the colour if not the material itself using a Yellow Thread, darkened with a yellow sharpie pen. I placed the thread over the picture to confirm the match but I didn't really know until I had finished filming, that it was right. The next challenge was the Dotterel Hackle, the bird cannot be found unless you can get a hold of some old antique fly tying materials, as in Mike Hardings case. He recommends the use of a Jays Underwing feather and other tyers recommend a Red/Brown Hen Hackle. I recommend the Hen Hackle for the fly in smaller sizes, the Jay feathers Hackle Fibres are too long for anything under a Size 14. "This fly was so highly praised by fly dressers in Victorian times that the dotterel was blasted almost to extinction on the moors of Northern England by hunters after its feathers. This bird can now be found only in Scotland. It is, quite rightly, a protected species. Dyed starling or the soft peach-coloured underwing feathers of the jay make a good substitute; Aldam in his Quaint Treatyse (possibly in reaction to the hysteria over dotterel feather) maintained a red-brown hen hackle was every bit as effective. The feather shown here is real dotterel, kindly given to me by Malcolm Greenhalgh from his collection of antique fly-tying materials. Thread - Pearsall's Gold 6A Hook - Down-Eyed Wet 14-18 Body - Tying Thread Hackle - Dotterel Underwing Covert" Quoted from A Guide to North Country Flies and How To Tie Them by Mike Harding Page 36 Pattern 7. The Book is currently available at Coch y Bonddu Books here: https://www.anglebooks.com/a-guide-to... The book is out of print and this is most likely a temporary listing of a second hand copy, therefore a search may be required to find it elsewhere once the above link has died.