THE LOST SALMON FLIES OF BALMORAL
(Revised second edition)
By Colin Innes
With additional material by Dr Alison Innes and Flies tied by Edward Kublin
Angling Monographs No. 2.
A very good second-hand paperback.
Bookplate, signed by the author, adhered to half-title page.
(2016) 2018 revised 2nd edition. 8vo paperback (158 x 233mm). Pp127. Colour and b/w photographs and illustrations, b/w illustrations, maps. Green card covers with flaps.
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Volume number two in the Coch-y-Bonddu Books Angling Monographs series.
The first edition was limited to just 250 numbered paperbacks and twenty-six lettered hardback copies. Both issues quickly sold out. This is almost certainly the most popular book in the series thus far, being the only one that has been reprinted. This second edition contains some minor revisions.
The title-page verso erroneously states that the book was first published in 2015 however the first edition was actually published in February 2016.
"In 1880 John Michie went to work as a forester on Queen Victoria's estate at Balmoral on the banks of the Aberdeenshire Dee, eventually rising through the ranks to become the Factor. He kept detailed diaries and, as a keen salmon fly fisherman and fly dresser, he frequently described his fishing exploits on the Dee, as well as his fishing companions and his successful flies. Colin Innes gives us a short history of Balmoral, its royal connections, and its fishing, then, to put John Michie's flies into context, he explains the styles of salmon flies used on the Dee at that time: the Eagles, low water flies and the Dee style strip wings. Using the diary extracts, Colin tells us about the fly patterns that Michie used, both previously-known and unique patterns. Illustrated with a number of photographs of original vintage flies, The Lost Salmon Flies of Balmoral also features modern interpretations tied by Edward Kublin." (Publisher's blurb).
"An excellent work. I can recommend it highly for the accuracy of its information and research, and the interest it will spark." (Jason Lewis, Classic Angling).
"There is a quiet fascination about this little book. ...Like a good, if odd, programme on BBC Radio 4, this drew me in and held my attention and kept me entertained to the end." (Magnus Angus, Flyfishing and Fly-Tying).
"The reader is given privileged access to life at Balmoral and the state of the Balmoral fishings and how they were fished in Queen Victoria's later years." (Sir Peter Cresswell, Flyfishers' Journal).
Contents include:- Preface; Acknowledgements; John Michie MVO (1853-1934), Factor at Balmoral, written by Dr. Alison Innes; The Dee, Balmoral and its fishing; John Michie's diary, fishing extracts 1885-1915. Appendix: List of flies; A comparison of beats on the River Dee, 1900-2015; Bibliography.