Willie Gunn and Dee Sheep

2 flies I tied up over the last couple of days that I've never given a go. A traditional and a modern pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

The Willie Gunn is one of the most famous flies to ever be tied on the end of a leader. Invented in Scotland, it was meant as a variation of another fly, the Thunder and Lightning. It was tied by a tackle shop owner in Sutherland who invited his friend, Willie Gunn, to pick from a group of 20 flies 1 which he thought looked best. The fly was picked and it caught 6 fish that day and 4 the next. It accounts for most of its fish in the spring and summer months and thousands have been caught since that first day of 6. It is also a very good fly on the Bandon, accounting for Kilcolemans 1st spring fish the season just past.
Heralding from more northern latitudes, the Dee Sheep is a fly I cannot wait to give a go. It is a huge hit up in Iceland and since being introduced to anglers in the British Isles it has seduced many more salmon. Aimed as a fly to be used in late spring/ early summer, I can see it as a fly I am going to try on the days after the initial flood when the colour has cleared and the water is falling with fresh fish in off the tide. In years past, a weighted 1 and a half inch blue and silver was "the" lure for spring fish on the Bandon, especially for late angler and blacksmith Billy O'Connell who used to fish in Innishannon.