Chris Watson
Chris was born in Cheshire, England in 1957, where he still lives with his wife Pam and daughter Kathryn. His family has a long tradition in fishing, which has been traced back to the mid-nineteenth century. Both his Great Grandfather and Grandfather were well known and very successful match fishermen. There are currently seven members of the family involved in fishing; you could say fishing was in the blood.
‘‘I started coarse fishing in the mid 1960’s with an old fourteen foot split cane rod and a wooden centre pin reel. I progressed on, becoming heavily involved in the specimen hunting scene mainly for Carp, Tench, Pike and Chub. The game fishing started as something to fill in the three month close season for coarse fishing and it rapidly took over.
The fly tying was a natural progression as I was unable to commercially purchase flies that met my requirements. My Father got sick of tying flies for me and decided the better option was to teach me the rudiments of fly tying; since then I never looked back spending many hours reading, watching other tyers and still continue to learn – in fact you never stop learning; which is part of the fun of it.’’
‘‘I have developed a number of my own patterns and my variations on other peoples’ patterns. I tie flies to catch fish and not fishermen, always endeavouring to keep them as simple as possible; if the addition of another material or the use of a tying technique doesn’t catch you any more fish – LEAVE IT OUT!
When developing any new pattern I try to ensure that they have all the right trigger points – size, profile, correct action, right depth in the water column, colour and durability all being of importance. I use a lot of unusual materials and unorthodox techniques to achieve what I want. Take the blinkers of and use your imagination run riot, you will be amazed at the results!’’
He has had work published, appeared on the fishing programme on B.B.C. Radio Lancashire twice, regularly demonstrating fly tying throughout the U.K. and has demonstrated in Holland, Kenya and U.S.A.. He has been Secretary of the North West Branch of the Fly Dressers Guild since 1997 and has recently become a member of the Nymph-Head Pro-Team.
‘‘ I should like to thank Steve and Bridgette for once again inviting me to The British Fly Fair International, which is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious events on the fly tying and fly fishing calendar and one which I would not miss at any cost. This year I am delighted to be tying on the clinic tables again and I am really looking forward to meeting friends both old and new.’’
Contact Chris on chrisw.fly@btinternet.com
