Guest Speaker Keith Neilson Fly Fishing

There was undoubtedly something fishy going on when the evening’s guest speaker took the floor.

Keith Neilson has many strings to his bow as a former teacher, local councillor, great supporter of the Boys’ Brigade and, of importance to the evening, a past President of the local Fly Fishing Club.

Surrounded by an amazing array of fly fishing accessories, Keith told how as a young lad in Kirriemuir he had been persuaded by his elder brother to try fly fishing on inland waters.

On his first attempt he landed two half-pound fish. From then on, said Keith, he was also “hooked”.

He learned the intricate art of fly tying which he demonstrated can be a real economic bonus.

Using all kinds of materials from pheasant feathers, dog clippings, fur from deerskin, left-over Christmas decorations and even items plucked from a lady’s hat found in a charity shop, Keith over the years has fashioned a huge number of varied flies.

That, he said, had saved him £3 or £4 on every fly!

Having honed his skills, Keith encouraged his pupils at Madras College to join fly-tying classes which he organised and led for many years in the Victory Memorial Hall.

For those in the company who were clueless about the art of fly-tying, as well as having no knowledge of the sport of fishing itself, it was educational to be made aware of the enormous range of flies which are used to catch anything from tiddlers to 20lb salmon. Strangely, it is often the smaller fly which snares the bigger fish.

In proposing a vote of thanks Kyffin Roberts reminded the audience that in the UK at weekends more people take part in fly-fishing than attend the total of football matches. Keith’s talk had not only been informative but highly entertaining.