 |
 |
 |
|
|
This page is dedicated to the firm of Peter Malloch of Perth - although not an Aberdeen maker he is too important to ignore, on it you will find "A model book of Salmon flies, various catalogue illustrations, a list of salmon flies that he supplied and an appreciation by his friend the artist Millais. Also on this web site is Malloch's instructions on how to tie flies - you can find it on the cool stuff page
Plate 11
Plate 111
Plate 111, No 5 - Olive
Plate 1V
Plate V
Plate V1
Some of the other flies from the Malloch collection that are not included in the plates from Salmon Fishing follow:
"Malloch not named No 4" has caused some interest in the classic salmon fly tying community, the following is a step by step sequence by Paul Rossman of this fly being tied in hand (not using a vice) using proper silk! I bet if I put these photos in a different order I could call it the deconstruction of a vintage fly and not many people would notice. Anyway I thank Paul for allowing me to use these pictures of his superb "recently tied vintage fly"!
So finish the head off varnish and pop it an old Malloch box - and who would know the difference... Some rare patterns copied by Dave Carne from a Malloch sales frame of flies owned by Roger Plourde
Kingdon
*1912 - The twelve flies marked are new salmon flies, invented by P D Malloch, will be found first-rate killers wherever salmon take a fly. The prices the same as other fancy flies. P.D Malloch - An appreciation Malloch was one, if not the, most important tackle manufacturers in Scotland in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He not only manufactured tackle for his own business to sell but provided many of the fishing reels that were retailed by firms such as Browns, Garden & Playfair. The following appeared in the Scotsman in 1921, I think the appreciation written by his great friend the artist J.G. Millais tell us a lot about the life and character of the man behind the business.
September 24th 1921, Estates
Mr Peter Duncan Malloch, of Almond Villas, Glasgow Road, Perth, fishing tackle manufacturer and manager of the Tay Salmon Fisheries Company, left personal property of the value of £40,402 16s. 6d.
30th May 1921, The Late P.D.Malloch – An Appreciation
Last week there passed away at Perth, at the age of 68 years, Peter Donald Malloch, a name perhaps more familiar to sportsmen in the Highlands than any other. Amongst fishermen he will be remembered as one who distinguished himself not only as the most complete exponent of skill with the rod and line, but also as a naturalist who took a scientific interest in the sport and found out the whole life history of trout and salmon by practical method and hard study.
Malloch, although born of humble parentage and possessing little of the advantages of higher education, may be said to have gone further in explaining the life histories both of salmon and trout and the various foods on which they exist than any other man. His knowledge of the movements of these fish, and especially the flies and diptera eaten by trout was immense, and practically evolved a new school of thought in dealing with the preservation and capture of these fish. Whilst others, both scientific naturalists and practical fishermen, were accepting much of the old hearsay which passed as accepted knowledge in the seventies and eighties, Malloch set to work to learn his whole subject ab initio, and took nothing for granted unless he had proved every point by actual experience. Thus, in later years he became a great authority on all that related to trout and salmon, and did much to clear up old fallacies, such as the period of age at which salmon become mature, their life in the rivers and spawning grounds. On all these points he was actually the first to gain definite knowledge, although some other writers, profiting by his lead, divulged earlier some of his discoveries. He was the first to study the importance of scale markings on salmon, and to prove that every advent or period passed in river or sea was only explained by certain markings on the scales themselves. He knew every species of food affected by trout from rats to midges, and I have often sat in a boat with him and heard him discourse on the passage of the various flies as they came on the water and what particular fly the fish were coming to. It was his perfect knowledge of insect nature that made him in some degree so successful a fisherman, for, whilst others were content to use the sane well-tried flies on a cast, Malloch was never satisfied, and would in a moment attach some fly which at the moment the trout were taking.
I remember once at Loch Leven he saw a new fly rise in a species he had hitherto noticed. He had nothing in his book like it, but on his next visit he used his “corncrake” wing, and I fancy won the Loch Leven championship with it. Curiously enough, this fly only succeeded for a short time and is now only used occasionally.
His mind was as practical as it was inventive, and though it took many years to evolve and become practical, the best innovation in his trade may be said to be the “Sun and Planet” reel, a fishing reel working on a system of cogs by which the line could run out easily with only a slight check when a fish was playing, and yet could be would up with great swiftness. Moreover, when a fish is running, the handle ceases to revolve with the axes, whilst there is no danger of its catching on any obstruction, often the cause of a sudden break. I often talked over this invention with him in the early eighties and made many drawings for him, and though I cannot claim any credit for its construction he was good enough to present me with the first example he made in his workshop, and after 30 years it works as well to-day. Another clever invention was his casting “reel!” By levering the whole reel on a pivot the rod can cast a bait such as a prawn clean across a broad river like the Tay, as the line runs off without a check. Then when the reel is turned again to the usual position the line can be wound in slowly and the whole area of the stream worked.
Born over 68 years ago in the pleasant little village of Almond Bank, near Perth, young Malloch spent his early days in the woods and fishing in the Almond river. Education in his days was neither compulsory nor as complete as it is to-day, so the boy grew up wild, and had ample opportunity to devote most of his time to what he loved best – nature. By the time he was twelve he knew all the birds and mammals of the district, and was never happy unless engaged in his favourite pursuits. By the time he was fourteen he was able to stuff birds well, make a rod, and tie flies, but as certain remuneration did not evolve from such things he took to peeling oaks in the woods at the magnificent sum of twelve shillings a week. He also served a short apprenticeship in the bleach works at Huntingtower. When he was eighteen he came to Perth and took a room in a back wynd off High Street, and there, assisted by his faithful brother, James, he worked hard to acquire a small business in taxidermy and fishing tackle. It was about his time I first met him, and with congenial tastes we soon became fast friends. I always remember with gratitude that he gave me my first commission, 3s. 6d. for a picture of a king-fisher, which I believe is still the trade mark of the firm. From humble beginnings Malloch soon progressed, and was able to take a front shop in High Street, where he remained for many years, later adding rod, fly, reel and bird-stuffing establishments at the back. As business progressed in later years he acquired a much finer establishment in Scott Street, where demands for his materials involved greater responsibilities.
For forty years Malloch worked hard at his business and with his great knowledge of fish and game, he gradually built up a great trade in all that related to Highland sport. His services were in constant demand both in the letting and buying of Highland estates, the making of new lochs, the creation of salmon pools, and the passage of salmon and sea trout by means of ladders round or through obstructing falls. He improved the rod fishing and increased the rents of proprietors on the Tay by making it into a first-class spring fishing river, and this without derogating from the value of the nets, which he controlled in such a way that both interests were made to pay. But the Tay is only one instance of the numerous enterprises for estate and sport improvements which he carried out from the Hebrides to Fife and Dumfries to the Shetlands. There was scarcely a loch or river in Scotland he had not visited and fished.
Barrie says “the greatest thing in the world is charm,” and much of Malloch’s success in life may be said to be owing to this priceless quality. When speaking to anyone he possessed a quite, forceful influence that was not easy to describe, but which had the effect of making him beloved by all who knew him well. His very simplicity, added to the weight of knowledge, made him an exceptional man in any company, and to the rich and poor all over the Highlands of Scotland he was a great personality. Practically every gamekeeper, gillie, and fisherman in Scotland knew him, and when you asked what some out-of-the-way loch was like, you found Malloch had been there and made a record catch. Though he liked to talk of his achievements he never boasted – no super-man ever does – but would tell the listener how to do it, and thus put him in good humour, as if the matter was as easy to any tiro. During twenty years, in which he often accompanied me on bird collecting and fishing trips from Orkney to Kinross, I have never seen a better sportsman in the true sense of the word, or one who, with all his skill with the rod, ever tried less to surpass, except in a perfectly fair way, his companion of the moment. In fact, I have seen him more than once seen him, when fish were rising well and he was catching them, lay down his rod, disentangle a friend’s cast, or search his book for some fly he thought more suitable on another man’s cast. No one but a first-class sportsman is big enough to do this.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
