Irish Fly Fair

Ian begun fly-fishing aged 8 and has spent most of his 50 years fishing and guiding on the River Spey and Deveron [Scotland] and has a huge passion for the sport. He comes from a long line of fly-fishers, with his Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather having an interest in the River Spey dating back to the 1860s.

Specialising in Double Handed Rods, particularly Speycasting, he is one of the worlds most respected Spey Casting instructors, His comprehensive knowledge of the Double Handed rod not only comes three generations of salmon fishermen, but a keen interest in Physics and biomechanics. Success in winning numerous competitions, including the Musto in the UK and the Jimmy Green Spey O Rama in the US, is testimony not only to his ability as a caster, but also as the designer of today’s most radical cutting and edge fishing tackle. He has a keen interest in physics which has led to his scientific approach to both casting tuition, as well as the design of fishing tackle.

Ian began working in fishing rod design with the late Ken Walker, an inspirational man and co founder of Bruce and Walker Rods. He then went on to design the first Carron products including all their Rods and The first and best Carron line. From here he moved to Shakespeare, and helped bring sales of their double handed rods to levels never seen before. The Oracle was a trend setter and the envy of many big brands. This paved the road for him, along with the great team at Shakespeare to plan and build the much loved Partridge Ian Gordon rod, reel and line. Such was the success of this brand, it caught the eyes of the big brands and Ian was firmly in the sights of salmon fishing giant, Hardy. 13 years at Hardy saw Ian help design the award winning Zenith Rods, still the biggest selling rod range ever developed by Hardy. A lack of interest in double handed products saw Ian leave Hardy earlier this year to focus on a new project that teams him up with the great team of people he worked with at Partridge. Ian sees the project as being the most exciting and interesting of his career.

He is proud of the fact his teaching has helped raise the benchmark and understanding of Speycasting, with students from Europe, USA and Japan all benefiting from his simple approach to both teaching and demonstrating.

He runs a fishing school on the river Spey, teaching all aspects of fly-fishing as well as the ecology and heritage of Scottish salmon fishing, particularly the River Spey. He also organises and hosts fishing trips and casting courses on some of the best fishing beats in Scotland, Norway and Iceland. He is committed to and is passionate about the conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout and in 2015 fronted a petition that helped see the ending of mixed stock net fishing from around the Scottish Coastline.

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