WELCOME TO AN ENTERTAINMENT SITE FOR SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCERS!
Enjoy this curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!
Hairy Mary
Jun 28
Women's Fly Fishing Day
Hairy Mary
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
🎣 Need an unusual fascinator for your next Scottish ball, Ladies?
Why not wear a Hairy Mary?
(Just remove the hook... unless you're hoping to attract salmon.) 🤪
This lively 3-couple reel by Priscilla Burrage takes its name from the Hairy Mary, not a person, but one of Scotland's best-known salmon flies. A salmon fly is an artificial lure, carefully tied from feathers, fur, silk, and other materials to imitate—or simply suggest—the insects and small creatures that attract fish. Some are tied to resemble nature, while others are brilliantly colourful creations designed to catch a salmon's attention.
The Hairy Mary is gold, black, and bright blue with a light brown wing, and was created in the early 1960’s by John Reidpath of Inverness!
Scottish fly tiers have long had a gift for memorable names. Alongside Hairy Mary you'll find classic salmon flies such as Jock Scott, Green Highlander, Blue Charm, Thunder and Lightning, Silver Grey, and the trout fly Kate McLaren. Many are more than a century old and remain favourites on Scottish rivers and lochs today. Their colourful names are every bit as distinctive as the patterns themselves.
Priscilla Burrage found inspiration for the choreography in an equally unexpected place. She explained:
"The figure of bars 9–16 came to me while I was watching the Olympic relay skating. The hardest part about teaching this dance is getting the first corners out of the reel halfway through. In the Olympics, the skaters push the new racer into the race as they leave, scarcely social dancing, so I have the second corners entering behind the dancer leaving the reel, and discourage pushes."
It is a delightful combination of Scottish tradition and modern inspiration—a dance named after a famous salmon fly, with a figure inspired by Olympic speed skating. Rather like the fly itself, the choreography is elegant, eye-catching, and just a little unexpected. No pushing, Dancers! 🕺 💃 💙 🧡 💙 🎣 🎣 🎣 🐟 🐟 🐟
Hairy Mary
Long before brightly coloured synthetic lures appeared, fly fishers relied on tiny works of art painstakingly tied from feathers, fur, silk, and hair. Known as flies, these artificial creations are designed to tempt fish into striking—sometimes by imitating real insects, and sometimes simply by being so colourful or intriguing that a curious salmon cannot resist taking a closer look. Scotland, with its famous salmon rivers such as the Spey, Tay, Dee, and Tweed, has produced some of the world's most celebrated fly patterns and generations of remarkably skilled fly tiers.
Although fly fishing was once seen largely as a gentleman's pastime, women have always been part of its history. Today, Women's Fly Fishing Day celebrates the growing number of women who enjoy the sport, whether casting on quiet Highland rivers, teaching newcomers, or competing internationally. Modern fly fishing has become one of the most welcoming outdoor pursuits, combining patience, craftsmanship, conservation, and just enough optimism to convince yourself that the next cast will be the lucky one.
Almost as entertaining as the fishing itself are the wonderfully imaginative names given to traditional Scottish flies. Among the classics are Hairy Mary, Jock Scott, Green Highlander, Blue Charm, Thunder and Lightning, Silver Grey, Kate McLaren, and Butcher. Some commemorate people, others evoke Highland scenery or dramatic weather, while a few leave us wondering exactly what inspired their inventors! To a newcomer they can sound less like fishing tackle and more like the cast list of a Scottish comedy—or perhaps the guests arriving at a particularly lively ceilidh.
So if you happen to spot a lady at the dance wearing a Hairy Mary in her hair... don't be surprised if it attracts a few admiring glances. Just be aware that they may not all be from the gentlemen—some of them might be salmon.
For more on essential Flies for Fly Fishing, click the cartoon!
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
