Recent comments

Hi Flywalleye, that sounds

Hi Flywalleye, that sounds like some great fishing, which switch rod do you use? I am thinking of getting one for the Tongariro river and some light saltwater work.
Mostly I fish the beautful Tongariro or the Whanganui Rver upstream from Taumaranui. The Tongariro demands some fairly heavy gear as mostly I am casting big tungsten bead nymphs to get down. (if your not on the bottom your not fishing) So the Whanganui makes a nice change, I can get the 5 weight out and fish some dry fly or some combo rigs.
Here is a pic of the Tongariro:
[img:2b315d77b2]http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/mikethomasfly/IMG_0321.jpg[/img…]
Nd one from a smaller no name stream:
[img:2b315d77b2]http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/mikethomasfly/aniwhenua-rainbow…]
Hope the links work.
All the best.
Mike.

Wow, that is a pretty good

Wow, that is a pretty good season opener, what a lovely fish!
All the best.
Mike.

Inlays of feather is

Inlays of feather is new to me. How come they don't bulge?

wow i have a report

wow i have a report to do and this photo is great

I need to find an on

I need to find an on-line source for SUPERHAIR and HOLOGRAPHIC TINSEL. I want to tie some Jewel flies that are about 8" long (ref Tube Flies Two Pg 144-147)

YYYHaaaa :!:

YYYHaaaa :!:
Some updates from our country!
http://www.deaddrift.org/?p=1879
Zpey in action 8)
2H 4 ever :twisted:

Dear Aleksander, 

Here, in this link below, you may see a step by step video clip on youtube, made by a guy from USA, known as fishigan.

In the video there, he split the yarn and put some dubbing in it, and after that make the body of the fly.

Well, the original way to make the body is to make a loop by fixing the end of the yarn to the end point of the body of the fly, like it is here on this picture.

You may see there my thumb and forefinger holding the loop, that is made by fixed end of the yarn.
This way, the twisted yarn body is made by two strings and is twice thicker. Also the segments are more precise and distinctive. The other difference is that I like to put spare amount of dubbing in the loop.
But never mind that there are differences in the way that other people like to tie my fly, the result is one and the same, the fish adore the fly. My reward is that everybody who try it is satisfied with the results.

Greetings from Bulgaria!

Cheers!

Rado

Not that difficult

Derek,

Buying licenses is usually not that difficult provided that you know where to get them. That varies from river to river. Ask in the local tackle shop or the tourist information or on the web.

But remember that the rivers close for winter and most are closed now or at the end of October, so fishing them would be impossible until next spring. A few are open during November or to mid-November, but still. Check this before you plan to go.

Prices vary, but expect about 20 Euros for a day on most waters. And paying your way with whiskey to the land owner is not a likely scenario in most places, since the fishing rights have been sold off to clubs, which administer the licenses

Martin;

Why stop there ?
Lo

Why stop there ?
Looking forward to the next 1000 !

What a great project

What a great project, just a couple of things: Why not use one of these self healing cutting mats for the base? Very often you need to cut material and you can usually get most clues of with a wash and it does not need to be stuck down so can be changed, they are cheap to replace. Also what about a lid, this could be hinged at the back with small plastic containers in the lid, fitted to the centre so when the lid is put down they are in the recess between the 2 outer blocks, this would then when open and upright at the back give more storage and the whole workbench would resemble a suitcase. Just and idea. Jim UK see web site www.westlowmere.co.uk

I do not understand

I do not understand what happens with split ends I look at the photo but split ends disapear and no explanation is given.
Can somebody help?
I am a new fly tier and from time to time I need just a little guidance.
Most grateful for any help.
Alexander

Look at history?

Your description of the reels reminds me of the Medalist reels that have been around for quite some time. For a brief history, see here:

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part287.php

I believe the general gist was that they came in a variety of diameters and two widths, and also click/prawl and drag models. It may be useful to see what models were the most popular in the past, either by researching sales or simply looking at ebay/online prices.

I do not have any real experience with center pinning, (no pun intended) but as far as fly fishing goes, it seems there needs to be a balance between the diameter of the spool for quick line pick up, less memory, etc.; and not becoming an unwieldy block of metal sticking out from the rod. Larger rods seem to allow larger spools to fit more comfortably. So from this perspective, you could look at what lengths of rods are appropriate for different areas, and base your reel size accordingly. The density of the material is also a consideration, as a less dense reel can be bigger before it becomes unwieldy.

Personally, I've never had to worry much about going into the backing fishing mostly inland lakes & streams, even pike fishing, so large backing capacity at the expense of weight would not interest me a whole lot. Sea-going fisherman I imagine would of course have quite a different perspective on this, so that is another factor.

Sorry no solid answers here...just more to think about if you haven't already. Sound like a fun project. Anyway, my two cents, for free even...

-Fly Walleye

Black Canyon Streamers

An engineer's work is never done,

Nearly every weekend I travel to the East Portal of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a National Park here in the United States. In the spring and fall I fish primarily for brown trout with my trusty 11'3" 6wt. switch rod and a variety of streamers, usually yellow and red patters work best. The canyon is a narrow 2000 ft. deep slot in the black basement rock of time, ribboned with pink feldspar intrusions.

I let the streamers drift down the center of the low fall flow until they are near the bottom, and then bring them up the sides of the river, stripping them in fast streaks. When the fish hit, there is no mistaking it, and violent protests ensue once hooked, usually ending at at my net with a calm return to placidness.

The fall colors of leaves and fish make the experience that much more beautiful,before the before the grey and black and white of winter sets in, beautiful in it's own way. Unfortunately the road closes closes for winter, so I must fish other waters.

I would love to hear more people share their favorite rigs & places.

Fluorocarbon

There are basically four points that separate fluorocarbon from standard mono-filament lines:
1) Invisibility
2) Density
3) Abrasion Resistance
4) Strength

So, if you are thinking of switching, weigh these items first. Durability is often one of the key items for me, as I fish a lot of rocky areas with toothy critters. In this situation, I can fish a slightly bigger diameter to maintain breaking strength, and worry less about grating against rocks and loosing fish to cutting. It's not foolproof of course, just an extra edge. The fact that it sinks faster is a nice bonus most of the time.

The other time I have found fluorocarbon useful is dry-fly fishing in calm waters. The fluorocarbon will sink instantly and remain invisible for fish that are startled by surface disturbances. Note that your fly needs to be buoyant enough to support the line somewhat in order for this to work, so it may not be the best for midge patterns.

For larger diameters, the bulk spools for casting/spinning rods will be a better value, and breaking strength is not likely to matter quite as much. For smaller diameters, it is probably worth the extra money to buy some quality tippet.

One more note: If tying a clinch knot, I have found fluorocarbon works better without the final "tuck" of the improved clinch knot. Your experience may vary - easy enough to test with whatever brand you end up with. It is very important to lubricate the knot before tightening though, even more so than with regular mono-filament. Some more research may turn up better knots.

So, fluorocarbon isn't the end-all, but definitely a useful tool in the right situations.

TIght Lines

great info...thank y

great info...thank you

Work well done

Hi Martin -

Great website and a wonderful reference. Work well done.

A few friends and I were planning a trip up to Denmark ( we live in Switzerland ) and would like to fish for
Sea Trout in the river systems. It is understood that one needs a general fishing license, but will also need
to purchase, or find a place to purchase, a fishing license for the specific beat - or stretch of river they would
like to fish. I had found a forum which stated that one person "gave a bottle of nice Whiskey" to fish on the river section that was owned (taken care of) by the person (s). It was an older article ... but one that made me smile.

My questions would be:

1. Is it challenging to purchase a license for specific river systems? (Popular rivers like Karup, Skjren, Simested)
2. How much would these license typically cost per day, and are there restrictions that one would not know about just searching the internet.

and of course ... if you have any recommendations on what to use, time of the year, places etc ... that would
also be wonderful. We were hoping to come to Denmark either in the end of October, or sometime in November.

Thanks again,

Cheers,

Derek

VERY HELPFUL AS I WA

VERY HELPFUL AS I WAS PLANNING TO BUY A COPY

THIS LOOKS LIKE AN E

THIS LOOKS LIKE AN EXCELLENT PATTERN FOR ME TO TIE AND THEN CATCH SOME SEA TROUT IN CHARLOTTE HARBOR ON

K.K. The Golden Sha

K.K. The Golden Shadow rods were most likely built by Tom Moran, who went onto to work for Thomas & Thomas in the U.S. He returned to the U.K. some years ago & now does occasional rods for people. However he finishes other makers blanks, rather than build them himself. He did a phenomenal job of them mind, with prices way beyond their market value. You may be lucky to find a Partridge cane rod in auction somewhere, but other than that there was very little printed either by or about them.

whats a good w-bugge

whats a good w-bugger for fall browns?maybe a zugg buggy looking one ??

Please can somebody

Please can somebody tell me where to find a diagram for the czech leader dropper making?
Or as well, where can I buy some on-line?
I never used this but I being reading for a while and it seems it's FULL SUCCESS"
I got here and can read the excellent results obtained by many of you!
Tks,
Jorge Postigo