Recent comments

CRIB

OK, YOU WIN!

Brilliant Fly

I saw this pattern and tied it up for Baltic seatrout in the river and it worked brilliantly. The result was a 71cm hen fish in the dead of night. A brilliant pattern

requirement for a good fly vise

A fly vise must hold hooks without allowing them to slip or move, but not to exert so much pressure as to fracture or weaken the steel in the hook shank. A tiny rectangle cut from a piece of heavy paper - like a 3"X5" card - folded over the bend in the hook shank before inserting it into the jaws of the vise - will hold the hook ROCK SOLID with very little pressure from the vise jaws. This minimizes the chances of fracturing the hook steel with a high pressure, steel-on-steel, cam operated clamp. My old vise, a knock-off version of a Thompson A, will hold hooks from #22 to 2/0 as solidly as any $500 vise - and the hooks don't break in use. Art Flick recommended this move.

Petur Steingrimsson

Trying to locate Petur. Have not heard from him this year. Thank you.

Great idea!!!

That was a great idea. I bought a different brand from Amazon Canada. It's so much nicer to tie with that light. I'm getting older and my eyes are not what they once were, works awesome. Link below.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07FK98YSK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s…

Fly tying consistency

Epic article! Just my personal take on fly tying consistency: over-rated!!!!!
Only because the bugs I see on the tailwater rivers I fish are never consistent either. So, I never worry about consistency and end up the minor variations that I encounter.

Nice Article - Love the history

Never tried doubling the wire. Been using tungsten beads for additional weight instead of additional wire but now I'm curious. I prefer peacock herl as well. It has such dynamic light and color variations.

Thanks
-Kasey @ FoxTrick Flies

Great article

Fantastic article. I've only been tying Pike flies for a few years and this article opens up many new options for me. Thanks for the inspiration!!!!

Waders do not make you sink

The water that gets in your waders is no heavier that the water outside.

Other patterns

You mentioned that he used three patterns. What were the other two patterns?

Great article, nice drwings,

Great article, nice drwings, the last one interesting as potential tattoo idea. Thank you.

Comment to Blue Devil Variant tied by Davie McPhai

Its a beautiful tie and faster than Carrie Stevens' method. I thought her point in glueing the wing assemblies was to stiffen the front on the fly so as to mimic the way a baitfish swims - fixed in front with the back two thirds showing all the movement.

Comment to Blue Devil Variant tied by Davie McPhai

Beautiful tie there Davie, Always has been a joy to see another so talented tyer with such a talent in the arts of tying. My hat's off to you ! Kevin

Zug Bug Memories

Thanks, Davie, for revisiting this old classic. The first fly I ever cast some 60 years ago was a Zug Bug and while I was struggling to learn to fish and tie flies the Zug Bug and Hornberg were the only flies in my humble box. I will always have a special place in my heart for those classic flies.

Cool! What about fly rods?

Thanks for this great DIY post! I would love to try it. But what about fly rods without butts behind the reel seat? I would not feel comfortable positioning the reel *below* the bar. Seems like an adjustment to the recipe is needed. Any ideas? Maybe an additional set of bungees that loop behind the reel stem?

Green drake article

Very helpful and comprehensive article, complete with video links to fly tying of different life stages. Well worth a read, and book-marking this page.

Winter Waders

As an avid steelheader I have tried them all. Insulated boot foot breathables from Cabela's waterfowl selection are hands down the best. Yes, a tad less ankle support but the trade off for all day warmth is more than worth it. For about $200 you can't go wrong.

Thank you, really really helpful.

Thank you, really really helpful.
Correct proportion information and where to tie in specific parts of the fly is so relevant. I have also searched many times for what I may call 'hints & tips' or 'tricks of the trade', as there are several techniques used in salmon fly tying that are not obvious to the new comer to fly tying.
For example, I have often doubled a hackle and pulled the barbs back as the hackle is wound. But it was not until I watched Ally Gowan's video on tying his Ally's Shrimp that I saw how easy it was to double a hackle by running the blade of a pair of scissors down the hackle shaft! To me sheer genius.
There's a book to be written (or video to be made) that could be a 'good little earner' by someone who has the gift, in compiling Salmon Flytying - Hints & Tips and Tricks of the Trade.

Taff grayling - video comment

Beautifully filmed, with nice scenes. However, this film could benefit from severe editing, as we saw multiple repeat scenes of the same thing. A 10-15 minute film could have been more powerful than the repetitious 24 minute epic. Less would have been more, in this atmospheric homage to autumnal fishing for Grayling.

Thanks Pete!

I appreciate your kind words Pete. Your own contributions has helped lift the site, so don't be too humble! ;-)

I know the publishing pace has been slow lately, but as you say: why is it the young who have all the youth? I could use a dose of 25 year old Martin now and then, but for some reason he doesn't really appear when I need him.

Such is life...

Martin

Blasphemous Phly Welding

Time Phlies...! and Youth is WASTED on the young...! Martin, your globalflyfisher continues to be beacon of light that keeps me off the rocks... Cheeerz!

Keith was a friend of mine.

Keith was a friend of mine. The reviewer is correct that the original manuscript was done on a dot matrix printer, it was all typed by Keith on a word processor, if any remember what that was. It was sort of in between what a typewriter was and a PC is now. It took him many years of research, much of it through talking to individual tyers, many of whom were well known pros from the classic era of the 40s, 50s and 60s. It was his labor of love and bid for immortality. The drawings we're indeed hand drawn, by him, on to pages he'd printed out. The thin paper stock is a result of his investors pulling out at the last minute and was a disappointment to him. He faced the choice of changing to lightweight paper or publishing in paperback form. He chose the more substantial appearance of a hardbound edition. He continued to collect newer patterns by modern tyers to be included in a hoped for second edition which was never published. Keith hawked his books in person, to flyshops and individuals. He completed and self-pollinated his life's work while living in Orlando, FL then moved to Ennis, MT to be where the trout are. He died in Ennis on August 3 2006 at the age of 83. He was a good man and was very giving of his time and knowledge to any interested in taking up fly-fishing and/or tying. One of my prized possessions, along with an inscribed copy of this book, is a bamboo flyrod he built from scratch and gave me for Christmas in 1985. His last name is pronounced "per-row".

Full skins

Giovanni,

The article on Raising chickens also talks about preserving full skins, necks and saddles. I have used the simple method described, and have skins that are more than 15 years old, prepared with this method and still good looking.

Martin

Preserving with feathers still on?

I would like to preserve as a whole with feathers attached to pelt, what method would you suggest