GFF heartbeat
Published Jan 1st 2009
The articles published on the Global FlyFisher neatly ordered by year and month
Articles published in 2001
See the Global FlyFisher heartbeat
| |  |
Material contributed to GFF is copyrighted personally and guaranteed for personal copyright by usage of a copyright tagline at the bottom of each webpage. The Staff Editor retains a personal copyright on his works, illustrations and photographs. GFF is allowed unrestricted non-profit use of the contribution in site promotion for the betterment and growth of the site. GFF owns the look, feel and navigation elements of the contribution.
| |  |
This is a fly made for a very specific purpose: cod fishing. It's used on a sink tip or sinking line over fairly deep water (3-4 meter or 10-13') from a float tube, and will turn upside down and 'walk' on the bottom.
| |  |
This is an old favorite. Good under almost all conditions and with a lot of trout in its history.
| | |
The Global FlyFisher is fully non-commercial and do not sell or exchange advertising space.
| |  |
This is a steelhead pattern, normally made with black or purple rabbit. But with natural rabbit it makes a very good pattern for the coast. By cutting a narrower strip of rabbit and choosing natural colors a lighter dressing is achieved. Good for spring fishing and fishing in current like over reefs.
| |  |
The Grey Frede is a surefire pattern for sea trout. It's a very versatile and robust fly that has become very popular. I decided to tie a darker version of the same fly.
| |  |
This fly is the latest development in my experiments with the melt glue I have used with some success for cod. This version is much smaller than the original and uses a simpler and better method for building the body. This not only makes the fly faster to make, but also much easier to cast.
| |  |
Even though the pattern was inspired by a technique showed to me by Davy Wotton, it's not named after him, but after my little brother David. The material is rabbit fur in tufts, tied in on top and under the hook shank.
| |  |
Again a 'classic' Danish fly. Actually only uses one significant material: a piece of mylar tubing. Body can be covered with yarn or floss to add color. A really good fly for cold or unclear water. Fish deep and slow in the winter.
| |  |
This fly is a larger and more imitative variation of the Squirrel Zonker. The addition of the eyes and the heavy hair hackle makes the fly more fishlike and the Fair Fly is a good imitation of a sculpin.
| | |
Anybody can see that the Crazy Dane is really a Crazy Charlie - a very common salt water fly from the U.S. This type of fly is rarely seen in our part of the world, and I know no other fishers that use it.
| |  |
The Global FlyFisher and The International Fly Tying Symposium have finished the tough voting in the first ever FlyMeister fly tying contest!
| |  |
How to go from Europe, Colorado and Endicott, NY to a fly show in New Jersey for 2½ days and still feel that it has been worth all the trouble. Read the Global FlyFisher partners' story from The International Fly Tiers Show in New Jersey November 2001.
| |  |
"My, what an ugly fly!" Henning glances with disgust at the brightly colored foam fly shining from the hook rest on my 5 wt. "I thought you had higher standards" he continues, knowing that I usually prefer muddlers made from natural materials for my night fishing for sea runs.
| | |
The Morrisfoam Diver can be made in many colors and materials. This one is more like an average Danish coast fly for sea trout.
| | |
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the Danish shoreline fly fisher Peter Loevendahl, who is a discrete man. He goes around quietly in his native western Seeland and catches fish. A lot of fish.
| | |
This fly is in a way my 'signature fly'. It's a beautiful fly (in my own humble opinion), and even though it's heavy -- very heavy -- it's a good fishing fly, that dives deep and overcomes current and turbulence
| |  |
I've had little experience fishing with this fly which is quite recent in my collection. It has all the characteristics of a good night fly, it's fast and easy to tie and durable too. It should be a fly worth having in you box.
| |  |
What else would you expect to find in a lab...? This fly is one of the many that I seem to crank out at random. Most of them end up as garbage and never even find their way into my fly boxes, but this one had something. Just a little something.
| |  |
The sand eel or lance - called the tobis in Danish - is one of the most common fish on the Dansih coasts, and is an important part of the diet of especially larger sea trout and cod for that matter. Because of that it is an interesting fish to imitate.
| |  |
The flies on this page all have one thing in common: they have a linked body. Many of us strive to add life to our flies - the sense of something living. This can be done by using soft materials or adding long tails like on zonkers. These are all fine techniques that work well. But something urged me to try something different.
| |  |
The Magnus is a pattern always present in my fly box. I've caught a lot of fish on it, it's simple to tie and surprisingly durable. It's normally tied with ball chain eyes, but after I found a good supplier of bullet shaped bead head, I tried tying some with bullet heads.
| |  |
This fly was originally developed by Henning Eskol, a member of the Bananaflies - my fly tying guild.
| |  |
The fly will probably look like something the cat dragged in, when it's been cast a couple of times. But still: I'll give it a try. I've always loved tying with golden phesant (GP) feathers.
| | |
The least dressed fly of all The classic spider fly has to be one of the least dressed flies of all times. A slender body and a thin hackle - and that's it.
| | |
I have some remote relatives in Boston who occasionally sends over christmas gifts to my kids. This year the gifts were packed with some particularly interesting string. This string was braided in the colors red and green with some shiny material laid in. It said "flies" all over it! I scavenged the remains from the unpacking and stoved it away between my fly tying materials.
| | |
Muddlers are mostly used for dusk or night fishing in the summer. Muddlers will work in the surface, streaming, making a wave wich can be seen by the fish against the light sky. Muddlers move a lot of water and form a good profile. Almost any type of muddler can be used for this fishing although dark and black patterns seem best.
| |  |
Read the collected stories about the Danish Fly Festival and the enjoyable fishing, which took place before and after. Tons of pictures and great stories taken and written by contributors from the Netherlands, Slovenia, Wales and Denmark. See it all here.
| |  |
Pictures from GFF partner Martin Joergensen's trip to the Danish Island Bornholm in March 2001. There isn't much text yet, but a selection of nice pictures from a succesful trip.
| | |
One of the most popular venues of our site is the Reviews section. A good mixture of product and literature reviews are a heathly addition to a global site such as ours.
| |  |
With the publication of the authors' book a new star has risen in the craft of fly-rod building. The book is clearly written with excellent editing and superb layout and design.
| |  |
Deep in my heart, I prefer stream flyfishing for trout. However, Holland has precious few trout class streams, and next to none fishable trout, so most of my local flyfishing is for warmwater species. In fact all of my stream trout fishing happens abroad, mainly in the States, as well as in Belgium and Denmark.
| | |
This used to be our site map. Use the current one linked from the front page in stead.
Ken Bonde Larsen
Danish fly tyer Ken Bonde Larsen mostly known for his tube flies and flies for Danish coastal fishing.
Danish fly tyer Ken Bonde Larsen mostly known for his tube flies and flies for Danish coastal fishing.
Staff writer Eric Arbogast
Born to fish on June 19th, 1971 in Luxembourg, but definitely forced to work, right now as an Administrative Agent for the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg.
Born to fish on June 19th, 1971 in Luxembourg, but definitely forced to work, right now as an Administrative Agent for the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg.
| |  |
A perfect entree that can be spiced as you please - even quite untraditionally.
| |  |
There's an easy way to attatch the leader or backing to the fly line, and that's by using a piece of silicone tubing.
| | |
When I first started fishing with a fly rod, I spent a lot of time tying compex knots to join the different part of the rig. I wish someone had told me about loops when I started, because they would have saved me a lot af work.
| | |
These loops are often refered to as Orvis loops. I don't know if Orvis invented them, but they do sell them -- and at high prices too.
| |  |
A test in the print magazine Fly Fisherman showed the Trilene and the Orvis knot to be equally strong and on top of that said that they were able to maintain 100% of the line strength. I really have my doubt if that will hold for all types and thicknesses of line, but still it does prove that these could be the knots of choice for the concerned fly fisher.
| | |
A traditional Danish course that tastes heavenly! We have meatballs, and this is the fish variation of that dish.
| | |
For convenience you might want to use a very simple large loop connection between the fly line and the backing. This is consists of two loops - a large one on the backing and a small one on the fly line.
| | |
I often wonder what US fishers do if they stumble on a really big fish that they want to net. I'm aware that many fishers land many - if not all - of their fish with the hands. I use the hands for all but the largest. But still it must happen that fishers strike on a brown trout or rainbow is much too big for these small snow shoe nets.
| | |
This is a way of making a loop on a fly line that will give you a very neat and tiny loop and a smooth transition between the different parts of a rig.
| | |
The loop system has the advantage of being very flexible. You can easily join two sections of the fly rig, when you have loops on each section
| |  |
My salmon fishing is different from most everyone else's. At least, that's what I'm told. And since the literature around salmon fishing is based on "everyone else's" salmon fishing, I thought I'd tell you a little about mine. Optimally, my kindred spirits out there will read this and feel right at home.
New York Salmon fishing
Although there are a couple rivers in New York with the name "Salmon River", only one has an international reputation. That is the Salmon River that flows into Lake Ontaria near Pulaski, a small town along the lake's eastern shore.
Although there are a couple rivers in New York with the name "Salmon River", only one has an international reputation. That is the Salmon River that flows into Lake Ontaria near Pulaski, a small town along the lake's eastern shore.
| | |
Finished stickHere's the recipe for making a 'Totally Cool' Wading Stick - Danish Kind.
| |  |
Saturday evening was as saturday evenings often are in the summer: kids playing outside, tidying the kitchen, having a cup of coffee and just looking out the window. Outside my kitchen window, I can see my 'wind tree'. My guess is that all Danish coast fishermen have a wind tree or something like it: a flag, a chimney -- something to judge the wind from. Force and direction.
| | |
The first fish I caught on the Morrisfoam Diver was a small sea trout which I took on a nightly outing with Maj-Britt and Henning
| |  |
Fly hooks for Scandinavian salt water fishing There are several considerations to make when choosing fly hooks for salt water fishing for sea trout. By Martin Joergensen
| |  |
This amazing fly is ment for pike. It's caught a lot already on the line of originator Morten Valeur who states that this is one of the few flies he can truly call his own.
| |  |
Let's look at a hook, and try to put the right terms on the right parts. This picture shows a hook (note that it actually is a rare vertical eye hook, great for this purpose).
| | |
These eyes are actually quite easy to make, but can tease a bit if you want to do them both on the same piece of monofile -- which is the neatest way to do things.
| | |
There are other ways than bead chain eyes to make eyes for a fly. Here are two ways: Copper thread and pearls and melted monofile.
| |  |
From feathers to chickens - and back again. You don't need to raise birds to get feathers, but it's both easy and fun. Here's the story about how I had chickens for eggs, meat and not least feathers
| |  |
Beads or eyes are added for one or both of two reasons: weight and appearance. The eyes and beads discussed here are made from metal: brass, steel, lead - even tungsten. This will make them heavy and thus add weight to the fly. The weight will bring the fly down and often give it a certain behaviour - a diving or jigging motion. But it will also add to the looks of the fly, the most obvious case being eyes added to fish or fry patterns like streamers.
| | |
Summer is for harder fishing. Late evenings and nights when the water cools off are best. Fish don't migrate any more, but often stay in small areas. You have to fish at these places which typically have deep water close to the shore and a lot of circulation.
| | |
In the spring all fish are beginning to eat again. The spawning fish return to the sea and all fish leave the fjords. Flies are an excellent way of getting contact with these hungry fish, but spin fishers using larger lures of different kinds can also trap many fish.
| | |
Here's where Denmark is on the map of Europe. Denmark is that green blob in the middle (see the detailed map of Denmark).
| | |
When the sea trout is in salt water it's normally 'uncolored' meaning shining silvery with a bluish black back. Also the scales are normally many, but loose, and will fall off when the fish is touched. The fish is in an excellent condition, as it is eating all the time.
| | |
There are laws in Denmark too, and some of the deal with fishing. The most important ones are these
| | |
There are laws and written rules, but for the benefit of all of us, there are some unwritten common sense and social rules too:
| | |
Look at this picture. It shows an imaginary piece of coast and how to fish it. The different 'landmarks' are indicated.
| | |
"Points" are generally good landmarks to use as a base for the fishing. Not that there are necessarily more fish there, but as they make good mental holding points. Points are good spots to start fishing and from these landmarks you can make 'excursions'
| | |
Most of my flies are relatively simple patterns. The danish salt water fly-fishing demands flies in a lot of categories. Sometimes you can fish a location where the water is crystal clear and the surface is as a mirror, and sometimes exactly the same location is marred by hard wind, heavy waves and water as hot chocolate with marshmellows (yuck!).
| | |
Most Danes fish 7-8 wt. rods and lines. And most use a weight forward floating (WF-F) line or a shooting head. Expect that fairly long casts under difficult (that's mostly windy) conditions can save a day. All salt water flyfishing is done wading, and both waders and warm clothes for almost all seasons are essential.
| | |
In the real cold winter, the trout has to seek freshwater because it can't tolerate salt due to difficulties with osmotic regulation. Hence the fish are found in streams, estuaries and brackish fjords. For the salt water fisher, the fjords and shallow waters can offer good fishing in the winter.
| |  |
Autumn is ideal for catching top condition fish, mornings, days and evenings. The fish are typically stuffed with the smallest animals, and small brown/gray flies are therefore best.
| |  |
The first rule of salmonfly tying is preparation...gathering your materials, laying them out and sizing up the situation. If you are like me, many times you will have one material that is just a touch too short and you scramble to make it fit. But in the long run, it will never fit and the fly that you meticulously hovered over for many precious hours has that major flaw. More importantly, you'll never be happy with the finished product. If only you had pre-planned and sized up your materials ahead of time.
| |  |
If you want success with picky sea trout you can consider two tactics: go small... or go LARGE!
| | |
The umbrella is a nice looking fly inspired by stream flies for sea trout. It was formerly known as the Double Umbrella because of the to wet fly type hackle feathers, that gives the fly its unique appearance and a lot of life in the water. The feathers will collapse when wet and almost cover the silver tinsel in a pulsing motion.
| | |
This small streamer is as neutral and ordinary as can be. It's a small trout fry pattern, that can be used in fairly clear water in spring and autumn. Retrieve in short, fast jerks.
| |  |
Almost everyone has the right stuff at their tying bench to make a great batch of dubbing. But not many people know they have everything they need to make an outstanding sealïż½s fur dubbing substitute. This dubbing is a viable replacement for SLF, angora goat and sealïż½s fur, and the trick to making it is so simple it will amaze you!
| |  |
If you ever want to know the 'entomology' of the salt water prey species, this is a good place to look. You will become a very educated salt water fisherman if you read and understand these sections. This will fortunately not be so hard, because even though Roberts has a very scientific way of treating his subject, it's not hard to read and undterstand the book.
| |  |
A.K. should be fairly well known. The term 'production fly tyer' is very suitable for him. He counts his flies in hundreds of dozens and has before demonstrated his ability to write books about this kind of tying. In this book he reveals the contents of his own fly boxes. They contain a lot of brown trout flies - no salt water patterns, no poppers, no bass flies. There are a few hoppers and ants, but apart from that it's mayflies, stoneflies a caddises.
| |  |
What stirred my interest in this book was Charles Garwood's article on foam flies for panfish. In this he mentions Skip Morris as his inspiration. During a recent visit in Seattle I stumbled over the book, and as it's absolutely reasonable priced and looked very interesting, I immediately bought it.
| |  |
Danish-American Poul Jorgensen belongs amongst the greatest inspirators when it comes to classical salmon flies. His book 'Salmon Flies - Their Character, Style, and Dressing' is metioned by many well known international salmon fly tyers as the book that started them as salmon fly tyers.
| |  |
Below we present you a brief pictorial essay of The Fly Tying Show, Saturday January 29, 2000.
| |  |
This is a very unique and interesting little book. No fly patterns. No fishing techniques. It is basically what the title implies - a portal into the past of one of the most historically significant states in the U.S. with regards to fishing and in particular, fly-fishing.
Brian's gallery
These pictures all feature that master of casting and excellence of the 5 wt. Brian Kjĉr - honored member of the Bananaflies
These pictures all feature that master of casting and excellence of the 5 wt. Brian Kjĉr - honored member of the Bananaflies
| |  |
Although this book is riddled with errors it does convey the basic information that a beginning Atlantic salmon fisher would need.
| |  |
A whole book about a very special fishing technique for salmon and steelhead by one of the sport's most well known authors.
| | |
Please notice that it does not contain all patterns on this site, and is just kept for the sake of maintaing the link. Go to the patterns front page through the top menu in stead.
| |  |
Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies by Paul Marriner should not be viewed as simply a book.
| |  |
"I had heard about East Branch's $20 "test drive" program so I gave them a call. Sure enough, come the Friday before opening day, the mailman delivered a large tube with a pair of fly rods." Read Bob Petti's review of the 9' 3pc GTX 6wt.
| |  |
"...my hats off to the folks at Mustad for having the ability and willingness to make a change." GFF partner Bob Petti has had a look at the new Mustad Signature series and parts wth a Global Class mark for the new, improved and very consistently produced hooks - with a naming convention, which is a blessing to fly tyers.
| |  |
I have been experimenting a bit with stream patterns for sea trout. One of the results has been a larger and more salmon fly like version of the Umbrella - a salt water fly that I have used with good success.
| |  |
This fly uses a special technique where a strand of floss and a strand of tinsel is twisted together before the combo is wound on the hook shank.
The Moor Fly
This one of the really genuine Danish flies for sea trout in the streams. The Moor Fly (Hedefluen in Danish) in some fishers eyes work magic and can at times be the most dominating fly on certain Danish sea trout streams.
This one of the really genuine Danish flies for sea trout in the streams. The Moor Fly (Hedefluen in Danish) in some fishers eyes work magic and can at times be the most dominating fly on certain Danish sea trout streams.
The Idiot
The Idiot - or 'Idioten' in Danish - is another typical Danish sea trout pattern. The story of this fly is quite well known and documented. A team of Danish fly fishers including Erik Dĝssing were fishing in Norway when one of the company stated that he had never caught a sea trout on fly in the stream Karup Aa - probably Denmark's most productive and famous sea trout stream.
The Idiot - or 'Idioten' in Danish - is another typical Danish sea trout pattern. The story of this fly is quite well known and documented. A team of Danish fly fishers including Erik Dĝssing were fishing in Norway when one of the company stated that he had never caught a sea trout on fly in the stream Karup Aa - probably Denmark's most productive and famous sea trout stream.
Winter fishing
Henrik Franke is a Dane that from the southern part of Jutland, who has taken some pictures in the winter of '96 - a particularly long and cold winter. How about flyfishing among icebergs? The pictures are from the island of Als.
Henrik Franke is a Dane that from the southern part of Jutland, who has taken some pictures in the winter of '96 - a particularly long and cold winter. How about flyfishing among icebergs? The pictures are from the island of Als.
| |  |
Undoubtedly, most fly fishermen will relate the name Bill Edson with the Dark and Light Edson Tiger streamers that bear his name. They are prominent in streamer lore, fly catalogs, fly wallets, and with just cause - they have been exceptional fish takers from their inception.
Fly tyers gallery
These are all tyers. Some of them were caught at the Danish Fly Festival and some at Fly Fair - Europe's largest outdoors fly show wich takes place every second year in Zwolle in Holland. Here are some pictures from the '96 event. If you want to see more international tyers have a look at the pictures from The International Fly Tyers Symposium 1996.
These are all tyers. Some of them were caught at the Danish Fly Festival and some at Fly Fair - Europe's largest outdoors fly show wich takes place every second year in Zwolle in Holland. Here are some pictures from the '96 event. If you want to see more international tyers have a look at the pictures from The International Fly Tyers Symposium 1996.
Orange Twist
This fly used to be a twist fly like the yellow Twist of Lemon, but it changed and eventually lost the typical twisted body. It has a normal tinsel body and a thorax of peacock herl, but looks much like the Twist of Lemon.
This fly used to be a twist fly like the yellow Twist of Lemon, but it changed and eventually lost the typical twisted body. It has a normal tinsel body and a thorax of peacock herl, but looks much like the Twist of Lemon.
Toilet ring dubbing wax
Here's a quick and simple way to make your own dubbing wax if you don't have the patience or confidence to custom blend your own.
Here's a quick and simple way to make your own dubbing wax if you don't have the patience or confidence to custom blend your own.
The history of the gold bead
The gold bead flies that are now so popular, actually originated in the central part of Europe - more than 100 years ago. By Roman Moser
The gold bead flies that are now so popular, actually originated in the central part of Europe - more than 100 years ago. By Roman Moser
| |  |
Both IQ and Orange shrimp are excellent Sea Trout flies. They are easy and quick to tie. I've used them as a secret weapon for several years now. Weather conditions will dictate the size of fly I prefer. You may tie these patterns on any type of hook, singles, double including trebles in small sizes 10 to 14. By Ismo Saastamoinen
| |  |
The usual way of weighting a tube fly is by using copper or aluminum tubes. This article shows a totally different approach.
| |  |
The chinook is considered by many to be the prime game fish of the North East Pacific, with only the steelhead challenging that title. By Martin Bowers
The IQ Zeb Macahan
This fly was ordered by Swedish Fly fishing shop as a logo type. I got the material and colors witch would be included and free hands to create. IQ Zeb Macahan was the final product of this.
This fly was ordered by Swedish Fly fishing shop as a logo type. I got the material and colors witch would be included and free hands to create. IQ Zeb Macahan was the final product of this.
The Mia Fly
Using dogs hair for flies is probably quite common. Most dog owning fly fisher have probably combed their dogs and been struck by the fact that dogs' hair would make a fine dubbing material. Photographer Mark Vagn Hansen did so with his dog Mia, and wound up tying a very productive pattern used for sea trout and - naturally - named it The Mia Fly.
Using dogs hair for flies is probably quite common. Most dog owning fly fisher have probably combed their dogs and been struck by the fact that dogs' hair would make a fine dubbing material. Photographer Mark Vagn Hansen did so with his dog Mia, and wound up tying a very productive pattern used for sea trout and - naturally - named it The Mia Fly.
| |  |
The Flasher fly is not so much a fly as a method of adding a spinner to any tube fly which under certain circumstances enhances its attractiveness to almost any species of fish.
| |  |
Jan Reniers has become famous for his different shrimp creations, his latest being a shrimp imitation with a shield of real eel skin, which, when wet, has the typical smell that attracts fish.
Common casting errors
In the following little animations I will show you the most common casting errors. I observe these errors very often, but with a little practice it is very simple to correct the causes for these errors. If you know the reason for such an error it is easy to kill the cause through excercises, believe me.
In the following little animations I will show you the most common casting errors. I observe these errors very often, but with a little practice it is very simple to correct the causes for these errors. If you know the reason for such an error it is easy to kill the cause through excercises, believe me.
| |  |
A sedge pattern in the Goddard tradition - with a twist This fly is a combination of the G+H Sedge and a hackling method adapted from Dutch Piet Weeda - making it a one-material-fly. By Sven Ostermann
| |  |
Hans Weilenmann is a well known Dutch fly fisherman and fly tyer on the international arena. His name keeps on popping up in all kinds of connections - including many shows all over Europe and the U.S.A.
| |  |
How Ib Olsen builds his beautiful rods ...and some elementary notes. Article and drawings by Preben Torp Jacobsen
| |  |
Preben's influence on Danish flyfishing and flytying cannot be overestimated. He was indeed the Grand old Man amongst Danish fly anglers. We are honered that he wanted to contribute to this site.
| |  |
I'm not sure how floating bass flies got the name "bug", but it certainly has stuck. Whether constructed of wood, plastic, foam, or hair, they all seem to be lumped into the generic category of "bass bug". Although a few are tied to imitate specific food forms, usually mice or frogs, most are very surreal, offering the impression of something living and outrageous. By Bob Petti
| |  |
Dalby is a place in Western Sealand often fished by Danish coastal fisher and photographer Mark Vagn Hansen. For one of his trips here, he tied a fly using a couple of brown hackles and an orange hot spot on the back of the hook.
| |  |
On the surface the job was simple, come up with some pike flies for my friend's teenage son's trip to Canada, something small enough that a teenager can handle and still tempt a pike.
| |  |
The 3 original Carrie Stevens Patterns on this page are shared with us from Mike Martinek's private collection with his comments.
| |  |
The flatwing streamer style has been a consistant producer for me over the years, particularly in the smaller casting sizes for brook trout.
| |  |
The worlds best pictures of fly fishing. The art of fly fishing and fly tying in photos. Lots of images of flyfishing situations, streams, lakes, ocean, landscapes, anglers, fish and much more.
| | |
Improve your fly tying and learn new tricks with fly tying materials and tools. Fly tying methods, smartest way of doing things, thread control, material handling, do-it-yourself tools and much more.
| |  |
I suppose that I'm one of the fortunate few who can honestly say that I've been fishing for as long as I can remember.
| |  |
One style of streamer that is very effective here in Maine in the smaller casting sizes, is the flatwing streamer. The feature that defines this style, the flat wing, normally consists of a flank feather from some species of duck tied flat on top of the hook, instead of in the classic "upright" manner that the classic New England Streamer patterns specify.
| |  |
Late Dave Lewis was a master rod builder. We still host a few of his online articles,
| |  |
"All dace are not created equal". Although they may look pretty much the same to us, fish much prefer the females with their orange and yellow bellies. I soon noticed that when I sewed on this colorful variation, a strike was not far off.
| |  |
One of the most difficult things for today's streamer tyer to find is suitable hackle for winging Rangeley Style streamers.
| |  |
Last spring, the members of the Streamer email list participated in a Flatwing Streamer Swap. This swap, hosted by Ron McKusick, was a very enjoyable affair and a number of innovative and productive patterns were shared amongst the swap participants.
| | |
The best fly patterns from all over the globe. Pattern descriptions, fly tying materials lists, step-by-step tying instructions, pictures, instruction videos.
| | |
When I talk about hard hair I both mean hair that's hard - like squirrel and polar bear - and hair that's hard to tie in on the hook. We all know the problem: not only is squirrel wings hard as #"%&/ to place properly on top of the shank, but they also sometimes seem to fall off for nothing.
| |  |
The second streamer swap to have originated from the forums on this site, Doug Saball's Marabou Streamer Swap was a great success! The theme for the swap was that participants would contribute an original or established streamer pattern which used marabou for the wing material.
| |  |
This swap has gathered a collection of patterns from diverse sources, including Maine regional favorites, patterns from the wider northeast, regional patterns from the West and from Alberta, and newly created patterns. They all share three things in common - hair wings, small hooks, and a tremendous attraction to brook trout.
| |  |
Undoubtedly, when one thinks of attractor streamer and bucktail patterns, the venerable Mickey Finn comes to mind. More often than not, it's the very first pattern streamer aficionados are introduced to when learning to tie...and rightly so, as it remains a productive pattern in our streamer wallets.
| |  |
One of the true parents of streamer fly fishing, particularly in New England, she brought forth the Gray Ghost. The popularity of her 25 years of fly tying is exemplified by this fly, a streamer that has traveled not only throughout the United States but all over the world.
| | |
As all other kinds of fishing, the hunt for sea trout varies greatly through the year. But opposite many other fishing, there's no low season or high season.
| | |
Water conditions change from day to day and one location varies from clear, calm water to muddy water with high waves. The fish are there almost no matter what, and often rough weather offer better fishing than a calm surface.
| | |
For your comfort you'll want a light wind from any direction or a heavier wind blowing away from the shore. Fish will be there in any wind and hard winds will often bring bigger fish that bite harder, but fishing can be tricky and tiring.
| | |
Once you have found a place where all these things come together, you still have a lot of water to cover. Luckily you can spot the places that will hold fish on an even smaller scale.
| | |
Certain spots provide many positive factors for the fish: exposed coast with mixed bottom, sand and weed covered stones. Variation, shelter and food is here in plenty.
| | |
This should actually be rule number 4, but it's still a bit too vague to be so it is based on my own and a lot of other fishers experiences, but still... Fishing is best when water is going out and please notice, that this doesn't only refer to tidal movement.
| | |
Fish are where they feel good That is where one or several factors are present: food, shelter, optimum water conditions, other fish ...and more.
| |  |
The idea of a swap of patterns originated by Lew Oatman came from interaction by the participants on The Streamer Board on this site. The swap was hosted by Bob Petti.
| |  |
Although the subject of this article may seem like heresy to dedicated tyers of classic atlantic salmon patterns, I thought it might be a fun exercise this winter to adapt some of these classic patterns to New England streamers. It was indeed a challenging and enjoyable tying experience.
| |  |
One of the things most often asked by neophyte streamer tyers is what types of hackle are best suited for streamer wings. The short answer is.....there is no single source best suited for streamer wings. The long answer...well....I'll ramble on about it for the remainder of this essay!
| |  |
The Rangeley Style of streamer tying is the style used by Carrie Stevens to tie her famous Grey Ghost pattern. This unique features of this style of tying are that the wing components are assembled and glued together before attaching to the hook, and that the wings are not mounted on top of the hook shank but slightly down the sides of the hook shank.
Smelt
The "king of baitfish", the American Smelt is the inspiration for the vast majority of New England Streamer patterns. Though there are a number of smelt species throughout the world, it's the Atlantic Rainbow Smelt that populates New England's waters, and is the one most-commonly immitated.
The "king of baitfish", the American Smelt is the inspiration for the vast majority of New England Streamer patterns. Though there are a number of smelt species throughout the world, it's the Atlantic Rainbow Smelt that populates New England's waters, and is the one most-commonly immitated.
| |  |
This forage fish feature (say that 5 times fast!) is a the third in a series of articles being created as a group effort by members of the Streamer List. There are over 300 species of sculpins, most of them are salt water or brackish water occupants, but several are found in North America.
| |  |
The brook trout is native to North America. It is found from the Canadian Maritime Provinces, including offshore islands, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Quebec.
Forage fish
This feature is a the first of a series of articles being created as a group effort by members of the Streamer List to provide some background information on the species of forage fish we most commonly try to immitate with streamer patterns.
This feature is a the first of a series of articles being created as a group effort by members of the Streamer List to provide some background information on the species of forage fish we most commonly try to immitate with streamer patterns.
| |  |
This in one of several articles in a series being created as a group effort by members of the Streamer List to provide some background information on the species of forage fish we most commonly try to immitate with streamer patterns.
| |  |
What's so exciting about a simple white marabou streamer? It doesn't have any exotic ingredients. No epoxy. No goggle eyes. No genetic hackle. You could tie a million of them for the cost of a gallon of milk. There are no fancy techniques in the tying, so everyone who can wrap thread can tie their own.
| |  |
A recent article in Fly Tyer magazine sparked quite a debate on the streamer list about the use of this popular and effective saltwater fly in fresh water. The debate found the authors "defending" the fresh water deceiver and prompted us to write a small
| |  |
No page featuring New England Streamers would be complete without a portion dedicated to Carrie G. Stevens, of Madison, Maine. Mrs. Stevens is the originator or the Grey Ghost, one of the most well-known and effective New England Streamer patterns to have been tied, and still a popular choice as a trolling and casting streamer today.
| |  |
The hook is the foundation on which a good streamer is built. When streamer anglers meet, quite often it's the subject of heated debate! I've listed a variety of the streamer hooks available on the market today (and some no longer available) in the table in the article.
| | |
The bottom is like the beach This is not always true, but generally the beach can be used to judge the bottom below the surface.
| | |
The bottom is a main factor in the ocean We have no trees, no meandering, no overhanging banks (almost none at least). The water covers it all and above that... the sky.
| | |
Yes, I actually do cast my flies into the waves! And it's great too, even though I prefer them to be small waves.
| | |
He send me copies of some of his own creations and moreover delicate watercolour drawings of his in Scandinavia very famous Sedge Pupa - imitation. As his flies are very little known in Europe, I shall try to give a description.
| | |
In this autumn I had the pleasure of meeting my countryman Poul Jorgensen at two lectures he held here in Jutland, Denmark. One of the flies he tied was his version of Edmund Drury's famous salmonfly, the General Practitioner. Tied after its original recipe it's something of a task to make; but Poul has found out a simpler, but just as effective pattern. By Preben Torp Jacobsen
Dyeing material
This small section with advice on dyeing fly tying materials was made after a discussion took place on the European fly fishing mailing lis. The text was put together from input from several people of this list: Graham Ward, John Davies, Pat Orpen and myself.
This small section with advice on dyeing fly tying materials was made after a discussion took place on the European fly fishing mailing lis. The text was put together from input from several people of this list: Graham Ward, John Davies, Pat Orpen and myself.
| | |
More than 30 years ago I tied some of the North Country Flies on blind hooks. At that time Veniard Ltd. had them in their catalogue - but I had no silk-worm gut, so I tied them to fine monofile nylon. By Preben Torp Jacobsen
| |  |
Recently I've begun working with a material that was introduced to me through the tying of Dave Whitlock. In particular, his "sheep series" of baitfish flies. It's Icelandic Sheep Hair, although some distributors refer to it as "Streamer Hair" or "Secret Streamer Hair". I've found it to be a wonderful tying material for large streamer type flies.
| |  |
This fly was inspired by the original Prince Nymph, but modified by Charles Garwood of North Carolina for an easier tie and more visibility. Says Charlie: "The prince nymph has been with us for a long time! I've simply added flashabou because I found it enhances attraction and because I find it slightly easier to tie than white goose biots. Plus it eliminates the gold braid too. It just simplifies the pattern"
| | |
The Pheasant tail nymph is a true classic. The original was tied by Frank Sawyer using only copper thread and phesant tail fibers. This pattern has been elaborated a bit by Charles A.Garwood from North Carolina, and uses peacock herl for the abdomen and regular tying thread.
| | |
Dan Blanton's Fatal Attraction Part wet fly and part streamer, it has all the obnoxious flash of a Mepps spinner in the water, and it's just as effective. By Bob Petti
| |  |
Who would have guessed that a fly tied to fish the lakes of New Zealand would have such an impact all around the world?
| | |
The french pediatrician Jean-Paul Pequegnot has written a book about french flies - "Repertoire des Mouches Artificielles Français". 1975. It is translated to english in the last years. He gives among others also descriptions of flies from Britanny.
| | |
The fish in the Danish sea are in no way endangered by rodfishers. Nets are another story, though, but still fish are abundant, and therefore we Danes almost always bring home fish. Small fish are illegal to catch, but many fishermen release a lot of their catch. But no-kill and pure C&R is not common on the Danish shores.
| |  |
"In many ways, it was a rod builder's dream finish." Bob Petti writes about Trondak U-40 Duragloss LS Supreme and hands out one of the rare Global Class scores of 6 in his review. He also looks at Trondak's U-40 Rod Bond, which 'only' scores a 5. Read Bob's review.
| | |
Denmark is a small country; the size of Pensylvania, and can by no means be compared to the other and far larger Scandinavian countries; Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.
| |  |
Dubbing must be said to be one of the most universal fly tying methods. Dubbing is mostly used for bodies, but will often form other parts of the fly as well. Using different materials and tighter or looser dubbing along with different techniques, can result in an amazing variety of body shapes and textures.
| | |
You will see that many of the Danish saltwater flies -- The Magnus, Bjarke and Grey Frede are prime examples -- have bead chain eyes. These eyes serve two purposes: weight and imitation. The eyes till add quite a bit of weight in the front end of the fly and the balls obviously look like eyes. Their shiny surface even adds an attractive feature that will glimpse and get the attention of the fish.
Make your own dubbing wax
When I recently reached the bottom of my last tube of Overton's Wonder Wax, I decided to try making my own instead of buying one of the newer commercial dubbing waxes. Like a lot of other tyers I had made my own dubbing wax years ago, but I didn't do it with a critical frame of mind.
When I recently reached the bottom of my last tube of Overton's Wonder Wax, I decided to try making my own instead of buying one of the newer commercial dubbing waxes. Like a lot of other tyers I had made my own dubbing wax years ago, but I didn't do it with a critical frame of mind.
| | |
Making your own or improving store bought dubbing. I recommend that all dubbing be passed through a coffee or spice grinder prior to using. The grinder tends to separate and air out the fibres providing a lighter product than would be normally accomplished by just using the blend out of the bag. By David Allerton
| |  |
This section of Tie Better will deal with rotary fly tying vices. I will try to explain what a true rotary vice is, what its advatnages are and how it can be used in different steps of fly tying.
