Recent comments

To bad you feel that

To bad you feel that way about wet flies. I am 73 yrs old have been fishing Nymphs for over 50 yrs I also
teach Nymph fishing here in Michigan. I started using the old stile wet flies last summer, like the wickams
fancy and the winged hares ear and a few more old patterns, I am a guide here on the Muskegon river and
my friends thought I was nuts to use them old flies. I never caught so many nice fish, some 20 inch browns
and rainbows. I can tell you one thing it's not the flies that are so effective it's the way you fish them, that
makes the the big difference.

Thank you for these

Thank you for these great suggestions. I plan to build my first home made shooting head tomorrow.
Do you have any suggestions for fly casting from a kayak?

If you ever plan a holiday in Florida, contact me. I'll take you fishing.

David:

David:
Two that I would have in my box, actually have in my box would be the CDC and Elk and the Usual. I also carry a pattern loosely based on one called Quigley's Cripple/Emerger. Another pattern that's worked for brookies up in Vermont is one called the Nalle Puh. If you don't tie, you might have trouble finding these, though the Quigley pattern might be available on line or in catalogs, and it's possible the Usual may also be available. My nymphs are pretty limited. Pheasant Tail Nymphs tied with a bead head and soft hackle in Natural, Olive and Brown. Some hares' ear nymphs tied the same way and the old Pennsylvania standby the Green Weenie.
The drys are range from size 12 to size 20. The nymphs range from size 12 to 26.

Dear Martin, in fact

Dear Martin, in fact fishes are most important ,even i you put them to the water.Most important is biting and draging. We still hunters. Best wishes

Hello Janess
This a

Hello Janess
This article is one of the best winter fly fishing stories I have ever read, I really enjoyed it.
I fish for coarse fish only on the fly. Roach, chub, perch, pike etc.
Any more information on fly fishing for coarse fish would be fantastic.
Once again well done and thankyou.

Salmofiliac,

Salmofiliac,

Welcome to the forum!

Martin

David,

David,

I don't have much experience with kits, but I bought a handful of spools Maxima in different thicknesses in Walmart for almost nothing, and that stock has served me well as a foundation for leaders for several years now.

You can in general opt for most monofilament for the butt part of your leaders. You might want to be a bit more picky with the tippet, where breaking strain and knot strength has a great influence on performance. Some 4-5 spools plus tippet will roughly cover you for most leaders if you are not completely hysterical about the formulas. You might also take your starting point in Steve Schweitzer's LeaderCalc and make your shopping list from a well defined formula.

My Maxima i rather stiff - other brands are more supple. This does have influence on the finished leader, although not as much as you would think in my opinion.

Martin

Ken Bonde, thanks

Ken Bonde, thanks for your answer. I will test it during my trip to Denmark in March together with Partridge CS11.
I used to tied all similar flies on Kamasan hooks but they seems to me too heavy.

Tiemco`s TMC 777SP

Pike....

The hook I used for Magnus and Grey Fred is Tiemco`s TMC 777SP - a very nice shaped hook, and very SHARP:-) But any other "medium-length" streamerhook might do the work..

Ken Bonde

They will work on an

They will work on any warm/cold water predotary specimen that chase on bait fish :)
I love these streamers very light and easy to cast into the wind !!

Ttype (brand) of hook?

Martin, would you be so kind and could you tell me the type (brand) of hook you use for this fly? I have noticed, the same type is used for Grey Frede too and I really like it.

Thanks a lot.

Thank you very much

Thank you very much for the very nice pictures.

Thanks Göran

Thanks Göran for commenting my picture. I am happy you enjoy this photo. In that stream were some really nice trouts , but very very shy- so I had to be very patient.
tight line Andrej

Your ant pattern works great

your ant pattern works great; caught a 28 inch rainbow in a california northern lake last year.I use .016 monofilament for the legs, and use a warm to hot needle over a candle to make a bend in the leg.I use a black marker pen to color the legs.Thanks for sharing your pattern.If you like I would send you my version of the ant. THANKS John

Google "Nail Spoon f

Google "Nail Spoon flies". there was an article in the summer '98 Fly Tier Magazine

It shows how to tie spoon style flies using fake finger nails

That's the ticket!

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Another Tuffleye...

Like a cameleon...surrounding colours are curiously picked up..."internals" display nicely!
There's some trimmed mylar inside this one...opal like, it comes and goes depending on light angles...
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I enjoy epoxy!...Tuffleye? I was sceptical at first, but the more I use it, the more I likle it...
The learning curve is not as steep as the initial sticker price (core/finish/light/ac adaptor)...
The concept and application will open the door to some interesting horizons!
For the price of a few Cuban cigars and/or maybe a single malt, it's a great new on-the-edge tool !

Flying Circus...
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ALL HAIL das Decapod Crustacean!...
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If you do a whip-fin

If you do a whip-finish with a tool in slow-motion, you can figure out how to replace the hooks on the tool with your finger.

I've been whip-finishing by hand for a bazillion years now, the only thing is I put a bodkin in the loop when I pull it down into the knot so that I have tension on the loop.

The thread that's winding around the hook is the thread attached to the head. You're just winding it over the thread coming out of the bobbin. It's basically a half-hitch with multiple wraps.

great video Martin,

great video Martin, thanks ...I will certainly give it a try.

Regards,

Ruan,

Steve,

It's diffi

Steve,

It's difficult to explain more precisely than the video combined with the illustrations in the original article - linked above.

I don't know what you mean by "fingers are twisting from one to the other", but the thread is kind of moving from one finger to the other. The fingers switch places for each round.. in order to stay attached to the hand! ;-)

But look at the illustrations and the video again and you might see it.

Martin

Great idea. I do bot

Great idea. I do both and have been for years ( not good at either - but love it ) Would never have thought of this wonderful and practicle method - Well done

Thank you - a little

Thank you - a little confused as to which thread is actually winding around the hook - please explain this part. It looks as though your fingers are twisting from 1 to the other ? Great to have this type of educational video - thanks.

HEY kwiatec, if you are going

HEY kwiatec, if you are going for distance then a shooting head is the way to go, if you want to make your own then cut 10 ft of lead line and splice on some shooting line, it will fly once you get the hang of it. You may have to trim a foot off at a time to get the right feel for your rod.
All the best.
Mike.

Pete,

Pete,

The Tuffleye stuff looks good. Gotta try it.

For those not fully enlightened:
http://www.wetahook.net/index.html

Martin