Recent comments

My LAW reel

Grant,

I'm aware of the rarity of my LAW reel. A very good friend has one and I do too, but we are probably the two only Danes owning such a reel. I have only seen a few others in my time. Dutch Hans Weilenmann had a few - one small stream size model and one none-anti reverse, which were both real gems. I even think I remember him showing me a large arbor reel of Lawrence's making too, but it might be my imagination. Apart from that I remember seeing my friend Richard Ross having one... and that's about it. They are few and far apart.

I treasure mine - and still fish it every time I have a chance.

Martin

New design

G.S.Marryat,

I'm sorry to hear that the new design doesn't become you well... I know it's question of liking and taste and that it's difficult to create something that everybody likes. You are the first person to criticize the new design - not that it makes your critique less valuable.

Oddly enough I did get several remarks about the old design being old fashioned, too colorful, messy and other remarks, and looking at it right now I have to say that it's just as glaring white as the new one (the dominant white background is the exact same white background we have now) and the washed out green was in stead a washed out yellow supplemented by a lot of different colors chosen individually for every single article.

I'm truly sorry to hear that the design will keep you from visiting daily as you used to, and I hope that lots of new content can convince you to reconsider that. I'm probably going to leave the new design as it is for now, but I'm certainly not totally locked on that and might consider changing it if more protests come in.

Thanks for your honest comment. It's highly appreciated.

Martin

Nice fly, but terrible

Nice fly, but terrible comment!

My secret flyreel fetish

When I was a millionaire Martin,I filled a whole "room" with cabinets full of Fly reels.
Love them and like to have them in my hands to turn them around and study them. I am also very lucky to have quite a few reels and take good care of them. Some reels I put in my cabinet and I don't use them anymore, because they are so special and I don't want to damage them by anything, some of them are the ones I made myself! Very nice artical!!!

Best regards,
Tom Biesot.

website design/colours

I have tried. Yes, I have really tried. Unfortunately, I am not enjoying the new website design, and particularly the colours. The glaring white is almost 'clinical' in its look, and does not radiate warmth. Perhaps someone felt it's the way websites are now, and is attempting to make it look 'cleaner' or sharper. But for me it's too 'clean', and where it's not white, it has this insipid washed-out green colour, which again is not attractive (to me). Of course there will be others who find this attractive. But for me the design does not make we want to linger, as i find it 'uncomfortable' and 'not pleasing'. I have been an almost daily viewer for years, but visit less frequently with this new design. This is probably disappointing for the staff to read, as i am sure a lot of effort has gone into this. However, as much as i love the content, I thought you should also hear that at least one of your viewers does not appreciate the website colours.

Great video Thanks!

Great video Thanks!

RE: Your reel fetish

Martin, you own perhaps one of the most coveted and difficult reels to obtain, a Waldron reel. Waldron's vises are easy to obtain by comparison. I venture to guess a lot of people don't know that he made a few reels also. Sadly I had a chance to buy one years ago and talked to Waldron on the phone. I was short on cash at the time and had to pass. I've been kicking myself ever since.

Great Flick if You're into or Thing About Bamboo

This is a great docu-story if you are into bamboo rods or are thinking about taking the next step into the bamboo world. Much has changed to some of the people featured in the film. Master Rod Builder Glen Brackett has since moved on from the Winston Rod Company and formed his own outfit call Sweetgrass Rods. The movie is awesome nevertheless and takes you on a journey from the time the Tonkin Bamboo is harvested in China through the patient and laborious process of rod-making and beyond. Even my non-fishing wife enjoyed the storyline and cinematography!! I highly recommend this movie to both fly fishing experts and novices alike.

Clear or Transparent Heat shrink tubing

To heatshrink down clear or transparent heat shrink, if you have no lighters use "Boiling Water" as our Clear heat shrinks operate at boiling point which is 100C at http://www.shrinkfit.co.uk when there locate search box and type in '2:1 clear heat shrink', we have the 1.6mm and a 2.4mm in Clear in stock.

Clear heatshrink

You can use a lighter to shrink down the clear heat shrink or just use boiling water. Smallest size is 1.2mm shrinks down to 0.6mm all the way up to 6 inches (150mm)

Clear heat shrink tubing

You can use a lighter to shrink down the clear heat shrink or just use boiling water

fly fishing Barbados

I'm travelling to Barbados in February for vacation. As with all of my vacations near the water, I plan to bring a couple fly rods. I was just wanting to pick your brain about any beach fly fishing opportunities on the Island. I would also love to know of any fly fishing guides that I could hire.
Thanks a bunch,
Jay

Long rods on the coast

Magnus,

I actually don't think switch rods will give you any advantages on the coast, and certainly not longer casts.

Switch rods give great line control for underhand and spey style casting as well as for mending, but doesn't actually give longer casts. And the longer rods, often 10, 11 and 13 feet, will be a curse once the wind starts blowing - which it does 9 out of 10 days on the coast. The long rod simply gives too much wind resistance, and hardcore saltwater anglers often opt for shorter rods down to 8 feet and less to overcome the wind.

My personal choice is still a 9' rod, which is a good compromise between some reach and comfort as well as gaining the line speed, which is the primary factor in obtaining distance in casting.

Martin

Rod

Hey, Martin!

Great article!

What's your opinion about switch rods for sea trout fishing? I think it would be a good choice for longer casts?

Cheers

Tom's vise

Hello Michael,

Sorry for the late answer,thank you for the nice words about the vise! It was a big project and you asked in your comment how much hours I spent in making the vise. It is in the article , but I must commit it is hard to find , above the last picture of the article is a text where I say that I have spent about 220 workinghours in the vise! That is "not" including designing and developing the vise!

Best regards,

Tom Biesot.

Vise

Tim, it certainly sounds like you are a spokesman for Stonfo Transformer (Italian made vise). I firmly believe in buying products made in the United States. The vise I use is the Nor Vise. It can do all the things you have shown the Stonfo Transformer can do. The Nor Vise is made in Washington State. I like it for it's high quality and especially for the ease of operation for people that have Arthritis. The rotary vise turns on ball bearings and is easy to operate. It has all the attachments for tying very tiny hooks all the way up to very large hooks. It has a great tube tying adaptor that works with every type of tube from plastic to brass with absolutely no slippage. Why send your money overseas when you can buy quality vise and supplies here in the United States? Americans should buy American products and keep the money here! Show your pride of being American and support businesses here.

Wood Vise

Tom, to say your vise is beautiful would be an understatement. Magnificent is a much better way to describe it! I too have a few hobbies. Fly tying, fly fishing and also wood turning. I never tried metal turning but wanted to try it. Putting all your expertise together to plan, build and implement your ideas into a magnificent vise is truly remarkable. Do you plan on selling your vises? How much would you charge? Best regards and good wishes. Richard Katzman, New York.

Loop Cross S1

Nils, great article.

I'm very interest in one of the two Loop rods you tested and discussed in your article. As far as overhead casting, did you feel the added weight and length of the 11 foot 5 piece one (that you preferred) was more,fatiguing than the shorter lighter 10 foot 7 inch one?

THX

Vise

Congratulations with your beautiful Vise. Seems to me very special to make this yourself ... if you have the skills. Both the wood and the metal looks very nice. I wonder if this is the one you actually use. What I missed in the text is the time you have spent in total. Keep up the good work!

Tom's vise

Tom, the vise is beautifull,I love it, but now it's time to drink coffee with me, after all the hours that you have worked on the vise.
Your wife, Fousjia.

Strange thoughts

Only the other day I said to my friend I wonder if a frog or toad would go for one of my flies and here's my answer. Small world.

Miro Jagger's picture

Miro Jagger's picture inspired me for a new idea of creating bugs with the help of tinsel!
Looks like Christmas is already in the air!

great fly and learning opportunity

I really like knowing the history behind the flies. Though new to tying I'm especially drawn to the older patterns especially when I can learn about its origins.

Comment to Piccaso by Darren MacEachern

Very nice Darren, I hope you fed her some of the fish you caught! ...