GFF and Martin,
Please do keep sending in patterns, background information and tips and tricks for this magnificent piece of water in The Netherlands. GFF is an excelent site, that more and more Dutch Flyfishers are visiting.
This article is an excelent example of how a not only a fly but also it's use is explained in dept.
Keep up the good work, I'll keep an eye on the site.
I have been using slinkies for steelhead in Washington State (US) for years. We use them for drift fishing using gear not fly fishing. To cast these would be between impossible to extremely difficult. I am talking about the size of lead shot we use. I guess if the shot is much smaller, then casting would not be that bad.
-Josh
Yet another "Global Class" article. Wet Flies, Lost Flies and MOM. It's gonna be a great winter at the bench. Thank you!
I have found the best wading boot to be made by Patagonia, and the model name is the Riverwalker. I had the old version for 2 years and the felt just started to seperate so I brought them into the Patagonia store and they replaced them immediately, no questions asked. I have had the new, improved version for 2 more years and I think there about as close to perfect as you can get. They don't shrink, they are very lightweight and durable (I hike alot to get away from the crowds in Colorado), they contain no metal and they can usually be tightened up with one pull of the laces. Reading your article it sounds like you're looking for this boot. I would give the Patagonia Riverwalker (mine has felt soles w/ studs) my highest endorsement. I really have no complaints about them whatsoever.
I must wholeheartedly agree with Wayne... A couple of years ago I read an article in one of the fly-fishing periodicals about a guy who's specialty was hair-wing patterns... Wullfs, Trudes, Humpy's and the like. He was a FANATIC about material preperation and cleaning, and how it helped his tying. I started going over my own collection, and wound up spending the better part of a year "preening" things.
Of course,when you go through all of that,you start to look more closely at how you store your "newly restored" materials!! It kinda becomes a hobby within a hobby!! But it DOES make a noticable difference in your tying!!
I would only add one more piece of equipment to what Wayne has already mentioned: A small medium-stiff bristled hair brush. I use a bit of a different approach to drying hackle capes, and bucktails... that is, laying them skin side down on a thickness of newsprint, and brushing the feathers/hair into an orderly arrangement, then covering them with another thickness of newspaper,and applying some gentle but firm weight. In the case of the bucktail, uncover it after 8-10 hrs, and flip it over. Brush the hair away from the skin, trying to create and "open" v-shape, rather than just brushing straight back toward the tip. I have saved tails that I thought were unusable this way. (Now I do this to bucktails I buy,as well as the ones I get from hunter friends)
Blues is right. It is amazing no one has come up with a bullet-proof, long lasting wading boot. I've tried a lot of them and none of them seem to compare with the 35 year old Weinbrenner "factory seconds" my dad bought me back in the late 70s. I still have those boots and have re-felted them at least 5 times! The uppers are still intact and the brass eyelets still in place. I grew up fishing out west but recently my needs changed. I moved to Cape Cod where we do a lot of walking on sand. I decided I needed to go to a composite rubber sole, felt wasn't needed here.
So I looked for boots with Aquastealth soles, having read good things about them. I order a pair of Simms L2s and was sorely disappointed. Simms makes the best waders on earth, right there in Bozeman, but their boots are made in China. TOO tight in the toebox. Why they used that narrow toe last to build these on is beyond me. Then, I thought I'd discovered the ultimate boot for saltwater applications. I ordered a pair of L.L. Bean River Treads with Aquastealth soles. Great fit, comfortable, wide toe box, synthetic leather construction, rubber toe bumper, light , etc. I was happy. The Aquastealth soles have good stick on rocks and walk well over miles of sandy flats. I was contented for about five months, which is when I sent them back.
If Beans had spec-ed these boots with solid brass or bronze lacing hardware, I'm sure I'd still be happily wearing them. But they used cast pot metal lacing eyelets, plated to look like bronze, and they very quickly were eaten away by the corrosive salt environment, and I am ANAL about washing all my gear down in fresh water after each outing. When I saw the corrosion process begin I even started brushing off the eyelets with a weak acid solution, vinegar in water, to try to counteract the degradation. No help. Four months into a new pair of boots one of the eyelets rotted completely away, and most others were on their way out too.
So, I recently purchased a NEW pair of Weinbrenners, but elected to go with the felt as I wanted the old Borger boot and not the newer, nylon Propex boot with the rubber sole. I made the mistake of ordering the "Professional" model Borger, however, thinking two layers of felt was better than one! RIGHT!...until you get them wet. These boots, when wet, weigh a TON, as all that extra felt soaks up lots of water! Also, Weinbrenner couldn't seem to leave well enough alone and replaced the standard synthetic leather tongue with that new nylon material and it is a poor design, leaving lumps and folds in the material when laced. They also added that "shark skin" toe cap which I find doesn't flex at all during walking. They still use SOLID brass lacing hardware though, (I think) which SHOULD hold up in the salt. Knock on wood.
Still looking. Anybody out there find the great saltwater wading boot?
Great article. I have another method which I've used to re-felt a pair of 30 year old Weinbrenners several times. I use Weldwood contact cement. Barge's cement works well too. I stuff tightly packed paper towels, dampened to compress tightly, into the boot body. I stuff it HARD into the toe of the boot and work out from there, trying to compress the stuffing material as tightly as possible. Damp cotton t-shirt rags work too. I let this partailly dry and make sure I have a solid, stuffed boot. Then, I glue on the felt as mentioned above, and wrap the whole boot VERY tightly with Duct tape, pulling HARD as I wrap the tape from the sole up to the body of the boot. This works best if the soles are trimmed nearly to corrrect size with little overhang. Let the contact cement dry overnight and remove tape and boot stuffing. This method works well for me. A cobbler's last would be nice, to fill the boot and provide a firm form to fill the boot, if you have one!
Catto,
Thank you for this nice comment. Yes, we anglers are indeed more alike around the world than most people think. My numerous contacts with anglers from other countries have always told me that the are more similarities than differences. Mostly we seem to click in a common interest not only for fly fishing.
Martin
Hi :)
I am interested in double hand rods too.
I have bought Vision 3Zone 14' #9-10 The price was very low,and I wanted to learn how to cast it very much,so now I have it :)
By the next season I hope I will buy reel and lines.
I was very happy when I first time casted double hand rod,and after some time I had a chance to bought something.
In summer one EFFA instructor learned me something,it was very interesting and also he said all me mistakes 🙄
I hope somebody will say something in this theme 😉
Mr.Jorgensen greetings from B.C. Canada iv'e been listening to your podcasts and reading your observations on equipment and laughing aloud at the similarities in world view.A love of good coffee, good jazz and good fly fishing seem to go together around the world.Your practical observations mirror many of my own and those of my friends I found this very amusing.Thank you very much for your informative and quality site.
Thanks all for your encouragement. I'm glad you've enjoyed this article. If you'd like further info on some rather simple techniques to fish these flies, do a web search for Flymphs, Softhackles and Spiders. Hopefully, my site will come up. You can e-mail me from there, and there is a bunch of other effective wingless wet fly recipes on my site.
Thanks again,
Mark
BRIAN YOU ARE THE MAN. I HAVE HEARD ABOUT THIS FOR ACOUPLE OF YEARS AND NEVER NEW ANYONE WHO NEW HOW TO TIE THESE. I HAVE TRIED IT AND IT IS VERY AFECTIVE. THANKS AGAIN CHRIS. P.S. IF YOU NO ANY OTHER UNIQUE PATTERNS GOOD FOR STEELHEAD PLEASE EMAIL.
Great photos, nice captions and fine observations. Made me feel like I was walking along with you instead of being stuck in my office. Thanks, Bob.
Rod,
Good to hear from you! Got your mail, but my laptop decided to break down on me, so I never got around to answer.
Good to see that you're doing well and the fishing is good to you and Nina.
Let's get together when you come to Denmark again. Pike sounds fine unless there's ice on the lakes...
Martin
Zero comments done very well.You make my night shifts so much shorter thank you.!!!
From Baghdad Iraq Al Daura Province
Excellent article. This will save me a lot of time trying to explain to people why I fish wets! Also, nicely tied flies. Thanks.
Steve
I really enjoyed your article. I am a novice, but I am learning. I really learning to enjoy the Whiting hackle. They have done a tremendous job with the genetics of the birds, turning what was once primarily a meat animal into a feather-making machine.
… I have a small favor to ask.
Support the Global FlyFisher through several different channels, including PayPal.
The Global FlyFisher has been online since the mid-90's and has been free to access for everybody since day one – and will stay free for as long as I run it.
But that doesn't mean that it's free to run.
It costs money to drive a large site like this.
See more details about what you can do to help in this blog post.
