What a terrific set of flies in this presentation! This is a better layout than many color plates of books that I have seen. I'll be working on quite a few of these this winter. I have the referenced book; these ties give me a different perception of their appearance than what I envisioned from the text or their pictures. Great effort, thank you.
Absolutely gorgeous! A wonderful addition to the encyclopedia of fly tying knowledge, and some terrific eye candy to boot!
Phil,
Great! First fish on a fly rod, huh? Can't be anything I did... it must have been your own persistence, which brought that fish to hand - in bad weather even. Congratulations.
And watch out for that very nasty germ Bacillus flyrodia, now! ;-)
Martin
Bob:
I agree with your last comment " ...- a heartfelt thanks for a job well done".
Beautiful flies and a pleasure to look at.
Just a little thing on the side, a little typo slipped in which actually sounds quite funny
( " Tolling flies").
Nevertheless, thanks again for this wonderful work.
Tom
Followed these instructions and on my first outing on 5th October caught my first trout (2lb rainbow) on a dry fly in howling wind and rain. Thanks a lot, Martin.
Hey Philly,
I think we ve same inspiration......Do you know Bob Popowich?His book was my inspiration, when I ve been in Costa Rica, trying to create good snook and tarpon flies...... But now Iam back in czech and I am not able to do it for a pike........ So your silicons are working for a pike?
I wonder if I'm trying to cast to a bird on this picture, or if its the "backcast" on a reversed cast, in any case that leader is coming from somwhere pretty low :-(
Nice picture Henning! You can see that the wind has caught this one and is pushing the loop upwards (or then its just a casting fault ;-) ), and I hope this is not the final cast 'cause then its going to go skywards, hopefully the delivering cast will be pointing a bit more downwards.
Blue chironomid patterns can also be effective on freestone streams and tailwaters. On the South Platte (tailwater) in Colorado, Stan Benton's Blue Midge works well some days, often when nothing else will. The pattern is featured in Ed Engle's [i:19c19d4303]Tying Small Flies[/i:19c19d4303]. The dubbing prescribed is chopped & blended Arizona Sparkle Yarn (Black/Blue). Arizona (John Rohmer) may have discontinued the Sparkle Yarn, however. Their Diamond Braid may work as well) The body can be any metallic tinsel, or even wire (UTC carries their Ultra Wire now in a Blue, x-small and up).
Where in the water (stillwaters) do you guys fish these midges? Close to the bottom, with a slow retrieve, or in the surfact film?
[img:19c19d4303]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/KevinDC/lw2005.jpg[/img:19c19d43…]
[img:19c19d4303]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c283/KevinDC/lw2006.jpg[/img:19c19d43…]
The trout bum diares is a piece of revolutionary work !
It`s a must have !!!
Regards !
Thank you for sharing the invaluable info on Leaders and the rest... I owe you big time!
Thanks again and all the best.
Brano
Very useful and a reminder of the value of Wet Flies- which I used in Yorkshire, England rivers as a young man . There we tied them very sparsely - no dubbing , just the silk body plus hackle . I too would appreciate some ideas about how best to use them - up, down or sideways in the stream.
Thanks for this site
Brian
To dry a cdc fly, brush on a silica powder sold in the US as Frog's Fanny. Blow off the excess powder and keep fishing!
tks a million, great job! You are my 1st teacher on fly fishing!!!
The 5 DVD set of "New Zealand Trophy Waters" by Keith Masson would be hard to beat. Must get this one and the NZ one when available.
Will be back in NZ for 3 weeks starting mid November - just cannot wait.
Here are a couple of Siliclone flies that Dada mentioned that I use for both pike and in salt water for Striped Bass and Bluefish.
Dada:
I've been using silicone flies for several years. The ones you posted under the pike patterns are what we along the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast coast of the U.S. call Siliclones.
You might find this useful. Tying instructions by the orignator of that fly pattern, Bob Popovics. Step by step instructions with pictures plus some background on it.
http://www.aswf.org/saltwater_flies_for_web/bob_popovics/saltwater_flie…
For your amusement here's a couple of patterns that I tie up in that style. These I use in fresh water for bass, pike, musky, pickerel and snakeheads. Two are tied on weedless hooks. I'm still learning how to use the digital camera so the quality of the pictures aren't that great.
The Siliclone. A go to fly along the New Jersey(USA) coast for at least the last ten years or so. Extremely effective when the mullet are migrating south along the coast in the fall.
I tie them in various sizes for fresh and salt water. Fresh water, mainly for Largemouth, Smallmouth Bass, Muskie and Pike. Saltwater for striped bass and bluefish.
I tie mine out of a material called Polar Plus, rather than wool. It's put out by the same company that does Polar Fiber. Makes for a lighter fly and one that will float like a cork if treated with a liquid floatant. Plus if you tie them in white, you can use permanent markers to color them before applying the silicone. I'll take a couple of pictures of the ones I've tied up and post them
Lino:
One trick with this type of fly is to use two coats of epoxy. A light coat in the head area. Rotate till dry. This helps keep the shape. When dry add the eyes and do the second heavier coat. Enough to cover the eyes and create a smooth bullet shaped head. You won't get that little bit of sag behind the eyes, not that fish care. Those are nice looking flies
Going back to the first coat. If you wanted to create a fly with a wider profile, not sure what other type of bait fish you have over there. Just before the epoxy complete hardens dip your fingers in a dish soap/water solution, I use Photo Flo, and squeeze the epoxied area. This will spread the material. Add the eyes and second coat of epoxy.
If you want a fly that doesn't sink as fast, and will even hang in the surface film. Use clear silicone for the head. A light coat to start, uses the same solution or Photo Flo to smooth. Add the eyes before it dries. Then a light second coat to hold the eyes in place.
Dada:
Not sure where you're located, but if you're in the States. Many fly shops carry it or you can get it on line. Nasty stuff though.
Again, if you're in the States you can also look for Clear Plasti-Dip, it also comes in colors. You can sometimes find the clear in home improvement stores, and you should be able to find it on line
I think Wapsi has come out with something callled Flexo Body. They just packaged either Softex or Plasti-Dip in a smaller container with a tube top to speed and control the application. Much better that trying to dip the fly. Less exposure to the fumes.
Definitely try it for the Wels, probably in a larger size. I've been experimenting with #4/0 Skip's Dad for largemouth bass, so I figure that would work well for larger catfish.
Hey Michael,
Iam looking forward to test Your Dad......I looks like pretty good...Our rivers are full of american crayfish which was imported twenty years ago and our barsch, zanders and wels.
And Wels ll be the most interesting..... Thanks for inspiration d. form Czech
Hey Everybody,
I just ve got question. Do you know how, or where I can get a Softex???? I am not able to buy it....... :?
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