Recent comments

Not all kits are worthless

While in principle I agree that kits aren't usually the way to go, I have found one or two that are worth it, especially of you think of them as "Explore Fly Tying" kits. I dropped maybe $60 for a small tool kit (vise, scissors, bobbin, bodkin, threader, hackle pliers) and a very basic Wapsi materials kit. Are they great? No, I have replaced the vice and bought an additional bobbin. however it was enough tools and materials to get and keep me going until I figured out what I wanted to spend my money on. I wouldn't have gotten into fly tying if I had to start with a $160 Renzetti Traveler vise.

John's comment

Hi John,
I wrote a blog about this specific topic. You can find it here. http://www.tacticalflyfisher.com/blog/wingcases-to-invert-or-not-to-inv…

Upside down

Considering the jig will ride hook point upwards towards the sky, and wing cases on naturals are also on the top of the fly, why not paint the wing case on the other side of the bead? this will ride visually upside down in this orientation.

Comment to Fly Tyers

Nice collection of tiers. I have tied since age 9 (trout in upstate NY). Now 83 and still at it especially large flies for the spring Salmon in the Restigouche River Quebec and trout flies for the Oatka in upstate NY..

Comment to Fly Tyers

Thanks for dropping by Pete. 74 years of tying experience, that's impressive. I'm sure you've got some good stories to tell. I hope that I can say I'm still tying flies when I hit my 80's.

Royal Coachman

Vey nice Barry. You had me from the start. I am a commercial tier and too bad your new "system" doesn't work on all patterns.

Best Regards

Steve

Damsel fly nymph video

Good video, except all the chatter in the background. Geez guys, didn't ya know Maria was recording. Rude

Renomed scissors rock !

Hi Martin,

Thanks for taking the time to sum up so many scissors in your article. I've tried so many makes and types of scissors so far and I've never been fully satisfied with them. My two must have criteria for the tying scissors are sharpness of course and thin blades (often I need to cut materials right at the very tying point of the hook or tube). For a couple of years I've been using scissors made by Polish company Renomed and those are the best I've ever come across. If you're still looking for the ultimate fly tying scissors then you should definitely try them.

All the best,
Janusz

Columbia Queets River Jacket

Columbia Queets River Jacket - bought this when I first got into fly fishing for $100 at Cabela's. I had no idea how lucky I was. No insulation, this is a shell, with plenty of room for layering. As Kalby64 mentioned, no useful hand pockets (there are 2, but low on the jacket, with zippers, but the zippers are covered by a flap at least, no fleece lining). But get this - one of the pockets is reversible and the whole jacket packs down into it and zips closed, about the size of a softball! The cuffs are just a neoprene sleeve, no velcro, nothing to snag a fly line on, and gloves slide right over them. Go ahead and stick you arm in the water up to the shoulder, you'll remain dry. The jacket is short (as a wading jacket SHOULD be), and has a neoprene waist that prevents water from getting into the jacket if you (briefly) get too deep. Hood is big, with a bill that covers your cap bill. Net D-ring on the back, 2 D-rings up front, and 2 zingers (think nippers, tippet, hemostats, and TY-RITE fly holder - we fish 24-28's often, so...) HUGE vertical chest pockets with big flaps to keep rain out. I have fished in torrential downpours and blizzards and always stayed BONE DRY AND WARM. After six hours in the rain, the outside of the jacket was wet, and heavy, but I was dry. By the morning the jacket was dry and ready to go again. It's not gortex but Columbia's Omni-Tech fabric with a silver reflective coating on the inside to reflect body heat. Not SUPER breatheable, but on par with all but the best goretex jackets. I've worn it with layers on days that started in the 20's and wound up in the 50's and never needed to take it off. They quit making the jacket after a legal battle over some copyright crap by another vendor (might have been patagonia). This is as close to the perfect wading jacket as you will find, so if you ever find one in good shape, BUY IT! And in case any manufacturers are trolling here, make a jacket like the Columbia Queets and add pit zips and a storage pocket on the back - you'll have yourself a winner.

Comment to Allcock Heritage BG3 Hooks

Hi all, I just posted a bunch of Heritage hooks on ebay including some of these Allcock streamers and many other lots of hooks. Happy bidding.

@Bernd

@Bernd everyone is allowed an opinion.

Thanks for the view,

Dan

sea trout

do people fish for sea trout in Estonia as they do in other neigbouring countries? I

LeaderCalc

Harry,

I'm glad you like LeaderCalc, even though I'm quite sure that 1970 is a bit exaggerated. The system is much younger than that, but anyhow... And with regards to the new version, you will not need to download anything, but can use it directly from the site.

Martin

LeaderCalc

I've used LeaderCalc since 1970 and love it. Used mostly for wet & dry fly fishing, Steelhead & Trout. I was weeding out my favorite's & Bookmarks which have grown quite large over the years, clicked on "The Global FlyFisher's" web page just to see what's new and found that you updated "LeaderCalc" Downloading it today & can't wait to see what's new. Thank's guy's for such a fine product. hcmiller

Classic wet flie

Thank you , for a look at flies from the past, now i am doing them and enjoying to tie them very much, i have the veniards book and there's a bunch of flies calling to be tied.I always found it difficult for the wings but the more i tie the more i like to tie them. Is there threads that tie feather wings better
Thanks

Spring height

I don't think the height matters much. The springs I have used and made ride directly on the vise shaft and that has worked fine. Actually I think I prefer the spring to be in line with the hook shank.

Martin

This Video has in my opinion

This Video has in my opinion nothing to do with flyfishing. Why is it nessecary to flyrod under all circumstances for species like different sharks, when it`s clear, that the handling of the fish after fighting is not only difficult, but also damaging for the sharks? Sorry, definitly NO cool guys, but only man who like to chase records. A real bad picture of our Sport. I flyfish for exact 37 years for a lot of species, because I think, flyfishing is the most natural and fair way to catch fish. But: Sometimes it is not enough just to "cast" a flyrod to be a true flyfisher....

material spring height

Martin, I am grateful for all your information.
Regarding your project, DIY material spring.
I would be interested to know if you think the
height of the above the primary rotary shaft matters.
For example the Renzetti Master Vise Material Clip,
the PeakK Material Clip, and the DYNA-KING Add On
Material Clips are all elevated above the shaft.
However many vise manufactures use springs that are
directly on the shaft. Please tell me your thoughts.

Good general info on making leaders

Clear and easy to understand video of the major steps involved in the construction of homemade leaders. Great general reference.

2 feather mayflie

Problem with the wings much to long what size feather should i use

Thanks for Pointing this out!

Martin,

Have been watching Davie for years and telling many students in many classes to watch his videos. Did not even see the "Donate" link. I'll send Davie a note to make it BIGGER. Just sent a donation. Well worth it.

Thanks for bringing this to a fans attention!

Ian

It says so

Don,

The article pretty clearly says "We'll also assume that you are a right hand tyer winding the thread clockwise on the hook when it's seen from the hook eye end."
I think that about covers the left/right hand issue.

Regarding Danville, it's simply not there because I hadn't tied much with it when this article was written 15 years ago. I have since tried it, but have to say that I don't fully agree that it's the best thread out there. Horses for courses, you know. Thread choice is very dependent on what and how you tie.

Martin

Thread twist issue only applies to right handed tiers.

This article is short on some things. Left hand tiers take the twist out. Righties are the only ones effected. And not to mention Danvilles thread - you all missed the best thread out there. Does all that the others do +.

searun brown

congratulations on a prize catch, and a release to spawn and fight another day, what a beautiful searun ,and on a six weight as well, thank you for sharing a truly great fly fishing adventure with us it seems that you have the best searun coast in Denmark, looking forward to casting a line there myself . ,all the best cbrian