Recent comments

Leaders, tippets, fly sizes

Ashok,

You considerations makes a lot of sense and you seem to be on the right path already as far as I can see.

Regarding the line weight: yes, it's not a bad idea to use a line one class heavier than what the rod is made for, particularly when you are a beginner. It makes it easier to cast a shorter line, and modern rods can handle it with no problems. Once you master the casting, you can consider going down in line weight.

Regarding the tippet and leader, you start selecting the tippet. I never heard of your form, but it seems to make good sense. On this page http://globalflyfisher.com/leaders/formulas you will find a list (table 2) that might also help you. Tippet thickness depends on fly size and how spooky your fish are. It also depends on the conditions and the strength of fish and current. Too thin a tippet for strong and large fish makes little sense. They will simply break you off. Luckily strong current also makes the need for long and thin tippets less, simply because the turbulence helps to hide the line.

Once you have selected a tippet, buy or tie a leader to match - ending in the tippet size or one size thicker. A 7'-9' leader will probably be good in your case. It should be manageable, but still long enough to do some decently stealthy presentations. Tie a 2-3' tippet to that and you will be fine.

I hope this helps you.

Martin

Basic tackle setup.

I am just starting to Fly fish in India for Trout and small Mahseer. For the same I plan to buy a 4 piece 8'-6" (Line weight 5) and a Reel rated 5/6. To this I plan spool 20 lbs/ 100 yds of backing, WF-F 6 (I have been told to use 1 size heavier ?), and a 9' leader and Tippet. The problem is I don't know how to match the correct Leader / Tippet (in context to WF-F 5/6 Line) while keeping in mind the size range of Nymphs (mainly) and a few Dry Flies to be used. I am assuming they will be mainly #12/14 for trout and a few #6 for Mahseer.

Please advice on the correct way to choose the Leader and the Tippet. I have read somewhere that the Tippet should be chosen by dividing the Fly size by 3 viz. a #12 Fly/Nymph will have a 4X Tippet.

Comment to Submit Your Streamers to Streamers 365

I am still using Fly Source on a mchine running Windows 10. I have over 4500 patterns in it right now. I have tried sending the exe file, but none of my friends have been able to get it to install. Really a shame, right now I am saving the files as pdf's and putting them in Dropbox for Larry Leight. Just trying to make sure the patterns survive for future generations of tyers.

Radical technique with the UV

Radical technique with the UV resin and poly/antron bubble. I will be utilizing that myself to represent the shortfin squid found all along the coast of Maine from May/Oct. Thanks a million for the great tech.

I personally enjoy tying and

I personally enjoy tying and fishing Czech/Polish nymphs,mostly in early spring when the waters in my great state of Maine are usually high and off colored, also took my "high stick" game to the next level,as always thanks again for being a great source of fly fishing/tying information,this site has helped mtself and many others step up their individual skills,keep it up guys.

LeaderCalc 2016

I have been using the downloadable version for years, and I am pleased to see a new version which makes simpler to use. Thank you for a fine tool.

Mullet flies

Bob,

Click in on our mullet articles http://globalflyfisher.com/keywords/mullet and you will see some mullet patterns somewhere in the videos and articles that list. I can recommend the Green Revenger, which is a very succesful fly here in Denmark.
http://globalflyfisher.com/pattern/green-revenger

Martin

Hackle orientation

Jannick,

If you want the hackle to curve and sweep to the rear, the easiest way to achieve this is to tie it in on your side, tip to the rear, curved side out (towards yourself), and then start wrapping over the hook (away from yourself). This will make the fibers fall naturally towards the rear of the fly as you want it in a wet fly like this.

If you tie it in curved side in or wrap it the opposite way, it will have a tendency to stand our more perpendicular to the hook shank, which might be wanted sometimes (like in a Woolly Worm), but not in a more traditional wet fly.

Martin

Tie in the hackle stem first, curved side out

I have a question about the tying technique. Why tie in the hackle stem with the curved side out? Won't the natural bend in the barbs end up pointing the wrong way? Am I completely clueless here?

Fly fishing for mullet

I'm new to mullet fishing on the fly.can anyone recommend some suitable flies to use.just so I am well prepared.lol.I'm in the uk.

Walter, drop me a line a

Walter, drop me a line a nbatistic@shaw.ca
I still have a few parts left, would be happy to build one for you!

good article

good article

Very important insights!

Nils,

Thanks so much for establishing what should be expectations of a switch rod. My thinking is the marketers get a hold of a new category name and they ride it for profit instead of serving the market. Is there a need for light spey rods? yes, but I wager they did not want to use that name for fear of anglers who need a new category to justify purchasing a rod instead of an actual need. Personally I am a big fan of maximizing utility of each rod. You serve this need well with your article, thank you!

Further, if a switch rod could fit the needs of fishing from a float tube or boat, it would be a fantastic tool on lakes. I am a firm believer in a soft tip for lakes where big fish can get in close to easily snap a leader from a fast rod with too stout of a tip.

Very annoying

This might be the best mayfly pattern ever but its the worst tying video ever. I love pumping electronic music but in combination with cranked up lightspeed tying its nauseating and stress inducing. Keep on posting videos, but phuleeeeze at normal speed and maybe with music less frantic. That would make me able to sit through more than 10 seconds.

Kurt from CO

Bad News for Striped Bass.

I have dubbed this fly "The Punisher", due to tbe fact that the schoolie stripers in my area cannot say no to this fly, olive/white for daytime black/purple for nighttime.

Very nice fly. Easy and cheap

Very nice fly. Easy and cheap to make. A good thing for me since I end up giving so many of my flies away.

Fantastic!

Incredible video! Thank you for sharing!!

Why people hate on indicators..

It cracks me up when dry fly purists look down on indicator fishing as "bobber" fishing. For that matter dry fly fishing is bobber fishing too except the bobber happens to be a fly!. Its easy to detect a take on a dry fly all you have to do is look!... umm sounds kinda like indicator fishing don't it???;) Truth is that nymphing is very subtle, challenging and rewarding once you get the hang of it. Much more difficult to get the hang of than dry fly fishing in my opinion and just as rewarding to me at least. Actually in many ways more so.

Good stuff

Phil and Brian have both revoloutionized still water fly fishing for me, the knowledge they share is priceless, thank you for making lakes and ponds easier to read and fish, great site great info as always.

Yuk Bugs/Pepperoni yuk bug

I like your method to tie the legs in place, I'll be using it from now-on. You can see in the subject line what they are called in the NW-USA...they are a go-to fly for trout, bluegill, and crappie. Great fly!!! Thanks for the tip.

Mouse flies

I've been tying a variety of fly-mice to try. I grew-up on the "shores of Owegena" Cazenovia lake.

Gray Mouse

John, you're right. I tried this fly out in a lake near my house. It no sooner hit the water and a Pike came up and out of the water in a savage strike. Made my day! I decided to try the Gray Mouse on the Willowemoc River in the Catskill Mountains. The area I fished is a "catch and release" area. The trout are huge and beautiful. I cast the Mouse a few times and then it happened. The trout came up and took the fly with gusto. Guess what I did when I got home? I tied a half a dozen more, not that anything was wrong with the Mouse Fly. It was as good as when I tied it. I love tube flies! Best regards, Richard

Additional info on Major Treherne

He lived in Coytrehen House next to where I live, north of Bridgend S Wales and is buried in Bettws Church a few miles away. There are web photos of the house when he had it. It was also home to the Sherrif of Glamorgan at the time. Lots of scandal about the demise of the house but I don't think that appropriate on this site.

Great article

Nicely done and highly useful article, thank you for sharing it! I have some research to do on the different weight classes, as I have coils of shooting head material that are rated at inch/second sink rates. This is a big deal as I go after halibut and rock fish in the Pacific. For instance, I believe my factory shooting head line has a sink rate of 9"/second, which seems fast, but actually works out to about a 72 second countdown for it to reach a 50' fishing depth! That's a lot of time to work on patience.