Recent comments

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

fish of a lifetime

Congrats on what indeed is a fish of a lifetime!Great to see it returned,so she can spawn again and maybe take in interest in my fly next time.

Solar Wind Variation

what a beautiful fly!!! I really do love this fly. congrats to you for tying this beauty.

Preserving bird hides for feathers

This is exactly the information I sought.
Thanks

Cutting rabbit strips

Excellent, very interesting technique, shall be making a cutter tomorrow.
Thank you
Mike

Comment to Davie McPhail

Just saw a Regal vise put together on How It's Made. Stand mount, not clamped and looked quite heavy (as in solid). Spring loaded, cam release. Mid $100 range.

Bodkin cleaner

One can get the 35mm film canisters on Amazon. I just purchased 25 for $10.00 U.S.

Davie mcphail

The donate button can be found under the home tab on the YouTube Channel. I consider Davie mcphail the Ronaldo of fly-tying, and his videos help thousends of Tyers to raise their game, worth a donation!

Davie McPhail Donations

Just started tying flies. I was introduced by a friend (a great fly tyer also)to McPhail. Great Vids!
sent him a donation.

So right, but...

Danny,

You are so right a fly with an ugly head will catch fish and can be durable, but still I will prefer the one with the nice head. As you can read in the article, nice heads reflect good tying skills, and good tying skills mean durable flies. And a large head with many wraps does NOT equal a more durable fly - more like the opposite. The final wraps on the fly shouldn't be all that holds it together.

It's like a meal. Something that looks disgusting can taste very well and fill you, but personally I'd still prefer something that looks delicious and does the same. There's no reason that it looks bad when you can make it look good - unless the aim is to make it look bad.

Martin

Fly Heads with Tying Thread and Varnish.

I started tying flys in the 70's off and on in my spare time. Until about 20 years ago and started tying on a regular basis. Alot of people have said they like my flys. I have posted them on Facebook and on Instagram. I know some of my flys have large heads, out of proportion sometimes. But know this, I can catch 10 or more trout on one of my flys as opposed to some of the others that are beautiful but come apart after a few casts. And mind you I said casts, not fish strikes. If it makes you happy to tye a fly that is beautiful but not durable, then have at it. To me my materials for tying flys are too expensive to be lost after only a cast or two. Hey!!! The name of the game is tying fishing flys to catch fish. Not to be put in a frame for the Den or Office wall just because it looks good. That may be okay for guys that follow traditional fly tying. Believe me I tye Classic Salmon flys to catch fish. Not hang on my wall. The materials cost can financially put you in the poor house. I have cut my costs by tying with substitutes rather than the rare and sometimes illegal materials that would put you in jail.
Guys, the only advice about Fly Heads I can give you is tye with what you are comfortable with. Be it shiney and plastic looking, to rough and wraps exposed. Whatever you as a fly fisherman is happy with and it catches you fish. Who cares if it looks a little rough or shiney as a new penny. The idea is its your fly you made and tyed with your two hands and it catches fish. The name of the game.

Terrible

Tim, I love your videos but I think you're way off base with this review. In my opinion, this is the worst tension controlled bobbin holder on the market. I bought a compact and a standard based on your review and both fray thread (Veevus, UTC, Uni), break thread, and lose tension constantly. Frustrated with this, I did more research and found that these are common problems with Stonfo bobbins. I love my Stonfo vise and other tools, but these bobbin holders are garbage. I now use mine for wire. If you have some secret on how to make them suck less, I would love to hear it. Cheers.

Sheep Creek Special

Love this fly. I've even fished it at Sheep Creek Reservoir with great results. N.B.: Be sure to get your fishing license from the Duck Valley Indian Reservation store in order to fish the lake legally. The Res. has it's own mandatory license.

Separate dyed and undyed items

It seems obvious now, but I made the mistake of washing all of my furs and hair patches together in the same batch. The dyed items leaked dye and it soaked into the lighter colored items. If you have anything dyed, I recommend splitting up your batches like laundry. I will do a light dyed batch, a dark dyed batch, and a undyed batch in the future. If you don't want your white bucktail to turn blue, don't wash it with your blue bucktail, etc.

Slang

Kuttycrew,

I'm sorry if you are disappointed.

I don't know if you need to see these words... If you don't, you are more that welcome not to read the article. The first alleged offense appears right in the title, so you are warned in good time. No need to read on. I find the words rather harmless, which of course may be because I'm not a native English speaker.

I looked around for some evidence that this could be offensive or rude. Can't say that I found any.

Bling-bling is a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious, or elaborate jewelry and ornamented accessories. Exactly what I meant in the article - ironically of course.

I realize that a pimp is also what in the dictionary is referred to as a "whoremonger", but that was about as close as I could come to anything even lightly offensive. The term is more often connected with things such as the TV-series "Pimp my Ride" or the concept of "pimping a car", which was the reference that I was thinking of.

Martin

Bling? Pimp?

Great, do I really need to see this kinda slang in my hobby? disappointment......

Reply from Allan

Helmut,

I contacted Allan and he writes:
"Hi Helmut
I do not so much to sell flies when I unfortunately is ill at present
hope you can take The challenge in trying step by step fly
all the best Allan Kuhlmann"

You will have to take up the challenge and tie some flies yourself it seems.

Martin

Informations

Hi, I am writing from Germany.
Is it possible to buy flies from you?
Do you have any informations bat. style, sizes and prices?
Many thanks and best regards
Helmut

UV epoxy

A big advantage of UV epoxy is your choice of viscosity - thin or thick - for when you wish your epoxy to run and penetrate, and when you don't. Thick and thin LCR are compatible. They greatly simplify tying patterns such as Surf Candy. A third type, flexible LCR, comes in handy for some applications. Great stuff, and so little waste the effective cost is relatively low.

Phoenix

Hello Niels,
is that Phoenix #10 weight-line a DT
and what linesize is you Mc Ginn please?
Thanks for giving me answer.
Willie Ostiadal
Chieming Lake Chiemsee, Germany