Recent comments

heat shrink

Excellent tip. I would suggest experimenting with 3 to 1 adhesive shrink tube in either 3mm or 4.8mm. It shrinks 3 times its diameter and the adhesive melts and bonds the tube to the fly line. The heat will also weld the fly line together so double secutity. Smooth adhesive that leaks out of each end to create a slick feel to the tube ends. No need to remove the shrink tube afterwards. Can be color coded as well. I use black for reel end and red for the tip which also acts as an indicator. On e-bay 500mm of 3mm costs £1.95

Yeah I remember that trip to

Yeah I remember that trip to Ulm very well.
I also had the chance to buy the vice but during that period I was a poor student and I already bought an expensive vice (Dyna King Professional) which I still use today.
I ran into Lawrence many years later but then he stopped making them…
Well, you can't have 'em all! :)

So well said. It is

So well said. It is reassuring to learn that I am not the only grumpy old bastard who loathes these so called "reality" shows where a lot of would be celebrities (in their own minds) compete against each other. I occasionally watch Robson Green because there is nothing better on at the time but can't stand Jeremy Wade calling his target species River Monsters. What makes a creature a monster when it lives in its own natural environment and needs to feed to live?

Thank you Martin. It takes a

Thank you Martin. It takes a lot to make me laugh these days, but you managed it.

Competitions are Boring

I refuse to watch any fishing show that smacks of competition. I won't fish with anyone who turns a trip into a competition, it isn't what I fish for. You should try to view a show from New Zealand called 'Big Angry Fish". The presenters and the show try to expand the water(s) you may seek and come across very well. Friendly banter, nothing competitive, even when one of them goes fishless.

Buy the right one

Wolfgang,

Sure you can argue like that, but that still doesn't justify the extreme prices on C&F (and they ARE extreme!). This article is written to help avoid both situations: buying too many or buying too expensive. My advice is to buy sensible the first time, completely avoiding any of these situations.

Martin

Fishing on TV

I have to agree with pretty much all you have said here, apart from the Robson Green thing, the part I watched showed him as boorish, with no apparent respect for his quarry, just the desire to shovel it down his throat, but to each his own.
I think the last decent angling programme on mainstream TV had to be A Passion for Angling, not much fly fishing but I can't hold that against Hugh Miles! I'd love to see the reception "Once in a Blue Moon" would get, I thought that was brilliant personally. I have to say, as much as I love to fish, it doesn't (generally) make a good spectator sport!

Hackle pliers

If I think about how many pliers I've bought that are non satisfying the C&F one is the cheapest at all. Wolfgang

Fly tyers from Spain?

Are there any fly tyers from Spain on this site?

URL for Clint Brumitt's tip to use any size hackle

I found this to be one of the best tying tips I have ever seen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31DWumnrPIs

Don't copy, link

Gary,

We prefer not to see copies of our articles to other places on the web - web sites, Facebook, blogs or other sites. For translation to other languages it's OK, but a 1:1 copy makes no sense.
You are welcome to link to our articles from Facebook or any other place, and also reproduce them in club newsletters or magazines as long as they are non-commercial. But please don't copy text and images for web use.

Martin

Use of your articles

Hi I am the secretary of a small angling club in Scotland and I would like to have your permission to copy some of your articles on to our FB page to help our juniors and members?
I would gladly mention where the article has came from
Thank you
Gary

I agree with John

I agree with John. Old school. McDonalds used a mix of more than 90% beef tallow for thier friers. Its cery versatile stuff. From cooking to airplane fuel. Flux for soldering to leather conditioning... soaps and it was even used a gun lube in the Civil War. I used it for restoring leather jackets and baseball gloves. Never on a fly line. Im still new to fly fishing. Im probably going to swing by a sports shop and grab a tube of tallow based conditioner. It works on synthetic gloves and is safe for plastics as most gloves has a polymer logo sewn to it.

Nope.. the hook side of course

Mac,

If I have written that, I've had butter fingers or my brain somewhere else. My bad. You want the hook side of things of course! The hooks are the grips and the loops are the soft, more fabric like side that they grip into. I will fix that immediately.

Martin

Velcro side

"You want the loop side of things." Are you sure?

Not stupid at all

Mike,

Your questions are not stupid at all. It's my experience - from myself and others - that leaders and tippets are complex and quite intimidating and can be difficult to understand and master.

1) Sealing the knots in some way makes very good sense. I know the problem with the knots picking up weed. I don't know whether the UV glues would work, but they probably would. Loon has its UV Knot Sense, which I personally use for flies, but judging from its name, it should work well for knots.

2) I usually tie my leaders with the intent of adding a tippet to the last piece of the leader. I then work my way into the tippet as I change flies, and finally cut off the last bit and tie on a new one. This slowly eats into the leader itself, but it takes quite some time before the leader is "worn down". I can always replace the last bit of the leader before I tie on the new piece of tippet. The tippet ring will enable you to almost endlessly replace the tippet without eating into the leader itself. I have actually bought a handful of rings that I want to use on my leaders for the exact same reason.

Martin

Jungle Angler video

Awesome film and awesome fish! Great job!

super glue versus uv glue for this pattern.

would superglue in the gel form be a decent substitute for the uv glue, its a little pricey for me.

vises

Like you, I started with a cheap fly tying kit in 1967, about $10.00 for materials & Vise, then a Thompson A vise, then a marvelous vise called the Price Vise which I still have with the extension arm & Light, and my present vise, a Renzetti 4000, which is my daily go to. Every once in a while, for nostalga, i will use the Price Vise.Tried a friends Regal once & hated it, bulky, clumsy, no Hutzpah!

dahlberg flashtail

Thanks for posting, I'll be able to give it a go now that I've seen how its done. Definitely bookmarked for later. Greetings from Australia

Regal pics

James,

Thanks for your kind offer! It would make good sense to have images, but I'm honestly kind of tempted to leave the post as it is and let no Regal be shown. If they don't want images, they don't get images...

Martin

Gurgler targets

Valentin,

The Gurgler will definitely work for browns and rainbows under the right conditions when the fish are aggressively chasing high in the water - or if you target fish eating frogs, mice or similar large animals.
Catfish is a different game. Catfish are bottom fish, and a Gurgler is in the surface. It might lure the fish up, but I would guess not. I have to say, though, that my catfish experiences are zero, so I can't be sure.

Martin

Gurgler #6

Will it work on rainbow, brown trout? Or catfish perhaps?

I have coverage of most of

I have coverage of most of the Regal range if you want me to take some pictures and email them through. Its a shame you were made to bring down the images...