Recent comments

Regal Vice

If you have Art Flick's "Streamside Guide..." you'll see that the Regal is a copy of his original design. I was quite upset when Regal claimed the design as their own.

Great tie.

Great Iso pattern, you need a manicure Jim, aside from the nibbled digits a very simple yet deadly effective fly in spring and again in Sept/Oct here in my great home state of Maine.

The J Vice

Maybe you should look at the South African J Vice too!

Regal Vise

I think that the regal became popular back when there were few other options for a high quality vise. Other people bought them after being recommend by friends. I have owned a Dyna King Barracuda for 5 years now and I'm in love.Much better than my old Renzetti.

Flyfishing southland New Zealand.

Hello Henk. I was born in Workum 1950 then migrated to australia 1952. Have been brought up
in a hunting /fishing environment. Brought a cottage in NZ and accomodate keen fishermen there. Will be in Amsterdam and Friesland 12th October to 12th November this year. Have some great trout fishing footage from a go pro that you would undoubtedly find interesting. Feel free to connect. Cheers John

regal vice

i tried to use a regal vice once. it took me both hands to open the jaws, leaving me no way to mount the hook. back to renzetti for this t

Your B.I.Law Peter

Hello there....about the arthritis thing...I know it was an old post..but I just found you guys!! I had arthritis in both basal joints of my thumbs...since fixed with fusion surgeries...but...it was very difficult for me to do many things...tying one of them...I tried to MacGyver all of my tools so the handles were all oversized...Making it more comfortable to hold...they look odd...but if it works for him....awesome. prayers for relief and healing....Tom

WD 40

In the Eastern part of the U.S I fish only 22-24 and find that big fish are easily temped with smaller sizes flies. Good hook ups come fairly easy with small flies and provide great sport on light rods 2-3 #. The small hooks ,I find do not seem to require a wing case which really make the fly very easy to tie.

Nice catch!

Beautiful fish, Grats.

Fly Fishing near Bansko

Hi Radoslav

I will come to Bansko in 2 weeks, do you can recommend me some good spots? Can I fish in the mountain lakes in Pirin?

Thank you and regards
René

Warm water Humpy

I fish Humpy's as a surface/near surface fly for bluegill. While I know that's probably sacrilegious, they like it and I'm a rebel.

- I prefer a short tail with some flair, a skinny hump and wings with less hackle.
Here's why

- The fish jump the fly when it first lands, but often miss because they are "swatting" it with their fins/tail. This attempt to stun and submerge what they think is a bug drags the fly down, subsurface - where the fun starts.

- Tied slim, with less hackle, the "Slim-Fast Humpy" suspends near-surface, and I slow strip it like a wet fly. A twitching, then a slow figure-8 hand retrieve. Repeat.

- At some point, the fish get excited and grab the fly, very nearly snatching the rod from your hand.

I discovered this Skinny Humpy, subsurface connection by accident. In trying the pattern for the first time, that's just how I tied them.
I do add micro dabs of varnish and half hitches through the tying process, to add durability in the old school manner. Its probably not necessary, but bluegill can be hard on flies.

No US dealer... yet

Steve, the SMHAEN bobbin holders are slowly hitting the shops this autumn, but mainly here in Denmark and Europe. Stig tells me that he's working on US contacts, but have no serious options yet, so I guess they will eventually be available more locally in the US, most likely with lower shipping costs.

Martin

US sources

Steve, as far as I know the only source is Stig directly, but I have inquired about US sources. I guess the postage would be pretty steep if they were to be sent over through ordinary mail. I'll post the information here once I get it.

Martin

Smahaen bobbin

Hi Martin,
Late May this year , I contacted Mr. Stig Hansen re:obtaining a Smahaen bobbin in the US. In his reply on May 29 , he told me I could purchase one directly from him for 54 euro plus 25 euro for shipping to the US. I think I posted this here in late May ,early June.
If this price is incorrect , does anyone know the correct price with shipping to the US or if they are available in the US ?.
Best Regards,
Steve Keim

Eric,

Eric,

I just got a note today from Stig - the manufacturer - himself noting the wrong price, and it has been corrected now. Back when I wrote the article, I didn't have a precise price, and put in the price I could gather from the correspondence with Stig and people who bought the bobbin holder.

Sorry for having the wrong price for so long!

Martin

shmaen bobbin price...

There must be a "little" mistake on the price of that bobbin holder, which seems to be a great product,
i've recently ask for a price on Smhaen website: 59€ per bobbin = 65usd, it's no longer 20 usd.
How such a difference is possible in 2 years???

#‎flypatternphotochallenge‬

Thank you, David! It was awesome!!!

No idea

Florin,

I'm sorry, but I have to say that I have no idea which one to choose. I don't know any of the lines or the rod. I can see that it's a full line and a shooting head, and my only comment is that I'd probably choose the shooting head myself for my ordinary fishing and the full line if I was looking for a slightly better presentation. And I'd go for the slow intermediate in both cases.

Hope this helps just a bit.

Martin

Great idea!

This whole fly/photo challenge is a great idea, and my best wishes for a speedy recovery for Mr./Mrs Hise.

drying/re-floating CDC

A friend of mine discovered this trick--Kleenex!! Yes-- wipe down a fish slimed cdc fly thoroughly with a small wad of Kleenex.it will float like a cork! Do NOT ever use liquid flotants OR dry desiccants. dry cdc doesn't need it.

Personal Use only Fly tying leaders

I am back to tying leaders. It helps me relax.

Not decided

Greeting Martin!

Really useful article. I want your opinion about 2 lines and the rod.
http://www.guideline.no/Coastal.d2Y-18UlNO38pBp7q5B8Nxh0xE2N13PYpwtrI4p…
or
http://www.guideline.no/?module=Webshop;action=ProductGroup.publicOpen;…

and the rod
http://www.scierra.com/rods/srxv2/

all #6 class.

I hope you will reply soon and thank you for your time.

3 minute Glass Eel

Nice simple pattern.
Thanks for sharing.
Harry

tube flies

Try Amazon for bulk felting needle purchases. I'm just getting started with tube flies and ran across the article while researching materials and techniques. If you tie on a Norvise as I do, there are a couple of instructional videos by Norm that address the problems of tube slippage.