I love to add doll eyes to my long flies, especially the ones that that have a “rattle” pupil in them. They not only make the flies look more lifelike, but add a bit of accent to the “acoustic footprint” of the fly. They are a bit of a pain to put on. Well no […]
Our friend, Theo Baakelar, has been dressing flies using a system of foam and veined winging material. Take about good-looking flies! And, they float like—foam! The system uses a special pin that clamps in the vise, on which the extended portion of the body is first formed. Of course, for those flies without an extended […]
I recently received some Hackle Pliers from TYFLYZ TOOLZ. Although of are of the same design as the original prototypes that Robert had given me a couple of years back, these are made with just a tiny bit thinner wire. This modification is an improvement over the prototype because these newer ones are less difficult […]
If you like the idea of fishing the lochs in the Highlands of Scotland, or just the idea of tying the flies that are used there, then you need to visit wildsidefishing.com and click on Flt Tying in the header bar. Andrew Hogg shows the tying in great detail, and discusses the history and fishing […]
Faruk Ekich, who manufactures the Ekich bobbin (see http://www.garyborger.com/2011/03/30/bobbins-the-ekich-ultimate/), also manufactures a very limited edition, Damascus vise. It is a gorgeous piece of equipment that is also very functional. Pete Gray sent me a couple of photos of the vise holding flies that he had tied. If you are interested in discussing the purchase of […]
Are you a fly tier? Frankenfly has something for every tier, be they a traditional, dyed in the wool tier, or a experimentalist. In fly tying, as in fly fishing, there’s always something new that one can learn. God have a look here .
At every Show. I get questions about the loop spinning tools that I use. There are variety of tools out there, most readily available from the fly shops. But the one I get the most questions about is the Turbo Dubbing Twister. This is a Czech product, complete with ball bearing that allow the head […]
At every Show, I get questions concerning the materials I use to dress the Down and Dirty series of minnows and sculpins. This material is available from Feather-Craft of St. Louis, MO. It is called Extra Select Craft Fur and can be found at on line at: Extra Fine Craft Fur They offer 29 great […]
Our friend Theo Baakelar sent a photo of a striper that ate his Eel Skin imitation of a Sand Eel while we were fishing in the fall of 2011. There is no doubt that big fish want to eat big bait. And eat they do. The striper definitely has the fly well in its mouth […]
Theo Baakelar, a good friend from Holland, has been using his winter hours to tie flies for next season. Here are a couple of great looking stonefly nymphs made with flexie body or thin skin material. They look good enough to eat, don’t they? He says they are particularly tasty with a little garlic. Notice the […]