hmm, it seems like the prankster’s been pranked !
our mystery man’s magical blessing endowments have turned out to be nothing more than a plastic bottle… but at least we can feel a little better for our slimy fishy friends !
like they say, it’s best served cold but this one’s gonna happen in the heat of summer… 
well, ok. but it did make me think of fishing and fly tying…
by Tim Rajeff
Tim’s a funny guy with lots of charisma and enthusiasm but he’s not all about goofing off and breaking brand new rods either.
here we get a little reminder of how important it is to adapt our casts when dealing with the wind.
contrary to what a lot of anglers might think, there’s a fine limit to how much we can just force the cast in the attempt to not have to change their usual casting style.
if they don’t deeply imbed a hook into something or someone it’s just luck and a matter of time before it happens.
without being overly detailed, this ‘casting around the wind’ demonstration shows the basics to deal with these situations safely and efficiently.
all it takes is first, to learn to always be aware of the wind, where it’s moving from and to, how it’s changing, how it limits us and how we can use it, because let’s face it: it’s there so let’s use it to our advantage and turn it into a friend.
no matter what type of fishing you do, take the time to practice these casts until they’re very familiar and even second nature. it’s well worth it.
the Dead Caddis by Davie McPhail
now, as far as i know (little), imitating dead caddis is a rather uncommon practice and that’s what makes this pattern quite interesting.
i’ve seen trout rising to the dead naturals and have fished them successfully with a standard sedge imitation but i’ll admit i didn’t seriously examine the dead naturals to see if there was any changes from the live ones.
of course there will be a total lack of movement and i’m reasonably sure that there isn’t a body/wing posture change so i’m thinking it might be a slight change of color that really sets these apart.
for whatever the reasons, this big bushy, well floating thing is worth having in the box for an occasion where the fish might key in on the dead ones drifting by. enjoy !
‘was playing around with the Gum Drop pattern and for some inexplicable reason these came out pink…
the construction is the same except for the eyes. these ones are also bead-chain based but the glaucoma effect was made by moulding little pieces of silvery plastic film, heating them (several times because most of the time it changed shape too much…) to take on the small bead’s shape, gluing them on and then covering the lot with milky -white paper glue and then covered with BugBond. it’s much too much work for fishing flies but i do like the effect.
made with-
love
Maruto C47 barbless hook #14 from Troutline.ro
Veevus 12/0 thread pink
red bead-chain eyes
synthetic hackle and a wee bit of Hends Spectra dubbing
simple and sweet, here’s a little breakfast puffs emerger !
since there’s no tying explanations you can find the materials list and backup photo step-by-step here.
and speaking of puffs…
photos by Mårten Lindhé
what i’m noticing more and more are fly tiers focussing on imitating other fly tier’s imitations rather than the naturals. true, very effective fishing flies don’t necessarily have to have a lot of detail and many, many of these effective flies don’t really look at all like their model… but i kind of see this situation similar to when a story gets passed on from word of mouth: it always gets transformed at each telling and often to the point where the end has little to do with the beginning. anyhow, here’s not only some eye candy but hopefully a little food for thought.
Baetidae from above and below -
Rhyacophila larva from the top -
and from the side -
Hydropsyche-larva side view and from above -
Leptophlebia marginata -
Leptophlebia marginata spent -
be sure to visit Mårten’s site XtremeFlyFishing.se for more awesome images. enjoy !
but it’s a nice one !
yup, big D’Oh ! moment. i just got back from a full day of casting instruction which included a distance shoot-out and a presentation casts demo to a keen crowd of anglers to realize when i got back home that i only took one photo today….
there was lake a few hundred meters away from the casting field with fishing guidance planned as part of the day’s activities and i’d brought all my kit but never found time to wet a line but that’s ok because the best ‘catch’ was right here in front of me all the time. this is Betty, the cutest little fish in the pond.
it’s hard not to like this one. the deer hair will keep it afloat in fast waters and it’s smaller sunken body and shuck will get a lot of attention in calmer currents. relatively easy to tie and chock full of key emerger elements, this low sitting fly is just the ticket for any salmonid. vary sizes and colors to suit your water. enjoy !
