Keep in touch with friends

I remember calling to overseas costing a fortune. Not sure how much exactly but it was high enough to keep the calls short. These days the phone prices came down to a level that it's slightly higher than calling to local numbers. Then came Skype. This program allows you to call other Skype users all over the world without costing a penny or to a regular phone even cheaper than your local phone calls. Calling to regular phone numbers using the Skype program you need to buy credits (called SkypeOut) from Skype. The prices for calling regular land line numbers all over the world are dead cheap. Calling over the internet is called VoIP (Voice Over IP) these days and it supposed to to be pretty big in the next couple of years.

The fun using Skype is that you get to talk to your friends much easier and frequent than you were used to. I got to talk to my buddy in Idaho just about every couple of weeks while we used to write letters (those were dinosaur days by the way) and e-mail. Since Skype is also an Instant Messenger like MSN Messenger or ICQ, it's also easy to track who is on-line or not. This is obviously not available for your contacts in the list who only have regular phones.

Skype has this neat feature called Conferencing. And it's just what it says: you can talk to more than one (the participants can be using Skype as well as regular phone) at the same time. Skype allows up to 4 people. So if you want to talk to your fly fishing buddies all at the same time, this is great fun!

There are similar programs now which work pretty much like Skype: Gizmo Project, Yak and Jajah (what's in a name?). Even Google has a program called Google Talk and guess what, Microsoft announced to come with a calling option in their future releases of MSN Messenger. Skype has the largest user-base so far and it's available for most platforms including WIndows, Mac, Pocket PC and Linux. Others are only available for PC and Mac while a few are PC only.


** Update Feb 2006 **
Jajah dropped the idea of using a program to call your friends. Rather they changed their application to a web-page where you enter your phone-number as well as the person you want to call. Jajah takes care of the the connection between the two phone-numbers. You will be charged with Jajah's own proprietary rate which is obviously (supposed) to be a lot cheaper than you regular carrier.

This is an interesting solution to the ever fast moving world of VoIP. Jajah's solution bypasses the idea of needing a broadband internet connection as well as the hassle of having to install a new application.


Gizmo users can talk to GoogleTalk users and vice versa! We need more of these inter-compatibilty pacts!

Another VoIP-like program appeared in the arena: SightSpeed. This is a program similar to Apple's iChat in terms of just offering a audio and videochat rather than including options to call regular phone numbers (like Skype and Gizmo). Recently a Mac version has been released next to the PC version. SightSpeed seems to be a solution to a problem which Apple never (wanted to) solved: videochat with both Mac and PC users.

Beauty of bamboo fly rods

As I wrote in my posting 'The Weisse Traun in June' I started appreciating nice bamboo fly rods several years ago.

I haven't seen and cast many bamboo rods so far (I guess about 10-12 rods: I remember a couple of Orvis'es, Winstons, several T&T's, Tom Morans, RK Bolt, Zumbrunn, Brunner, Bjarne Fries and Granger), so I'm no expert but there seem to be an understated elegance of these rods. Much more than factory built graphite rods, with bamboo rods little details are used to give the rod that personal touch. 

I've seen special wrapping details (like the single wraps on Tom Moran's rods), nice ferrules (wrapped ferrules on Winstons) or swelled butts on the T&T (also Tom Moran makes a delightful swelled butt). These details should not be overdone by the way.

Most bamboo rods aren't casting canons nor as light as graphite rods. But they aren't slow (unless made that way) or heavy as many think. In fact some rods (like Brunner) are so fast that I don't think they would make good fishing rods. I've cast some excellent casting bamboo rods. You won't see distance records with bamboo rods, but they have a way to handle a wide range of casting situations. Especially the ability to cast with just a couple of feet of line yet still able to deliver a 15 meter (50 feet) cast is amazing.

The possibility of altering or tuning the taper when building the rod makes bamboo an extremely versatile material. Much more than the way graphite rods are made, the maker can adjust the action of the bamboo rod. And of course, the journey the rod has made from bamboo pole growing in the Guangdong province of China to the workbench of a (master) builder who spent dozens of hours shaping the split bundles of cane to a fine rod is just inspiring.

Don't get me wrong. I really like my graphite rods and I will keep fishing them. Like the buttery smooth casting Orvis Trout, the first production graphite rod Orvis made (since 1974?). This rod casts like magic with a 5 weight line even though the rod was rated for a 6 weight. My Tippet is one delicate mother, yet still will deliver a weighted bead head with ease. I still own these rods with the original cosmetics (unsanded blanks) and brushed bright aluminum hardware. After 1986 (?) Orvis started to make the Superfine series with black anodized hardware (and the 25 years warranty). By the way, the current Superfine series with the sanded blanks are horrible!

Take the Sage Light Line series with their translucent burgundy red blank. This is an excellent rod for spring creek like conditions. I bought my Sage 490-4 LL at Craig Mathews' shop Blue Ribbon Flies in 1992. The Sage 586-3 SP with its swelled butt is one handsome rod and fishes equally exceptional. But a light bamboo fly rod (I prefer fishing with graphite for line weights above a 5 weight) has this spirit no graphite rod comes close. It has to be felt to understand but fighting a fish with a bamboo fly rod does feel different. Maybe it's just the set of mind?

Past fall I was cleaning up my fishing gear and getting them ready for their winter storage. While my rods were drying on top of a couple of chairs, I saw how nice they looked. It has been pretty cold the past couple of days, so here are some pictures to warm up. I'll share some pictures of my graphite rods in the future.

Humpy

Don't you just love the Humpy? I do! The Humpy is a fly that has achieved stardom in the western states. Very buoyant and the many tying variations on this fly makes it a very adaptable and wonderful fly for fast & furious water conditions.

I was fascinated (maybe obsessed? 😀) after I watched Jack Dennis' VHS video 'Tying western trout flies' back in the late 1980's. Unfortunately getting good deer hair (short tipped and not too coarse hair) for tying humpies was quite a challenge here. A few years later I met Chris Helm at the Dutch Fly Fair who helped me tremendously with getting good deer and elk hair for all kinds of flies.

The history of this fly has many stories, but it is believed that it was developed by Jack Horner in the 1940's. The 'Horner deer fly' or the 'Goofus bug' were names that were given by different people during different times. These days the fly is known as the Humpy. A great name it is!

The Humpy is quite a difficult fly to master. The different materials that is needed, handled and the tight margins of proportions it has to be tied makes it a fly that's loved and hated by many tiers.

Deer hair that is needed for the Humpy should be coarse but not too coarse (the tightening down of the 'hump' will cut right through the hair if it's too coarse or brittle). The tips of the hair should be short and even to give the wings that nice and neat silhouette. The hump should be neat, tight and even to show that typical part that makes the Humpy such a very recognizable fly.

The amount of hair that is needed differs from the size that is tied. Too small a clump of deer hair and it will look like a starving crane fly, while too much hair will mess up the balance of the fly as well as almost impossible to maintain the control of the hair going every direction but the right way. The best deer hair I've come across come from the brand Mission Mountain Hair. It's not readily available so it's kinda hard to come by. I've only seen this hair available at a fly shop I visited in Craig, Montana called The Trout Shop.

The right proportions of the Humpy is a crucial part of this fly. Ever slightest disproportional error will show up as a badly tied Humpy, more than probably any other (dry) fly. The balance between amount of material that is used, the size of the 'hump', a nice tail, the size and length of the wings and a nice full (but not too full!) hackle can make or break this fly from being a show-stopper in your fly box.

But if all goes well, this fly is a gorgeous fly to look at, versatile as very few flies can be (seems to be one of the 'must haves' when you want to fish the huge browns and bows in New Zealand) and just downright fun to tie. And the Humpy is a fly that can go as an imitation from anything from a fluttering caddis, beetle to an emerging mayfly.

Update Feb 12, 2025:

Jack Dennis uploaded a video of Jay Buchner how to tie a Humpy correctly.

Jay is the husband of Kathy Buchner. Kathy wrote an article on tying the Humpy in the late 1990's in the Fly Fisherman magazine.

Update Dec 25, 2023:

Update Nov 3, 2023:

I did a tying demonstration for April Vokey's website Anchored Outdoors.

Guess what I tied? 

Update Oct 30, 2023:

Gordon van der Spuy thought writing a book wasn't enough and came out with a 2nd book.

I wrote a chapter about the Humpy

Update Aug 12, 2023:

Another artist painted a Humpy for me.

This time by Cindy Day

Update April 16, 2022:

I received a package from Jack!

Update March 22, 2022:

Another video on tying the Humpy, this time by Jay Buchner.

Lots of information on the history of the Humpy too.

Here you also hear that André Puyans was the originator of tying the Humpy by tying the wings first.

Jay is the husband of Kathy Buchner. Kathy wrote an article on tying the Humpy in the late 1990's in the Fly Fisherman magazine.

Update May 15, 2020:

A Humpy swap with Charlie Craven

Update Jan 30, 2020:

Here Jack ties the Royal Humpy:

Update Dec 13, 2021:

Jack uploaded footages from his huge video collection on YouTube.

Here is the Humpy tying part from his 'Tying western trout flies':

Update Sept 3, 2021:

So what does the Humpy exactly imitate?

Update July 19, 2021:

More Humpies heading off to USA, with a comment by Jack Dennis.

Update June 29, 2021:

Check out the Humpies I tied for Ed van Put, the Catskill legend.

Update April 17, 2021:

Check out the rare Humpy tied by André Puyans I acquired.

Update Nov 9, 2020:

Jack Dennis is unmistakenly connected to my love for tying humpies.

Today Jack celebrated the 49th year being together his wife.

Update Feb 8, 2020:
Here's a framed Horner fly alias the Humpy tied by the man himself. Thanks Gary!

Update March 2014:
The brand Mission Mountain Hair is no longer available. I recommend Nature's Spirit for deer and elk hair now.