1998 - Crowsnest

1998 trip to Alberta (Canada) and Montana (USA).

First destination of the trip: the Crowsnest river.
Simply splendid.

Another oldie

Another oldie.

I think I tied this Matuka Sculpin somewhere around 1992. I was inspired by the sculpin tied by Dave Whitlock in the book 'The art of the trout fly' (page 61). I have no idea where this sculpin swam away to?..

Update May 4, 2015:
Wow, I got a compliment from Emily Whitlock, Dave Whitlock's wife!

My memory goes back to May 1994. I met Dave and Emily Whitlock at the Dutch Fly Fair. We met during the dinner on the eve before the fair. Both Dave and I were attending the fair as fly tier. Dave tied for me this Red Fox Squirrel nymph during my break from the tying bench. Time flies…

Rising grayling & fiberglass

Here is a very nice footage of a very nice stream in the Italian alps with a rising grayling caught with a short fiberglass rod.

Yvon Chouinard about the road fly fishing is heading...

Two quotes from Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia:

“Fly fishing has built itself into a corner,” he reflects. “There’s a dad with so much gear, the kid looks at it all and goes ‘forget it.’ The daughter looks at macho fly fishing magazines and doesn’t want to do it. It’s a dying sport, dying so fast you can’t believe it.”

….

"In the fly-fishing industry, where we are told the secret to success is a more complex fly, a faster rod or better-fitting waders, it’s a new concept. The more complicated something seems, the more important and elusive mastery appears, (and the more value placed on the skill sets of those who “get it done”). The industry survives by convincing consumers the only way to catch the fish of a lifetime is to buy more stuff. When did fishing become less about spending time outside, feeling the sun on our faces and the water swirling around our legs, and more about one-upping the guy downstream?"

Fly casting explained simply

Where does it end?...

I recently picked up tying some dry flies again to get warmed up for my Catskill project. I found out I didn't have a few hackle colors needed for a some core flies, mainly a darker dun and a lighter brown.

So I ordered a few capes recently from Whiting Farms, the leading breeder of genetic hackles. Although they are known for the superior hackles for dry flies, Whiting has broadened their product line with any kind of feather imaginable, from feathers for streamers, spey flies to bass bugs.

The most popular line of hackles are the capes and saddles for dry flies from the Whiting line, also known as the red label. This red label capes and saddles are basically from the birds Whiting bought from Henry Hoffman. The other, of a more historical importance are the capes and saddles from the Hebert Miner (green label) line. The current birds have evolved from the very first roosters specifically raised for dry fly quality hackles by Harry Darbee. Here's a very nice overview of the history of hackles.

I ended up with a dark dun, medium ginger and, a rare find, cree cape from the Hebert Miner line. This color (in fact it's a mix of three colors black, white/cream and brown) called Cree seems to be the most sought after color in the hackle universe. Most crees never make it to the fly shop. Most of them end up in the hands of the owner of the fly shop for his friends or as gifts for big customers of Whiting. I'll post a separate posting about this Cree hackles soon because it is indeed fascinating!

About the improvements of the hackles:
Most of my capes and saddles are from the late 1990 and early 2000 era. The most recent one I bought was a Bronze rated Whiting cape (darker barred ginger) I bought in 2006. It's now almost 10 years later and the improvement in quality is quite remarkable. From what I read and heard, every generation seems to be an improvement over the previous generation of birds.

I got the Pro Grade rated capes, which are supposed to be the entry level quality, because I want a good selection of hackles in the larger sizes 10 and 12. The higher rated Bronze and Silver have predominately hackles in sizes 14 (or even 16) and smaller.

The highest rated (Golden or even Platinum) capes or saddles (which has an even narrower size range than capes) with predominantly hackles in the size 18 and smaller (as wonderful as they are!) is simply not very useful for general use. It's an odd thing to say but Whiting has improved their hackles too much!  So, where does this end?...

Update Nov 25, 2015:
Here is a nice article about the history of hackles from Field & Stream (March 1985):

Chris Helm passing away

Yesterday Chris Helm passed away. He will be missed.

I've known Chris for more than 20 years. We met at several fly fishing shows during the early 1990's like the Dutch Fly Fair and Danish Fly Fair where we both tied flies.

Chris helped me a lot during my first ventures tying with deer hair as I was struggling with getting good deer hair. Good deer hair was not easy to come by here. Chris owned a fly shop called Whitetail Fly Tieing (yes, this is how Chris spelled 'tying') Supplies with the largest selection of deer and elk hair in the world. Or any fly tying material for that matter.

Early this year he sold the fly shop so he could travel more and enjoy his retirement. My most recent contact with Chris was earlier this spring.

Just about 6 months prior to this sad moment, Chris gave me the scissors he personally used. He said they are the best he had used.

Thank you Chris!

Here is an interview with Chris.

Chris Barclay fiberglass rod

I've got more rods than I can ever fish during my lifetime (and longer). But recently I have been talking with Chris Barclay about building a rod.

Chris, although building rods for some years, has become a highly acclaimed rod builder. Chris improved his work quite dramatically the past few years and got really noticed when he released his own line of fiberglass rods, starting with the 7.2 ft 3 weight later followed by a 7.8 ft 4 weight and 7.10 ft 5 weight, as recently as late 2013. The blanks for his rods are made in Japan to his specifications and his rods has received lots of praise.

Earlier this summer I sent my 3 weight Orvis Superfine Glass back to Orvis. Since I still wanted a 3 weight fiberglass rod, I decided to go for the Barclay 3 weight.

I love light rods with dual reel rings, so I was looking for finish that is a mix of Chris' own mini wells grip and bright dual reel rings like the Bob Summers' Deluxe version of the 275 model. Along the way Chris told me he was expecting a new batch of brass hardware but now with his name stamped. After seeing a picture, I chose to stay with his signature finish. I also asked Chris to make a slightly shorter 5.5 inch grip.

Any small reel would fit the rod fine, but a lightweight vintage reel like Hardy Featherweight or the Orvis CFO 123 will look stunning on this rod. This rod will do great on any stream or small river, but I'd say it's made for fishing gin clear small streams like the one I fished several years ago in the hills of the Austrian alps. I just can't wait to sight cast a small nymph to a holding trout in the slower edge of a bend of the stream.

Bobbin holders, just holding bobbins?

A few items are as non controversial as a bobbin holder. Yet there is more to know about this essential tool for fly tiers. I've been using Frank Matarelli bobbin holders for ages. Unfortuntaely these are harder to get as Frank's age gets in the game. If you can get one, buy one! And yes they are worth the price.

Martin from Global Flyfisher decided to get into the subject and wrote the ultimate guide to bobbin holders. It will take a while to read it, but anyone who is serious about his fly tying should read it.

At last: the end of the fluorocarbon myth...

You've probably heard and read the raves about fluorocarbon tippet being the magic wand. It's invisible to the fish, it sinks like a rock and it's much more abrasive resistant than regular nylon tippet.

I must admit I have been carrying a couple of fluorocarbon tippet spools in my vest for the past few years. The few times I used them I couldn't see any difference in catch rate nor any noticeable higher strength.

My tippet of choice for almost 10 years has been Rio's Powerflex and they have served me well. I love their Guide spools (100 meter) as I change a lot of tippet when fishing.

However recently I have been curious about René Harrop's Trouthunter brand tippet. Unfortunately the Trouthunter tippet comes in 50 meter spools and they are about 40% more expensive than Rio Powerflex. The fluorocarbon version being about 15% more expensive. Both compared in 100 meter lengths.

But to really give it a test, I have been thinking about switching over to 100% fluorocarbon for a whole season to see for myself how much more fish I would catch. But the price of these buggers! Roughly at least 3 times as expensive than regular nylon tippet. Three tippet sizes (4x - 6x) and one extra for the most used size (5x), would set me back at least $160!

Well anyway, the experiment never materialized. The proverbial if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it probably kept me from this. Here's a posting at Swift about the same subject. I'm glad Carl doesn't own a fly shop...

Feature film for RISE 2015: Backcountry

Gin-Clear Media's new feature film for 2015 is Backcountry - North Island.

And it's looking very promising. As usual Nick shot some spectacular air views of New Zealand's mountain range, forests untouched by man and endless streams which probably has never been fished before.

Everyone loves New Zealand fishing and this 'bush whacking' feature film is typical of what New Zealand has to offer: solitude, amazing scenery and gin clear streams with huge browns and rainbows. The lord must be a fly fisherman…

Keep posted for RISE 2015 schedules in Europe early next year.

Brown trout as a project

Dave and Amelia Jensen eat, breath, sleep and probably dream fly fishing. To narrow it down even more, brown trout fishing. They also let others enjoy their fly fishing adventures with their very engaging, almost intimate, way of capturing videos, like about hopper fishing and a short promo on the Orvis glass rods. I ordered their DVD Sight Fishing trout rivers a while ago. Very entertaining as well giving some good pointers on (dry fly) sight fishing for trout.

Then all the sudden Stripped Down - The Brown Trout Project arrived and this project is their largest video publication so far. It's a compilation of the past 13 years chasing brown trouts in Alberta, Montana and New Zealand classified in 8 chapters. Thanks to modern video-on-demand technology you can download ($6 per chapter or $40 for the whole lot) the video chapters in glorious HD. A double DVD (which is only SD by the way…) can be ordered soon.

Just check out the trailer to see what's all about.



Update June 16, 2014:
Just shipped half a dozen Alien Bugs to Dave and Amelia to feed the hungry browns in Alberta this summer.

Review: Graywolf Epic 480 ('So Blue')

I just received the Epic 480 (8ft for a 4 weight) finished by Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods. And the final product is just superb. The Epic blanks by a New Zealand company called Swift (Carl McNeil of the fantastic DVDs Once in a blue moon and Casts that catch fish fame) are making quite a splash in the fiberglass community.

These blanks are designed by Carl and his team and made in New Zealand by CTS. Carl calls these blanks high performance S2 FastGlass, the Epic 480 casts super smooth indeed.

One can order a blank from Swift and build a rod as desired. You can also order a kit with all the needed components and finish it yourself or buy a finished rod from Swift directly. Finally you can ask one of the many talented Epic certified rod builders like Shane from Graywolf or George from Tightloop to finish the blank. I can recommend these two builders without any hesitation.

The current line up of Epic fiberglass blanks are typical for fiberglass blanks and rods available ranging from a 7.5ft for a 3 weight to a 8.6ft for a 6 weight. There is one blank aimed for saltwater use (9ft for a 9 weight). All blanks are 3 piece except the saltwater blank.

What's really unique is that the blanks can be bought in no less than six different colors. Colors common to fiberglass blanks as seen mostly are amber or brown, but Epic blanks are also available in blue (poetically called 'So blue'), red, olive and white.

My rod is built in a utilitarian style with cork reel seat, up lock screw and a mini wells grip. The matching blue agate stripping guide is from Joe Arguello (also a famous bamboo rod maker). Check out Shane's amazing workmanship and you'll agree that this rod is a looker.




Update Aug 27, 2014:
Swift just started delivering new blanks for double handed rods. Probably more models to come but the first model comes with the name DH11 (11'6" 320-540 grains 4pc).

Update Aug 29, 2014:

I cast the rod with a 5 weight line and I was amazed how well the rod casts! The feedback I get with just 4-5 meters of line was amazing.

7th Open German fly tying championship

Well, I've been getting alerts that it was true but I had to wait for the official news and here it is.

Recently I shipped two flies I really love tying: the Humpy and the classic Adams (Catskill style). My flies have been on shows (many eons ago…), in magazines and (most of them) given to friends and now it seems it is rated top ranking by a team of capable judges.

One of the judges is my old friend and one of the best fly tiers I know: Chris Helm. Chris is a true master on tying with deer hair. Be it western dry flies like the Humpy or hair bugs.

Chris mailed me a few days ago that he wondered whether the flies he was looking at were maybe mine?... His comment was that he gave my Humpy a perfect score except… the tail should have been tied with moose (body) hair.

In fact, I really considered tying that way (I tie my humpies usually with moose tails), but since the reference fly was shown with a deer (or yearling elk) hair tail I decided not to take any chances. Germans are known to be very strict with regulations… I also tied the bleached deer hair tail slightly shorter to prevent the tail flaring too much (see reference fly).

I don't know if I tied my humpy with the moose hair tail, it would have been rated lower for not tying the fly as mentioned in the regulations. Well anyway, it's great honor to win the Open German championship!

…and I really should start with my Catskill dry fly project.

The news in Dutch.

Update 8 May 2014:
Picture of flies of the 2nd place winner.
Picture of flies of the 3rd place winner.

Salmon fly hatch

I've always wanted to be there when the salmon flies started to hatch in Montana. These big stone flies (Pteronarcys californica) crawl out along the streamside vegetation and rocks after a 3 year nymphal period around late May to early July. The hatch continues for about 3 weeks.

Now here's the problem: how to predict when the hatch begins? Especially how to plan a trip with the salmon hatch as your main goal? Pretty impossible since it's usually when the run off is just coming down from full swing. If you arrive too soon, your fishing is limited to small tributaries or spring creeks. If you arrive too late, well… you're too late.

Bye bye belly boat, hello stand up paddle board ?

I've never owned a belly boat. Yes, I've tried it several times in the past. I just don't see myself fishing lakes that much to justify getting one. And maybe it's the static sitting position I don't like?

You've probably heard or seen this recent hype on stand up paddling. Originally a tropical sight like somewhere in Hawaii, these days it's also a leisure activity you can see in the canals of Amsterdam.

The link with fly fishing is made pretty easily. Unfortunately these boards are pretty massive in size no matter how light they actually are. And the next solution would be an inflatable stand up board: easy to carry and basically the same possibilities as the regular boards. Just send $1000 to the guys at Bote and the inflatable paddle board is yours!

How wolves changed the rivers in Yellowstone park

It must have been about 12-13 years since my last visit to the Yellowstone National Park. My first visit to the park in 1992 has been a memorable trip. Not only because of the great fishing but especially the awe inspiring surroundings. My amazement of the diversity of the scenery and wildlife has never been more profound as the day I drove into the park. Watch this video for an amazing tour of the park from above.

Here's an interesting yet very intriguing little documentary on how the re-introduction of wolves in the Yellowstone National Park changed the entire ecosystem and even the rivers as well.

We all know what happens when man introduces an unknown spices (like rabbits in Australia) in to an ecosystem. The wolves have been absent in the park for more than 70 years. Just shortly after the reintroduction of the wolves in the park, the effects were remarkable.

Italy - an unknown jewel?

I've been to Italy several times. Never travelled with a fly rod, but that might change next time.

Flies shipped

Destination: Germany

Mouse order

It has been a while I did some serious deer hair work. Here's a mouse I just tied this afternoon for a friend.

I think it turned out okay. I'll probably burn the eye area to get the eye sink a little bit deeper. Just need to look for some glue to keep the doll eye in place.

Usually I'll use natural grey deer hair for my mice, this time I used bleached hair for the top with some brown hair stacked. The underbelly is white.

Click on the picture to get a larger view.
Enjoy!

Update:
Shipped!

Orvis Superfine Glass (II)

The new Orvis Glass rods are making quite a dimple in the fly fishing scene.

Magic fingers

I rarely fish after dusk. Why? I think the main reason that I don't fish after dusk is I don't have this 'home river' which I know every inch of the banks, tree or rock in the water. And that's actually a pity because I've often heard how good the fishing can get after dark. Not sure if fishing after sunset is permitted in the rivers and streams I fish, so it might even be forbidden.

Probably everyone has this fear of slipping or stumbling over a rock in the dark. With a home river, one can focus on the fishing rather than wondering where you are and whether you are about to end up in a nasty current.

I remember this one evening with my buddy Dave during a moon lit night, a few miles away form his house on the Bow River in Calgary. Big browns were cruising along the banks sipping spinners. I can say it was something new to me yet very exciting. Minus those nasty mosquitoes which bugged me the whole evening...

Fishing in the dark means one needs a light to change a fly or even untangle a messed up leader.

Here's an unusual little LED light that I ran into. It's a LED light that is used to make light shows in the dark (probably on the dancing floor in night clubs) while wearing them on several fingers. It has a rubber band around it so you can tighten it around your finger. It comes in several colors including white, but the red one seems to be pretty useful since red light doesn't destroy the night sight as much as white light does.

I don't know when I'm going to end up in an evening rise, but I'll keep one in the back of my vest just in case.