FWIW, Martin, LibraryThing.com is what I use to keep of books: what I've read, what I want to read, what I own, etc. With a smartphone you can add to your "library" via the barcode on newer books. On the older books I've found and purchased at used book stores, well I just tediously enter the info manually. ;-) Cheers!
A beautiful and delightful book! The kind of book that will sit on the living room table for months. An invitation to travel for fishing and delicious end-of-day moments. ❤️
Yes, indeed, native Cutthroat trout here on Canada's wet coast will take these squirmy critters at every opportunity.
Our little dragons are mostly black with a few yellow spots running along their length. They are sinuous swimmers that really attract a lot of attention.
Cheers!
Here's an original and provocative way to present a passion lol.
Paulus,
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. It's always sad when it happens, and even worse when people are still young.
The group that I fish with also lost a very close friend at a way too young age some years back. He actually appears in many of the images in this series, and I think of him practically every time I'm on the coast.
It is as I wrote in this article some years ago: https://globalflyfisher.com/blog/do-me-favor-go-fishing
We won't get younger any of us, and it's about getting out there while we can!
Martin
Those pictures will always bring back memories.My best flyfishing friend introduced me to Funen and seatrout 20 years ago and we went twice a year.
He died unexpected a few years ago and way too young, just before another fishing holiday on Funen,but those pictures show what we so much loved about seatrout fishing.The view and serenity,just like the pictures are showing.
Along coastal BC, red/yellow/silver combinations have been mainstay colour combinations forever, when fishing the beaches for sea-run Cutthroat trout and Coho salmon. I am not sure what it is about the Flashabou, whether it picks up hints from the layers of hair below it and refracts the light back as that electric blue-green hue, but whatever it is, seems to be the key to the Pearl Mickey's attractiveness. You may happily find similar quirky results with some of your colour combinations. Cheers!
Rory,
You wouldn't think that the choice of flash would make such a big difference, but the Crystal Flash reflects light in a different way with its many small surfaces pointing in all directions. The Flashabou on the other hand, reflects light in glimpses when it turns the right way, and I can imagine that this looks more like a small baitfish turning in the light and emitting a short flash.
It might be me overthinking things, but it sounds plausible to me. And the proof of the pudding, as you know ...
I will try tying some Pearl Mickeys - but probably also try with my "earthy" colors rather than red/yellow only.
Martin
I first tried pearlescent Crystal Flash as the topping without much success. After switching to pearlescent Flashabou, that fly became a real hit, especially with Coho salmon. The Crystal Flash added some sparkle, for sure, but that did not seem very attractive to the fish. The Flashabou, on the other hand, gave off a mysterious electric blue-green hue along the top of the fly. That was the key to attraction. More by happy coincidence than good planning. Cheers!
Rory,
That sounds like a killer pattern. The flash will definitely add some attraction, and when fishing slightly murky or turbulent coastal water, a bit of flash won't hurt.
Exchanging the top wing of the streamer patterns shown here with a few straws of flash would be an excellent variation of these otherwise very stealthy flies.
Martin
The venerable ol'-time Mickey Finn, a Canadian borne fly pattern, has been vastly improved for fishing in saltwater along coastal BC. The dressing is; silver tinsel body, with a layered wing of yellow Polar bear hair, red Polar bear hair, then several strands of pearlescent Flashabou, all on a size 6 hook. It is called the Pearl Mickey and has built quite a reputation for itself as a top fish producer off the beaches of Vancouver Island. Cheers!
Hello Bob, I have reached the same stage as you after years. I am 85 years old, I have problems with my knees and wading in large rivers, but I also no longer carry 1000 flies and other stuff with me. Light equipment...
Wet flies are great.
Dry flies, streamers too...
Better than tungsten balls.
I fish mostly in Slovakia. So far I have managed with all types of fishing gear. I can only remember the fishing trips to Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, etc. I used to...
Thanks Bob, this article is particularly interesting. I'm increasingly using old school wet flies with success for brook trout fishing in rivers.
Nicely done article, Bob. Yes, with maturity comes wisdom, as well as unsteady wading. No need to push it anymore. Let the flies do their work and hang on. No extra glitze, just natural goodness with a lot of soul.... that's soft hackles. Cheers!
Rory,
Luckily it's so much more fun to write and publish real articles, so that's what I'll keep doing.
Martin
Rory,
It's a good example of the fact that everything can become dubbing. When I comb out fur, trim fluff off feathers or cut bits of yarn or floss off repeatedly, I usually keep the scraps, which more than once have made and addition - or even the foundation - for some great dubbing.
It gives some excellent material to experiment with, and if it works, you can always cut more on purpose and mix a new batch.
And stuff like polar bear is precious and every bit needs to be saved and used!
Martin
The short underfur found on Polar bear hides is a great substitute for seal dubbing. Most of this fur gets combed-out when using Polar bear hair for wings on salmon and steelhead flies. Use empty 35mm film canisters or small zip-loc bags to keep different colours of underfur ready for use. It makes great, stiff under-collars on Intruder style flies when twisted up into wire-core dubbing brushes.
Cheers!
Yes, real books do have a certain charm one cannot get through the Internet route. Opening an actual book, like opening a fly box leads to soul fulfilling discovery. The sight and fragrance of each stirs the senses.... especially the flies which have that fishy lived-in ambiance. Cheers!
Thank you, Mr. Petit. I have several books by John Sewey, and they are all wonderful to browse and, above all, inspiring for successful fly tying. For several of the hairwing patterns Sewey suggests, I add a heron feather hackle to the fly head to give them a bit more movement. Also, tied on size 6 and 8 hooks, some of these flies are also very good for Atlantic salmon in shallow water.
I agree with you, Martin. Unfortunately, I'll never have the chance to meet him… I carefully preserve some magazines, a signed copy of Flytyer's Masterclass, and some fly-tying products under his name, sold by Partridge few years ago.
Serge,
Oliver did inspire a lot of people - you obviously ... and me too. I met him several times, and always learned a lot from him, and like you I swallowed his videos (VHS and DVD's) and stil love his book Flytyers Masterclass.
A true fly tying legend.
Martin
I was the only one in my small village who tied flies, so it was with the step-by-step tying instructions he published in an English magazine and later, thanks to VHS videos, that I learned many techniques for tying trout flies. A master for me.
Serge,
My skills aren't that exceptional ... I'm basically a messy person, and sometimes struggle to find stuff that I used just minutes ago. That's why it's really nice to have a room for the purpose. I can mess around, and then just close the door. The room is mine, and I'm basically the only one using it.
And the reel display is still there behind the vise. I added a couple of pictures showing it better. I'm actually looking for one more, but can't find anything identical or similar - even though this one has a sticker with a brand name and a number. But one day I might find something that can hold the rest of my reels.
Martin
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