Recent comments

Comment to #145 - Black Beauty

This fly works well , too! Be sure to fish this pattern.

Larry Walker, person

Larry Walker, personally taught me how to use his very own dubbing tool....over 25 years ago....Saturday mornings at his fly shop in northwest Denver. So whateer happened to Larry...last i heard, he was in Steamboat Springs. Is he still out that way...cause I would love to go see him.

Comment to #82-2013 - Doctor Oatman Hairwing tied

Bob, that is a great looking fly there! Well done!!!

Actuallly Wardman is

Actuallly Wardman is not necessarily wrong. Many dimmers are rheostat designs (you can find them by web-surfing). There was a time when they all were, but rheostats don't reduce power consumption (they only route a portion of the current away from the appliance load), so many dimmers are instead now done with solid state components that "pinch off" the current). Yes, true, you may have to be careful which one you buy...and you have to pay close attention to the current rating of the rheostat, even if you choose a rheostat fan motor control. Clearly Wardman has tried it successfully (or he wouldn't have recommended it), so he picked the right one. (And if you pick the wrong one, I think you don't really risk burning up your drill motor...but the rheostat can overheat and fail (and could get hot enough to start a fire, for example if you "control" your single-speed drill down to a really slow speed to use as a rod dryer, and then walk away and let it run unsupervised).

You ALWAYS have to check current ratings on anything you use, for that matter.

Hello,
I actually h

Hello,
I actually have a question for you...do you know from your books, which fly was "invented" by F M Walbran after an exasperating autumn days fishing for grayling on the R. Wharfe in 1888? ~ Would you believe this is a question in the Epsom Angling Society's Christmas Quiz! As coarse fisherman in Surrey, England I doubt most of them have ever caught a grayling let alone on an 1888 pattern fly.. Thank you very much. Kind regards.

You know I am shameless

Hi Martin,

You know I am shameless - I will take advantage of your offer.
I hope I can make it sometime in early 2014 - don' t know yet - it also depends on the domestic autority' s approval ;-)
If you come to the Eifel region let me know - I have finally found two opportunities where I can take guest fishermen!!!

Happy Friday

Franz

Comment to #81-2013 - Silver Doctor Variant tied b

Now that is a beautiful fly, well done!!

Could you use elk ha

Could you use elk hair?

Can you tell me what

Can you tell me what brand of tube vise is used in the SMHAEN tube fly videos and who sells it.

Thanks GZ

Bas is alive

Thomas,

Bas is alive, but getting old and in a home for retired people. I will contact you through mail with more information.

Martin

Does anybody know

Does anybody know if Bas is still alive and where I could get in touch with him?

I added an illustration

Jake,

I added an illustration that might help understanding the different angles. I hope this explains things a bit.

Martin

Comment to #80-2013 - Coronation Bucktail tied by

Nothing quite as translucent as polar bear,love it...

priers! I have seen

priers! I have seen plenty of articles with a few typos. Pikes, trouts and salmons are a few of my pet hates. I can just about get away with English, let alone any other language. Just as long as it has good pictures!

Great web site, I ju

Great web site, I just started tying fly's about a month ago and this site is very informative. Thanks!

Yes, all Coch-y-Bond

Yes, all Coch-y-Bonddu can be shipped to the US. I have many of their excellent books. Also check-out Medlar Press for excellent quality writing about fishing.

Great Idea!

I love the baby bugg

I love the baby bugger I find that the yellow and white baby bugger in size 16&20 work best in fall.

Comment to #78-2013 - Black Nosed Dace tied by Jim

Lovely work guys, I really enjoyed these beauties!

Awesome information

This is an awesome informative on different striking methods. The one question I'd have is in the "What I don't do" segment. Im having a hard time visualizing what you mean when you say " the rod...at steep angles like 60-90 degrees to the fish or even backwards" and also "Pull the straight line with the rod low and pointed towards the fish, ...and at 20-30 degrees.." is there anything that could be added to that to help clarify? I really appreciate the help