Monthly Archives: September 2014

September 30, 2014 · 7:00 am

Daylight Foldi Lamp review – Alan Bithell

Enlightenment for the Travelling Tier.

Good lighting is vital for fly tying. Lamps balanced to daylight colour temperatures have been around for some years, They make the best, most comfortable, lights to tie under, reduced eye strain and true colour perception (if that is possible) are the main advantages. For about the last 8 years I have been using an Daylight as my light source for tying. I can say that it has been the best light I have used, and I had many different ones over the years.

As a bench light it has been perfect, lots of light and not in my way, what more can you ask? Well there is more, I don’t only tie at home. The light does fold up quite neatly, which is good if space and weight are not an issue. Also the lamp is mains power only, again no problem at home, a different story on the road.

Last month the bulb in my lamp gave up the ghost. This is only to be expected, and as this is the second new bulb in 8 years I’ve no complaints about the longevity of them. Replacements, though, are a little difficult to track down, and at 1/3rd the cost of the original lamp, quite expensive. I am also concerned that in the future these older bulbs may become unavailable.

With all this in mind I thought it a good idea to find a lamp I can use as a back up at home and for tying when away from home. What I wanted was something easy to carry, with a choice of power sources. Today my new Daylight Foldi LED Lamp arrived. Excellent service as I only ordered it the previous morning.

Being an LED lamp it gets around the blown bulb problem. It is also much more compact than my other light. Surprisingly it is also brighter than my desk light. For power it uses 3 AA size batteries, which, they claim, last 8 hours; a good tying session by anyone’s measure. I’m sure there will be some fade off towards the end of this period. In addition to the batteries it comes with a USB power cord. There is also a mains adapter available as an optional extra. Those three options give me the ability to use it just about anywhere. With a folded size of 23.3cm X 7.5cm X 3.3cm and weighing in at just 1 lb it will travel very easily. The light comes with a draw chord sock to store and transport it in.

The light operates with a courtesy light switch, a bit like your refrigerator door. When the light is opened it comes on, to turn it off just push the head down. The folding foot can be left down when the head is pushed down so you can turn the light off when taking a break during your tying session.

A friend pointed out that the light is not very high, However as the adjustable head will go above the horizontal almost to the vertical it is possible to raise the head without the LEDs being in your eye line, meaning you can move the light well away from your vice.

One great use I put both my lights to is the simplest form of light box I have ever seen. Simply tape the ends of a piece of paper or card together into a large tube, and slide it over the head of the light. Pop your flies inside the tube for photographing. I’ve been using this method for a couple of years with my bench light. However you must, for safety’s sake, remember to turn it off, as the lamp gets hot. My new LED lamp doesn’t get hot. It may get more use as a light box next to my bench than anything else.

My new light came from craftlamps.co.uk Cost £39.99 post free and was delivered within 24 hours of ordering it. Exceptional service as, living in the Highlands of Scotland, delivery can take a day or three longer than usual. Craft Lamps also have the optional mains adapter, £19:99. If you are looking for a new tying lamp, especially one you can use when travelling, I can not recommend this one highly enough.

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The lamp in its carrying case.

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Folded up, compact enough to take anywhere.

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Simply unfold for lots of light.

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Daylight balanced to reduce eye strain.

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30 LEDs for plenty of light.

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3 batteries for 8 hours of light.

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The USB cable. Power it from your laptop.

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Using a paper tube as a light box with the lamp.

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The “light box” working well.

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Filed under Product Review

September 29, 2014 · 7:00 am

Master Splinter Mouse Fly

This video is from Field & Stream and I like the way it was presented, plus I like the fact that he included fishing tips along with how to tie the fly. Oh and yes, maybe I have a soft spot for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This is a pretty cool video, check it out!

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Filed under Trout flies

September 27, 2014 · 7:00 am

Psycho Prince Nymph

The Psycho Prince Nymph is a Mike Mercer fly pattern and in this fly tying video, Tony Torrence shows us how to tie the pattern. This pattern is commonly tied in Red, Orange, and Purple with Hareline Ice Dub. This exciting pattern is worthy of adding to your arsenal! Listen to Tony, he knows his stuff!

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Filed under nymphs

September 26, 2014 · 7:00 am

Semi Realistic Caddis Pupa – Alan Bithell

It is a very worthwhile when you are on a river to turn over a few stones and see what is crawling around under there. Pete, at the Fly Fishing Shop, in Bakewell, carries a small aquarium net with which to catch insects that drift past. You can also purchase a seine net to fit the frame of your snowshoe landing net. Pete commented that these must be the most expensive pieces of equipment ever, judging by the very few anglers that carry them. Finding out what is going on in the water is a great clue to catching fish.

There is now another kind of stone turning exercise that we can do from our living room or office. Simply type the name of the insect into Google and hit “Images”. You will find a wealth of information in seconds. That was where I started with this caddis pupa.

Just having a photo of what you want to imitate is a good start, but you need much more. You need an inquisitive approach to your fly tying. Have you ever asked why a particular material is used? I have been asked, “How do you use such and such material” frequently, far less often have I been asked, “Why do you use that material?”

When you understand what properties materials have you will know when and how to use them in creating a new pattern. That is what makes me hesitant in offering step by step instructions for my fly patterns. If you follow the instructions you will end up with the fly, but will you have learned anything about fly tying? I hope you will take more from my tying instructions here than just how to tie this fly. A friend saw this fly and used the translucent body with colour under it to create a corixa pattern. I hope that is the kind of thing you will do with my offering.

Regards,
A.

http://www.crackaigflies.co.uk

This pupa is tied on a Kamasan B100 size 12, though you can use whatever hook you like.

Also you will need:

Fl. Fire Orange UTC 70. Or similar bright orange thread.
A strip of translucent Nymph Skin (narrow, 3mm)
Green metallic tinsel, holographic or standard.
Fine strong thread, such as GSP.
Two partridge outer wing covert feathers. Or any nicely marked feather.
A strip of Flexi Body
Golden pheasant tail fibres
Cream / tan dubbing
A brown permanent marker pen.

: Put your hook in the vice, start your thread. I usually start the thread where the body and thorax will meet. It gives me an “aim point” for finishing the body.Take your strip of Translucent Nymph Skin, cut across the end at a shallow angle about 20° to make a point. This is the way Nymph Skin is always prepared for tying in when it is to be wound.

: Catch in the point you made on the Nymph Skin with a couple of turns of thread.

: Advance the thread about 1/3rd of the way back toward the start point and catch in some Green Tinsel. Using the same technique as the Nymph Skin. Continue the thread to the start point.

: Wind the tinsel to where the thread is hanging. It doesn’t have to be as neat as you would do it for a tinsel body (hence the single layer). You are just creating blocks of colour that will show through the body.

: Wind the Nymph Skin over the body. Adjust the tension as you wind to create a body shape you are happy with. Don’t be afraid to undo it and rewind it until you are happy with the body shape. Tie it off with a couple of tight turns.

: Trim out the excess Nymph Skin, close to, but not at the point you have tied it down. If you ping the hook at this point you will loose your Nymph Skin, so you may like to put in a half hitch to stop this.Change threads to your fine GSP thread or similar. It is helpful to be able to put more pressure on your turns from now on than you can with UTC 70.

: Take a couple of well marked feathers from a game bird. I’ve used partridge outer wing coverts only because these are feathers that are left over when all the usual feathers are used from a skin. You can use whatever you have on hand. If the feathers you have are light in colour you can colour them with your brown marker pen.

: Prepare your feathers as shown. I usually match them up and treat the two as one for this stage, so I know they are the same.

: Separate the feathers and tie them in with a couple of bobbin weight turns at the point where you split the feather. Do this and the next step with one on one side then add the other on the other side.

: Lift your bobbin, to reduce the tension on the thread wraps, then draw the feather through the loops of thread to create the wing buds.

: Once you have both in place, and they are even in length, take a couple more wraps of thread over the tie in point and pull tight.

: Trim out the tips and butts of the feathers.

: The thorax cover is Flexi Body. The best (most economical) way to prepare Flexi Body is to cut strips lengthways along the piece, with a craft knife and steel rule. Only cut through the Flexi Body, not the backing card. If, like me, you use a lot of Flexi Body you can prepare whole pieces this way and write the size of the strip on the back of the card.(Please don’t use a scalpel for this. The blades are too flexible, they will wander as you cut. Not only is this dangerous to your fingers, but it spoils your Flexi Body as well).

: Tie in your strip of Flexi Body with the centre of the strip on top of the hook shank. Hold it in place and take one loose loop over the strip, then pull tight. This wraps the strip around the hook, stopping it puckering.

: Tear four fibres from a golden pheasant tail so that it creates a tag of stem material on the end of the fibres. Tie in the first pair at the same point you tied in the Flexi Body. They should angle out and down, with the tag curving back under the hook.

: Take a pinch of your dubbing. Mine is a mix of light hare’s mask and cream CdC. You can use whatever you have in appropriate cream / tan colour.Make a dubbing noodle and wind over half the thorax.

: Tie in the second pair of legs just as you did the first pair.When you trim out the excess fibres save them. They will form the antennae.

: Apply more dubbing to complete the thorax.

: Pull the Flexi body strip over the thorax. Put quite a lot of tension on it to shape it to the thorax. Tie it off with several tight turns.To trim the strip out pull the loose end and nick the near edge of the strip with your scissors. The strip will tear across.

: Tie in the two golden pheasant tail fibres you saved from the legs. Trim them to length.

: Run the nib of your brown marker pen down your thread.

: Whip finish and trim out the thread. The section of thread you coloured with your marker in the last step will form the head.

: Mark the back of the abdomen and the thorax with a brown marker pen.Coat the head with Diamond Hard UV resin. Fold the antennae back and zap it with your UV light.

: Job done.The intention with this fly is to create a fly that looks as if it will pop if you squeeze it. Nymph Skin is ideal for this application. The natural is not green on the outside but green showing through from the inside, with a pinkish tan coloured outer. My inspiration for this fly was a photo of an apple caddis pupa.Hope you enjoy giving this a go. Lots of the skills and techniques are easily transferred to other patterns. Already a friend is using the abdomen to create corixa patterns.

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Filed under nymphs, Step by Step

September 25, 2014 · 7:00 am

October Caddis Soft Hackle

Tightline Productions shows you how to tie an October Caddis Soft Hackle.

2 Comments

Filed under Trout flies

September 24, 2014 · 7:00 am

This is Fly – August-September 2014

Check out the latest issue of This is Fly fly fishing ezine.

cover

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Filed under emagazine

September 23, 2014 · 7:00 am

Pheasant Tail Nymph – Brian Flechsig

There have been several readers that have said they want more fly tying videos that do a better job of explaining each step in the process of tying a fly. Brian Flechsig of Mad River Outfitters does an excellent job of accomplishing this in his videos. In this one, Brian ties the famous Pheasant Tail Nymph. Watch, listen, and enjoy!

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Filed under nymphs, Trout flies

September 22, 2014 · 7:00 am

Andreas Andersson’s “Articulated Wolftrap”

I’m a 32 year old Swede with a serious addiction to flyfishing and flytying. It’s not unusual to find me on the water a couple times a week and at the vise just about every night. First flies left the vise about twenty years ago…nowadays my speciality is deerhair bugs, streamers and big predator stuff, even though I’m no stranger to dryflies and nymphs after doing those type of flies for a long time. I just think there’s something very fun in fishing for predatory fish, so that’s my main focus. I’ll fish for just about anything with a flyrod, fresh or salt, but my favorite species close to home is northern pike and brown trout. I have been tying flies professionally for a while now and also demonstrate my tying at shows and fairs across Europe. I also write some articles every now and then for some Swedish flyfishing magazines. Well that’s a little something about me.
-Andreas Andersson

This is a fly I have been tinkering with for quite some time, fishing it and making small changes every now and then…but now I feel it has the qualities I’m looking for. That being a big profile fly with very low weight when wet and the added predator attraction of articulation and a rattle bringing some noise.

The inspiration for the fly comes from two very different directions. One being the type of flies I have seen american flyfishermen using in the salt for fish like stripers. The other being a great looking pikefly like my buddy’s Ulf Hagström fly called the “Triple Treat”.
I believe the finished fly might work well for both mentioned species and many more just by varying the size and colors of the fly. It already has plenty of pike on its concious.

Materials used:
Hook- Partridge of Redditch Attitude Streamer 4/0
Shank- Partridge of Redditch Intruder Shank 35mm
Thread- UTC Ultra Thread 210
Tail/Body- Deercreek Gliss n Glint (can probably be substituted with some kind of EP fibers)
Flash- Long holographic flash
Pyrex Fly rattle Large
Bucktail
Craftfur
Eyes
Deercreek Diamond Hard UV-resin

: Start the thread just in front of the hook point and make touching turns a little bit down the bend.

: Take a rather sparse clump clump of gliss n glint fibers and taper it with your fingers before tying it in from back to front. The tie in point should be at about 40/60 back to front.

: Fold back and tie down,whipfinish and glue.

: Put a drop of uv-resin at the base of the fibers and hit it with your uv light. That little drop may seem insignificant but it will help a lot with keeping the tail from fouling around the hook.

: Restart the thread at the hook eye and wrap back a little bit.

: Take another clump of fibers and taper them to. Tie them in at the middle of the clump, fold and tie dowthem

: Take a small clump of darker fibers and cut it in half. Taper and tie in at the middle.

: Tie in 8-10 strands of tapered holographic flash.

: Repeat step 7 on the bottom of the hook.

: Fold it all back and comb with a regular plastic comb. This helps blending the fibers nicely. Make a small cone of tying thread pushing the materials back. Whipfinish and glue.

: Hook the shank into the eye of the hook. This is way easier to do with the hook still in the vise.

: Close the shank and make a threadbase halfway up the shank.

: Tie in a pyrex glass rattle at the bottom of the shank and glue.

: Tie in a generous clump of bucktail tips forward,make sure to spread the hairs around the shank. Make sure to use hairs fron the bottom of the bucktail since these will flare easily under thread pressure.

: Trim of the excess bucktail, these will otherwise soak up water and make the fly heavier to cast.

: Use the back part of a pen to fold the hairs backwards.

: Create a cone of thread pushing the bucktail back a little bit.

: Tie in 5-10 strand of holographic flash on the top and bottom of the shank, again by folding the flash.

: Use your thumb to spread the flash 360° around the shank.

: Tie in two more sparse clumps of the darker gliss n glint fibers 40/60 back and front.

: Use your thumb again to spread the fibers evenly. Tie down and glue.

: Tie in 8-10 strands of crystal flash on top of the shank.

: Fold the flash back and tie in a clump of craftfur on the bottom tips forward. Remember to comb out the underfur first.

: Tie in another clump of darker craftfur on top. Whipfinish and glue.

: Fold the craftfur back and comb it.

: Attach eyes on the sides using a gel type superglue.

: Add a drop of uv-resin on top and bottom of the very front of the head. Cure the resin with your light while holding the fibers back. This way you get a smooth head that still has some movement built into it.