An excellent technique for tying uniform and transparent bodies on Zonkers. Please remember to subscribe to the feather benders You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYb8DCVlYijoCYgvx_v2EuQ Advertisements Continue reading Melt Glue Zonker
My Shove, Shave, Singe and Sand technique for the tightest deer hair bodies. Probably the most frequent question I am asked at shows and demos is how do I get my small deer hair bodies so tight. Well heres my secret in full step by step tuition. This is one of my very early patterns the deer hair pupa that was inspired by a meeting with the late Gary LaFontaine many years ago and his own deep sparkle pupa pattern. The first requirement for tight bodies is the correct deer hair. Although I acquire most of my own … Continue reading Shove,Shave,Singe and Sand Technique
This simple tie is without doubt my most productive sea trout pattern! Please remember to subscribe to the feather benders You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYb8DCVlYijoCYgvx_v2EuQ Continue reading Proppen
The Royal Wulff As the name says, the man behind the famous series of patterns was Lee Wulff and the most famous of all is the Wulff that is Royal! The fattest pattern of the Wulff family is just as good fished as a searching pattern as it is as a adult may fly. It just presses all the right buttons, It floats high, its visible even at a great distance in rough water and looks like a mouthful of whatever trout are eating. Although a great pattern, I hardly ever see people tying it! Why is that? It’s a … Continue reading The royal member of the Wulff pack
Giving em the Needle One of the late autumns highlights is great hatches of needle flies Leuctra, especially here on the big grayling rivers of mid Norway. Although the hatches begin as early as June and run until November the climax is in august- september. These small stoneflies can be difficult to see on the best of days, especially amongst the autumns fall of floating foliage, and remember they crawl onto land to hatch, so you will always find more on the bank, than on the water. Because they hatch and mate on land its the females that are of … Continue reading Tying the willow fly
Large dark olive The large dark olive (Baetis rhodani) are probably the most widespread of all the European may flies, being Multivoltine, where water temperature allows, having two or more generation cycles per year, makes it even more important to the trout and fly fishermen alike! When designing fishing flies its not the very small details that count, although aesthetically pleasing to the fly tyer, and an important part of our craft! its a combination of several that will be the deciding factor for the fish. Size, colour, silhouette, footprint, behavior. One of the earliest hatches here in Norway that … Continue reading Large dark olive trio
Hook: Mustad R 74 # 2 Thread: Dyneema Tail: Siberian squirrel tail hair Body : Squirrel tron dark hares ear dubbing Rib: Fine copper wire Wing: Pine squirrel zonker strip Collar: Natural red fox body hair spun in dubbing loop Gill covers: 2 Ring neck pheasant “church window” feathers coated with Bug Bond Head: Natural kangaroo body hair spun in dubbing loop and clipped to shape Eyes : Epoxy eyes The original zonker pattern was tied by the American fly tyer Dan Byford in the 1970s and was quickly recognized the world over, as a big fish fly and extremely … Continue reading Cottus Gobio
The Midas nymph is my rendition on a more common pattern called the copper John, which uses copper wire instead of gold oval tinsel amongst other things. The interesting thing about the copper John, according to Bruce Olsen sales manager for Umpqua Feather Merchants, The worlds largest manufacturer of commercially tied flies, the copper John is the best selling trout fly in the world. “We sell them by the tens of thousands” Bruce says, and thats just the original copper version. When you add in all the colour variant of that pattern, the numbers get to be absolutely staggering.” … Continue reading The Midas touch, confessions of a nymph-omaniac.
Hook Mustad S74SZ # 2/0-4/0 Thread Dyneema Body E-Z Body XL filled with 3-5 beads Under wing White buck tail Wing Chartreuse and white Icelandic sheep Over wing Lime green Big fish fiber Sides Grizzle cock hackles coloured yellow Eyes Large mobile eyes and bug bond or epoxy I developed the Heltor skeltor to maximize all the attractor elements possible in one fly. The Icelandic sheep and big fly fiber are extremely mobile in water, but their effect is enhanced by the weight of the brass beads that roll back and forth in the body tube giving not only a … Continue reading Helter Skelter Pike Fly jig.
One of the great classic American streamers, developed by the well know fly tier Bill Edson in 1929. The Edson Tiger dark & light where influenced by a streamer called “Dick´s Killer” that Edson received from fellow fly tier Dick … Continue reading Edson Tiger