Small Fly Funk

Prayer Stick notes #2

2012-01-30T22:46:00.001Z

Selecting an ideal stripper guide for the custom build Sage TXL 363-3 has been daunting. I don't know of anywhere I can go and view the options so this has been trial and error through procurement. Even a deep Google image search is limited.

The Sage specification for the TXL is a 6mm light gauge guide, chrome finish. I viewed this on Chris Hosker's 2710-3 recently, and after I'd order a dark nickel TiCH guide from Mudhole. It's a neat and tiny guide, with a subtle, smoky bronze finish. I rarely haul, and the advice from Sage when I enquired was to haul in-line with the guide. A sz6 is just a touch too small to my eyes, and too close in size to the adjacent sz2 snake guide (more later) for a balanced aesthetic. Sage have increased the stripper guide on the latest TXL-F range to 8mm, so I'm guessing they feel the same.

Having settled on an 8mm guide, the guys at Hopkins and Holloway (who supply most of the hardware for Sage's factory built rods) recommended the LNSG, the lighter model of the NSG guide. The matt, gunsmoke finish on this guide is subdued, and would have been a perfect match for the Prayer Stick.

Trevor Bourne, who runs the Rod Builder forum first suggested an agate stripper guide last Summer, when I first aquired the blank and was just working this all out. I was premature in overlooking this idea at the time, with concerns of an overtly traditional look. Fine on cane, but on Sage's Generation 5 graphite? I looked at Mildrum and Struble, and the black nickel + midnight lace insert from Struble was just irresistable. These are handmade, beautifully crafted components - and this is reflected in the price. Some may question the mass loading of such heavy duty hardware on a build that focuses so closely on stark minimalism. At this position on the rod the effect on balance is negligable, especially when the grip design shaves grams off the weight.

It's taken an age to arrive here, and the build has yet to start. The finished rod may yet see stream time during the 2012 season. If not, I'll ensure it's finished during the close season.

Just to build on the anticipation...

Blood Knot

2012-01-30T20:13:00.003Z

The second annual Blogger Issue is now live. The FF blogosphere is exploding by the day, we round-up the best of what's new to our eyes since last year. And you can now download as a PDF to revisit offline.

Eat Sleep Fish

2012-01-30T19:59:00.000Z

Pete Tyjas and the Eat Sleep Fish crew are back with Issue #2 of this new UK e-zine...

Jim Williams' Bow and Arrow Cast tutorial is brilliant, one to print and re-read 'til you crack it.

Check

#20 anchor fly

2012-01-22T14:36:00.004Z

I've just about worked out a small fly approach to long leader nymphing on tiny streams. This is the anchor fly, above which I'll be drifting a range of #24 nymphs and spider/soft-hackle style patterns. No need for a 10' light line rod when I can add more than 3' to my 7' two weight with an outstretched arm. And the shorter length is useful on the narrowest pockets of water.

Hook: Varivas 2200BL #20
Body: 1.5mm head, 2.5mm thorax, 2mm + 2No. 1.5mm abdomen (all metallic finish from Joel at Tungsten Beads). Treated with a thick coat of UV active nail polish. This provides a subtle blue halo effect.

The leader design has the standard French leader profile, scaled down to a 0.08mm tip. I'll report in greater detail during March following more on stream practice.

Matt Grobert

2012-01-05T20:52:00.000Z

Not sure if you've been tracking Matt's tying tutorials at Caddis Chronicles but these are special. Capturing detail when filming small fly tying is not easy, these Tightline Productions videos show the thread flattening as Matt wraps - inspired.

There's regular updates HERE, 58No. videos to date and counting. Here's a selection of Matt working small.

Al's Rat from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.

Zebra Midge from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.

WD-40 Fly from Tightline Productions on Vimeo.

Brook Dun #24

2011-12-30T15:50:00.000Z

Hook: TMC 101 #24

Thread: Gudebrod 10/0, yellow

Tails: Coq de Lion, 5No barbs

Abdomen: Stripped peacock herl, tan

Thorax: Mole

Wing: Medallion sheeting, brown

Hackle: Whiting Bronze grade midge saddle, brown

Cluster Shuck #28

2011-12-22T20:14:00.000Z

Hook: Mustad 94840 #28
Thead: Sheer 14/0, claret
Wing: Niche Midge-wing
Thorax: Hares mask, some underfur

There's a handful of these heading West for the annual Sno-fly swap over on smallstreams.

Blood Aphid #28

2011-12-18T21:43:00.001Z

Hook: Mustad 94840 #28
Thread: Sheer 14/0 claret
Abdomen: Stripped peacock quill, olive
Wing: Clear Wing
Thorax: Rabbit cheek, clear Fly-rite Antron
Legs: Grizzly neck, golden olive

Cut don't kill

2011-11-19T11:36:00.000Z

Please watch and listen very closely to this short video, directed by Charlotte Webster. Like thousands of others, I have spent years working crazy hours for a modest salary towards the prize of energy democracy in the UK. Whilst progressive governments across the globe have started the low carbon transition, the UK government remains impotent and cynical with it's business-as-usual roadmap to ruin.

For more information please visit the OUR SOLAR FUTURE campaign website, simply click on the post title.

And from me, a huge and very persoanl THANK YOU to Charlotte, Gavin and Charmaine (and the whole SC crew) - I miss you guys. See you at Tuesday's rally...

Mike Kimball's Diptera emerger #26

2011-11-15T22:46:00.000Z

This was filmed during BFFI 2010. Clunky editing aside (mine, not Sky's...) this went out last Friday...

Mike Kimball's diptera emerger from Andy Baird on Vimeo.

Sulphur and fry

2011-11-05T21:02:00.000Z

Fish a short line...

2011-11-03T21:22:00.001Z

... at close range. With little or no line to pick up you can play all trout straight off the click check. Makes for a neat work area after netting. No need for a wide arbour with limited line to manage.

prayer stick notes #1

Hardy Flyweight, 1980

Rolf Nylinder

2011-10-12T21:45:00.000+01:00

Click on the post title and explore Front Side Fly.

Dry or die.

Third wave....

Do not miss out....

2011-09-08T13:46:00.002+01:00

Click on the post title to find out more.... I've ordered from Eric in the past, his service is impeccable and pricing is, well you do the math!

Here's my hot links:

Spotting trout

2011-09-05T19:52:00.000+01:00

Tom Sutcliffe out in SA has put together an incredible series of articles on spotting trout. Click the post title for the links to all nine parts. The photography is staggering and the tutorials are massively insightful.
For too long I've overlooked developing this skill. Even on my local, peat stained streams there are trout to spot in the right conditions. You'll develop a keener sense of self-discipline and awareness on stream as you learn to spot trout.

Thanks for the articles Tom. Alongside Vince Marinaro's rise-form studies, this is impeccable material for serious fly fishers.

The E-ZINE ISSUE

2011-09-01T19:32:00.003+01:00

This has NEVER been done before... Blood Knot has distilled the finest on-line magazines in to our latest on-line magazine. Please read Matt's from the editor opener for insight.

This is also post #100 on Small Fly Funk so thanks and best wishes to the myriad folk and forces that have inspired and shared along the way.

Third wave....

Andy

Just in case....

2011-08-30T21:49:00.000+01:00

... you missed this.

The Graphite Samurai also posted this neat short at home with John Gierach. Gotta hope there's more to come... feeling those beats.

JG does NOT read blogs... why would he?

LUNCH BREAK - small stream shorts

2011-08-29T12:36:00.000+01:00

These short films have topped my bookmark list for a while.

Flere highlights fra en fin vår, 2010 from AndreBrun on Vimeo.

Small stream fly fishing from rummutt on Vimeo.

Fly Fishing Film Tour Short: John Gierach

2011-08-29T11:43:00.003+01:00

We don't get to see moving pictures of John Gierach too often, it's always a treat when we do....
Matt Schliske is featured in this short, put out by the Graphite Samurai. Follow the post title link to Moldy Chum for more.

#32 Baetis dun

2011-08-28T15:47:00.000+01:00

Hook: TMC 518 #32
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan
Tails: Whisper Thin tails
Hackle: Whiting Bronze grade midge saddle
Wing: Bett's Zing-wing
Thorax: mole, dubbed lightly and spiky

#28 midge pupa

2011-08-28T15:02:00.001+01:00

Hook: Mustad C49S #28

Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan

Abdomen: fine peccary bristle
Flash: Gútermann SULKY
Wing buds: Stripped peacock herl, tan

Heal yourself and move...

2011-08-20T20:21:00.000+01:00

One of the reasons I run this blog is to organise a range of third party content I can track, update and revisit whilst away from home (which is Mon through Fri every week...). Short rods, light lines and small flies is a big part of that library. The sum of music, art, literature and culture are a much greater part of what interests me. So I'll be broadening the content horizon going forward - not least as my influences all interface and share some common ground.

I discussed my philosophy of approach to tying and fishing at this years BFFI forum, and linked this directly with the Detroit producer Theo Parrish. Here's the interview I cited:

Scion A/V Presents: Theo Parrish Interview from Scion A/V on Vimeo.

The only time I've seen Theo play live was at the Notting Hill Carnival in August 1998, at a low-key party organised by Ranx of X313 Productions. Ranx organised the kind of parties folk dreamed about, bringing artists over from the states who we'd never otherwise get to hear live. These parties pre-dated social media and word of mouth was key, with a little help from Colin Dale's Abstrakt Dance show on Kiss FM (who featured time with Theo, and an electrifying studio mix the Thursday before the party - still have that mix recorded to cassette tape - still listen to it, LOTS). I'd heard the track "Heal Yourself & Move" the week before and managed to pick up a ticket for the Three Chairs party (Kenny Dixon Jr and Rick Wilhite also played, open air in the arches below the Notting Hill train line). It was an unforgetable night of pure, analogue rhythms and dancing - of grooves in acetate and vinyl transmitting the vintage future.

Regarding that track... the link provides only a hint of what Theo's about, you have to hear his work on a system with a high quality vinyl source, pitched down to -2.

I may lose a few of you along the way as I reach out, but I'm looking forward to this.

Andy

#28 Baetis dun

2011-08-13T19:37:00.001+01:00

Hook: TMC 100 #28
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan
Tails: Whisper Thin tailing, light dun, split
Abdomen: Stripped peacock quill, dyed olive
Wing: Betts Zing-wing
Hackle: Whiting midge saddle, brown
Thorax: Mole hair with a pinch of pine squirrel cheek....

HMH Vises

2011-08-06T13:26:00.001+01:00

I've long been a champion of the simple, robust engineering of the HMH Spartan vise - a design philosophy that underpins the full range of vises and accessories. They have a serious following in the states:

John Gierach, Colorado
"A few years ago I bought a used HMH, just because I always wanted one, and now I use that for most of my tying." (from "Good Flies")

Shane Stalcup, Denver, CO
Production Fly Tier
"My original HMH vise is still going strong after nearly 100,000 dozen flies. The craftsmanship, ease of use, and dependability easily make the HMH the hands down best investment I've ever made in my fly tying career."

Dick Talleur, Manchester, NH
Author, Instructor and production fly tier
"HMH has been my choice of vise for more than 20 years, and continues to be. It's the ideal combimation of functionality, quality and value."

Fly-Fisherman Magazine, February 2002
"BEST $100-$200 VISE" "This traditional-design vise is one of the real deals in contemporary vises"

Fly Rod and Reel, March 2002
"HMH Spartan-Just the item if you're a trout fly tier seeking high-end performance at a midrange cost; you perfer simple, functional equipment; quality and value."

HMH will be launching their new advertising campaign in the states shortly. I've been working with Craig Uecker of HMH to promote the micro jaw, which covers 80% of my tying. We hope to develop further projects in the months ahead.

Limp Cobra

2011-08-04T00:22:00.000+01:00

Marc Fauvet and I have been dear freinds since we first met in France several years back. We try to hook up once a year, he's done all the running the last two. Guess I should head out to Sweden next year and see how Swedish trout dig small flies.

Check out Marc's site by clicking the post title above, then learn the Limp Cobra... I'll let Marc explain the what, the how....

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Marc. Take it easy man.... ALWAYS check your back cast.

West coast style

2011-08-02T20:12:00.002+01:00

We headed to Easkey on the West coast of Ireland in July. There are hill loughs everywhere with shallow margins.

The standard approach is 9-10' rods and heavier lines, say 6+ to achieve distance. It raised eyebrows when I wandered the banks with a 6' 6" three weight and #24 footprint dun. When the breeze dropped and the surface calmed you could see gentle rises from trout out of casting range. It was impossible to know the size of fish rising - these are wild, land-locked trout and fishing pressure is low.

Aside from the static water, the shallow margins looked pretty much like the local streams at home on the North coast and you could just sense wild trout. Without wading you could adopt a systematic, search of the water starting just 10' from the shore and working across an arc, then at 12' and so on. It didn't take long to find wild trout in the clear, shallow water.

High water and high wind keeps me off stream. It's a consequence of a rigid, short rod - light line - small fly approach. I do wonder if I'm missing out on something at times with such a narrow tool bag, but I have a style and it's all I know. That said, this just may be a style with far wider applications than I'd realised. I asked around on the way back to the land rover and no one else was catching on Lough Easkey that afternoon. The experience opened my mind and reinforced confidence in my philosophy of approach.

#26 footprint dun SBS

2011-07-19T07:04:00.000+01:00

Shocking UK weather aside...

Mid summer is typically #26 - #28 season here. Low water, higher temperatures and well fed trout usually make for more technical fishing conditions and small flies excell. You can cruise the riffle and busier water with this pattern. It's sweet spot is smoother water where trout can get a long hard look at the footprint. Partnered with 7X tippet, this design takes some of my best trout every year albeit the addition of a wing at this scale is a new twist.

Hook: TMC 101 #26
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan
Tailing: Whisper Tails
Abdomen: Striped peacock quill, olive
Thorax: Natural mole + pine squirrel guard hairs
Wing: Bett's Zing Wing
Hackle: Whiting Bronze grade midge saddle

The first steps are a familiar drill... split tails, catch in a stripped peacock quill, checking that the darker edge faces to the rear.

Things can get crowded at this scale when you add wing + thorax + hackle. Wind forward and tie off the quill at the mid-point between point and eye.

Tie in the hackle. Medium and light dun aid visibility on stream. Sized to 2x the gap makes for a stable fly with a natural footprint. Secure a strip of zing-wing with a single figure-eight wrap at the thorax midpoint.

Post the wing with single, TIGHT wraps in front and then behind the base. Aim to pinch the base tight and flatten the wing between thumb and forefinger.

Lightly and evenly dub mole fur to thread. Avoid locking the super-fine pine squirrel guard hairs in the rope.

Dub a neat, even thorax ending at the eye. Make a single wrap of bare thread and sweep the eye clear of dubbing.

Wrap the hackle forward in tight turns, two behind and two in front, locking the wing upright with the hackle stem.

Tie off the hackle and trim. Add permanent larker to the thread and tie off with a three turn whip finish. Aim to catch in a couple of hakle barbs either side of the eye to imitate fore legs.

Trim the undercarriage hackle in either a V, or flat for an even lower riding drift. AK Best describes his CSH in chapter 10 of Advanced Fly Tying. The Cream Soft Hackle uses a hen feather rather than stiff, genetic cock hackle. AK explains that the hen feather readily accepts floatant, the webby hackle has a larger surface area, and the supple barbs impart movement. The CSH is one of his delicate flies for skinny water.

BFFI 2011

2011-06-25T16:46:00.000+01:00

Just back from two full weeks away with work and this years BFFI. Father's Day last Sunday may have kept some folk away making for a quiet final day. The fair remains one of the biggest events in the European fly tying calendar. Next week is the Irish International Fly Fair, a smaller more initimate gig.

The BFFI provided an ideal opportunity to develop the spent spinner design with a Bett's Zing Wing sample (cheers Glenn- a real treat meeting up with you at the Lough's Agency Fair last month).

Hook: TMC 2488 #30
Tails: Whisper Tails, light dun, lightly curled between thumb nail and index finger
Abdomen & thorax: Gudebrod 10/0 thread, light yellow and permanent marker for rib and thorax
Wing: Bett's Zing-wing

And I enjoyed presenting the Small Fly Funk programme to a small group at the Fly Tying Forum. The handful of screen grabs below give a flavour of the talk.

Gotta fly... off out with Nic to see Fleet Foxes play in Belfast this evening, with support from Villagers.

The story so far...

2011-06-01T20:13:00.001+01:00

OK... so I'm back from recess prematurely. I kinda knew this might happen....

There's a whole range of projects going on in the background and I wanted to share this one. If you click on the post title above you can view a short photo book I've put together. I found my small fly groove a couple of years back, the book's a short progress report on where I'm at.

There's a hard copy to take along to BFFI and the IIFF this summer for folk to browse, which I may donate to one of the charity raffles that these events support.

Please do not waste your hard earned on a copy (there is a price and ordering facility on the linked page). Straight up, it's free to view on-line and the image quality doesn't justify the price tag. Besides, pixels are generally more carbon efficient than high gloss 230gsm paper and spiral binding.

Future projects may justify a more committed sales pitch, and the investment.... not this time.

The blog just hit 100 followers. Not bad for a niche subject with limited, freak show appeal :) So, to each and every one of you... THANKS for the interest and support.

And I hope you've enjoyed the story so far...

Andy

The Bones...

2011-05-08T00:55:00.000+01:00

This is the last post on Small Fly Funk for the next three months or so. The fly fair season will get underway with the Loughs Agency Fair later this month (looking forward to meeting and interviewing Glenn Weisner of Glenn River Fly Co), followed by the BFFI in June and Irish International Fly Fair the following month. Much of my writing energy is now focused on Blood Knot - please check out our Blue Collar issue and watch out for June's Throwback issue. There's an ambitious new project planned for the Summer with a cool film maker from Belfast. And the day job... de-carbonising the UK grid, one roof at a time. On all fronts, I've never been busier.

And I need to make sure there's time for family and some fishing.

So I'll sign off for the summer with a short video. The low water conditions continue in the absence of rain, just perfect for small fly fishing. This is my comfort zone. The bones of my home waters are exposed at the fringes, and fly are concentrated in the diminished water course. So I headed out last Monday, a Bank Holiday in the UK. There was an intermittent, gusty breeze and temperatures of 26deg Celsius. I know this water well, it's a 10 minute cylce ride from home. And I know exactly where the trout hang out. Wet wading places you in the soul of the stream in warm weather, and provides relief from the multiple nettle stings suffered en route to the stream. Man, I got whacked on the way down... my legs were fizzing for hours.

The Bones.... from Andy Baird on Vimeo.

Warner Bros may yet sue my ass for unauthorised use of "Blue", the final track on REM's new album Collapse Into Now. Hope not...

Have a great summer, see you on the other side.

Out...

MORE short rods, light lines and #32's...

2011-05-01T22:04:00.001+01:00

OK, I had to work this pool for another 15 minutes, but you can see the strike this time...

MORE short rods, light lines and #32's... from Andy Baird on Vimeo.

Short rods, light lines and #32's....

2011-04-28T23:07:00.001+01:00

There hasn't been any real rainfall for weeks, water levels are seriously low.... so opportunities to fish #32's have arrived early this year.

The trout was tiny, but it hit first cast....

Short rods, light lines and #32's... from Andy Baird on Vimeo.

There's a more ambitious film project planned for this summer, if I can pull things together.... watch this space.

#22 midge pupa SBS

2011-04-16T20:31:00.001+01:00

The first anniversary of Ed Koch's death is this July. I'll spend the month "Fishing the Midge" in his honour. The pupa design below has featured on SFF previously and the SBS owes much to Rick Takahashi's Bowtie Buzzer.

Hook: TMC 200R (Daiichi 1270 has a big-eye which makes the last steps a little easier to control)
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0
Abdomen: Stripped peacock quill
Wing-buds: Goose biots, tan
Flash: Uni pearl mylar, #16

Take thread down the shank level with the barb, pinched of course. You can see how fine the Trico thread is, ideal for tying small.

Catch in a stripped peacock quill (pre-treated with Dilly Wax to soften). Ensure the darker barring is visible as you wrap forward, to provide natural segmentation.

At the point of tie-in the stripped quill is super-FINE and easily snapped. Make the first wrap by hand and hold in place with your finger tip. Grab the tip with hackle pliers to control forward wraps.

Aim for a neat, uniform finish. Nature is full of mutation and odd-ball characteristics but segmentation on pupa is highly uniform... usually.

Select two tiny goose biots and catch in either side of the hook at just short of the midway between the hook point and the eye. This will make for an attractive proportion when the head is formed.

Add a length of pearl mylar on top, dead-centre. Bind the biots and mylar down hard with 2-3 turns of thread.

Form a neat head with multiple turns of thread. You'll need to work the Trico thread to build bulk, then add permanent marker to colour up.

Draw the mylar forward dead-centre and tie down with a single wrap of thread. I don't want to exaggerate the flash so...

... the biots are drawn forward and tied down next, just one turn of thread per biot will hold everything in place.

Colour the thread with permanent marker and cord-up to add bite and strength, then bind everything again HARD with 2-3 turns of thread.

Trim tag-ends with a sharp razor-blade. Nick-in just ahead of the thread, towards the eye, and slice back and forth with minimal pressure until the materials are released. Then whip-finish over the tag-ends to tidy things up and provide a blunt finish to the head. The slim abdomen and bulbed head is all part of the game. The abdomen should be a little slimmer than the natural, the head a little fatter. These subtle contrasts with the natural provide trigger appeal.

Several coats of Hard As Nails finish the fly and smooth the interface between the abdomen and head. This design is bomb-proof. The gloss cuts through the materials and adds natural transparency. You can see how subtle the flash is in this shot, it would be overstated if tied over the biots. The trout's eye is massively powerful, and subtlety is far more effective at triggering strikes.

Please remember Ed this July.

#32 late-phase emerger SBS

2011-04-09T13:31:00.000+01:00

This is a simple design - and a robust, surface drifter. Tailing adds stability and a dense, palmered hackle keeps the fly up-top. Footprint is everything at this scale and this design produces a messy dimple with blood red microfibbets and the barred teal barbs providing subtle, effective triggers. It's also broadly generic and covers late-phase emergence of most flies, including Diptera despite the inclusion of tails. I'll add wings in #20 - #26 to cover duns. Match colours for local requirements, you know the drill....

It's a quick and simple tie in #32, and one of the simplest micro-flies to fish. The light dun hackle is visible up to 15' against a dark backdrop - either fading light or the heavily brushed streams I hang out on. Varivas 8X Super Midge tippet is rated 2.05lb so you should be able to fish with confidence on most small, wild streams across the UK and Ireland. Can't speak for our cousins Stateside... maybe Midgeman can chip-in?

Hook: TMC 518 #32
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0
Shuck: Teal barbs x 2
Tailing: Blood red microfibbets
Hackle: Whiting Bronze Grade midge saddle, light dun

Set your hook correctly in the jaw to minimise wear and provide an open working area. HMH have videos on their website to educate their customers on this issue. It took me four years to save for my HMH, I don't plan to buy another vise.

I like to start at the eye, and lay a bed of thread to the bend, like priming a canvas or greasing the cake tin. Catch in two teal barns with a single trun of thread.

Next, catch in two microfibbets over the teal. These are drawn between thumb nail and pad of forefinger to add some curve. And I don't line them up, make one a little shorter. Not all triggers demand flash, pop or fizz.

Catch in your hackle concave edge down, or shiny side up and bring the thread forward level with the point. Take care with every wrap, if you brush the point you'll shread 17/0 thread.

Lightly dub natural mole and a touch of Fly-rite clear antron. The antron binds the dubbing and adds a hint of flash. If you dub mole very lightly it adopts an almost spikey finish, like the heavier furs used in Czech nymphs - but in microcosm.

Form a neat profile as you dub the body. Abdomen and thorax are one and the same on this design. And keep the eye clear, the hackle has yet to be tied off.

Palmer the hackle forward just short of the eye, the stem adds subtle segmentation to the body so keep the turns tight but open.

Darken the thread with permanent marker before lashing down the hackle and whip-finishing, 2 or 3 turns is fine if you tease the finish tight. You could leave it at that but genetic hackle is stiff and the gap is crowded so I'll trim the under-side to open things up and improve the footprint.

This basic design covers maybe 90% of my fishing in sizes #20 - #32. I still fish #24 - #28 paraduns because they are so pretty, and #26 - #32 spent spinners because at last light it just feels right. But I could likely fish an entire season with this basic design. It's all I've fished so far this year, so......

The source

2011-04-03T21:39:00.000+01:00

Game One

2011-03-20T20:32:00.000Z

A new pool was found during the close season, and I visited it for the first time with a fly rod yesterday evening.

It's a classic plunge pool, water enters the head with some force creating a complex ebb and flow of movement. There's a deep channel along the right-side bank where a second mini-cascade enters the pool. Two small trout rose whilst I rigged up with a #20 late-phase emerger, especially encouraging this early in the season. I expected there to be trout here, but it's always nice to have your hunch confirmed. Fallen tress impede an open back-cast, you have to check your stroke. My casting was a little off-beat initially so I took an hour or so to build some rhythm and ease myself in to the new season. Simple, short line casts got things started: 10' of line + 7.5' leader thrown systematically covering the throat of the pool. Lifting the line clear of the surface helps counter drag, readily achievable even with a 6.5' rod whilst maintaining good line control and good contact with the fly. Another 8' line was stripped and steeple casts were threaded through the limbs of fallen trees as the mid-pool was searched. A slight mend on the forward stroke extended the drift but it was tricky to present tight against the slower right bank. Moving beyond the large boulder mid-pool I was able to cast a 20' line along the crease of the main inlet, with an overpowered forward stroke to introduce slack. Stripping back to a short-line presentation again enabled multiple, drag-free drifts from left to right with impeccable control.

No trout showed. My strict, sub #20 protocol fished in the upper 2" zone always stacks the odds against success this early in the season but I'd established a relaxed tempo on stream. The pace will pick-up as we get into April and trout move higher in the water column.

The new camera's super-macro setting is a breeze, so I'll be making time for a late-phase emerger SBS. This design will cover 80% of this season's fishing:

And I'll be tying a range of midge pupa and emergers for Monday 11th July 2011. On this day, the anniversary of his death, I'll celebrate the life and work of the late Ed Koch on stream.

Blood Knot - The Wet Issue

2011-03-05T21:06:00.005Z

... has landed.

Lots and LOTS to check...

The very best in grass-roots, home-grown, shoot-from-the-hip, super-fresh fly fishing writing and photography.

Vested interest? F'sure... And we're only getting going.

Casio Exilim H15

2011-03-05T20:37:00.001Z

The replacement camera arrived this morning, exactly 19hrs after it was ordered - some going. I'm a strictly amateur photographer and auto settings drive most of my shots. As I was familiar with the operation of Casio point-and-clicks after a previous Exilim I picked up a refurbished H15 for £120. The macro setting is simple and delivers clean results without manual adjustment.

Same fly, upgraded camera. Keeping things simple....

The 2011 season opened on 1st March... hoping to spend a couple of hours first thing tomorrow morning building some rhythm, conditions are good. There's no urgency this early in the season.

Images are clickable, enjoy the bandwidth.

Black Strategy

2011-02-15T19:48:00.006Z

I'll be out of action for a couple of weeks as the Casio Exilim EX-Z700 I've relied on for images was smashed a couple of weekends ago. Not sure which way to go regards a replacement... things sure move fast in the world of digital cameras and there's amazing kit available for sub £200. In the interim I've been using a very basic camera, just to get by and share what's being tied for the start of the season.

Hook: Partridge K14ST #20
Thread: Sheer 14/0
Thorax: Dark hare and Fly-rite Clear Antron blend
Hackle: Black hen neck

This is a very simple soft hackle pattern, albeit the hook is bare but for the thorax - just to make it quick and simple to tie - and to add a touch of esoterica. It's inevitable that early season will commence with local streams in full spate. I'll hit the water just as levels and colour fall. A simple black pattern, fished at close-medium range, down-and-across is all that's required under these conditions. Early sport may not be as vigorous as later in the season but this is a proven strategy for getting the season underway.

Roy Christie first turned me on to the effectiveness of black, sub-surface flies fished on a falling spate (and the less-is-more principle), and Cal Nemec has mastered the tactic over the last two seasons with his #16-#20 Black Pennell approach.

Oh, and keep an eye out for the Wet Issue of Blood Knot, due end this month... it's gonna be good.

Hidden in plain sight.

Andy

Modern Midges revisited

2011-01-17T22:29:00.002Z

It's hard to believe that Rick Takahashi & Jerry Hubka's Modern Midges was published way back in 2009. The scale and depth of this book is not diminished over time. Takahashi's highly imitative tying style influenced this midge pupa.

Hook: TMC 200R #22
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 dark brown
Abdomen: Stripped peacock quill
Wing case: Pearl mylar and tan goose biots - the mylar is tied over the top of the thorax, followed by the biots which cross at the head.

Several coats of Hard As Nails finish the fly. I'll be adding gills next, bowtie buzzer style...

Hugh's Fish Fight

2011-01-14T10:41:00.001Z

PLEASE follow the link, sign-up and help stop the insane practice of discarding... c'mon, NO excuses.

#24 late-phase emerger (CDC wing)

2011-01-10T10:55:00.000Z

Hook: TMC 2488 #24
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 light grey
Shuck: Two strands coq de leon
Tails: Dark dun microfibbets
Abdomen: dubbed with mole and Fly-rite white antron blend
Hackle: Palmered light dun
Wing: Single CDC feather, natural

I very rarely tie with CDC, this is the first time it's appeared in one of my flies posted here.... I'll be experimenting more with it as a winging material.

Looking forward....

2011-01-07T17:02:00.001Z

... to 01-03-2011 when the trout season opens.

Despite the occassional grass-casting session I'm enjoying the break and anticipation, just got a feeling this could be a special year for taking larger trout on small flies but hey, I say that EVERY year. I've got half a box of #20 and #22 late-phase emergers in black, brown and medium dun to get the season underway. I'll be adding #24's over the next ten weeks in the same pattern.
I stripped the midge box in October and distributed the contents to friends across the globe, I'll be adding late-phase emergers in #26 - #32, paraduns in #24 and #26, thorax duns in #24 - #28 and a fresh team of spent spinners in #26 - #32. I'll be trying out some pattern variations as conditions require but the fly set described above will cover 90% of the season. Clean and simple.

So, lots still to tie but here's how things are looking:

I'll be working the late-phase emerger in #32 hard this summer... this is a tough design, floats brilliantly and has a delightful footprint for a small fly thanks to the v-clipped hackle and extended tailing. I've just picked up some Whisper Thin Tails in ginger and black, and have dyed brown midge hackles in black.... we have options.

Best wishes for 2011... looking forward.

Blood Knot - the Blogger Issue

2011-01-04T11:17:00.003Z

The latest issue of Blood Knot is now live and available to view here.

The Blogger Issue pulls together fly fishing bloggers from across the world and covers a broad range of writing. You'll find some familiar names in the latest e-zine... I especially enjoyed Cameron Mortenson's "Why Glass?" piece and the photography of Aleksandar Vrtaric of Suck My Fly. Tom Chandler's Trout Underground is also featured and he gives a fascinating insight to blogging and includes some hot links to some of his best posts.

Blood Knot has a fresh, uncontrived approach to fly fishing writing and publishing and each issue includes a mix of gear reviews, industry news and updates, fishing reports and some fantastic photography as you'd expect. Each issue also includes more off beat writing - the kind of stuff we don't get to see in printed ouput too often.

Big thanks to Ben Ward and the rest of the editorial team for the latest issue, and best wishes for more though 2011.

Check...

2010 out

2010-10-27T22:42:00.000+01:00

The 2010 season closed on 20th October, I made my annual ascent from the car to a familiar pool where I know exactly where to catch trout on small flies fished on the surface.

#30 drowned ant

2010-09-21T21:07:00.000+01:00

The worker phenotype of the Black Garden Ant (Lasius niger) is our most common species in the UK. Only 3-5mm in length, it's a useful terrestrial for small fly tiers with an interest in imitation. Where I apply a little creative licence is in physiology... the natural has three distinct body sections: head, thorax and abdomen to my bi-sectional imitation. Legs are a must. I don't go for floating ants (a simple, generic beetle imitation is better if you're working the surface), even in winged form they soon penetrate the surface film and commence a slow descent. And the solid black colouration must stand-out in the top 2-3" of water.
Upwinged hatches ease up at this time of year, so small midges and terrestrials come in to play. Recent rain has freshened up the local streams, if it remains dry until the weekend levels will be near perfect to drift a drowned ant along undercut banks.

Hook: Varivas 2210 #30
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0 (black Pro Marker)
Legs: Three-strands of Niche Siliconised Polypropylene Yarn (black)

The hook is selected for it's fine wire (think slooow descent) and the curvature is ideal for imitating the defensive poise of the drowning insect. Fine thread assists with controlled build up of body profile and a cinched waist. Careful application of Hard As Nails adds a slick gloss finish.

Vintage Future (Mustad 94840 #28 & Varivas IWI S-2000)

2010-09-19T23:42:00.002+01:00

Mustad's 94840 is one of the first mass produced small hook patterns (and precedes the more recent R50 update - same basic design but with a wider gape and lighter wire R30 variant) popular with AK Best, Don Holbrook and Ed Koch. Now discontinued, they are available for small change from Kenhook in Sweden. Eric and his team are selling off a massive stock of Mustad patterns at 70% discount. The background story also makes for interesting reading. I was keen to stock up for my own tying but also to have a large stock for fly swaps - something I'm more open to as the close season approaches.

I've also just received a box each of Varivas IWI S-2000 dry fly hooks in #20 and #22. Designed by Keiichiro Iwai for small fly, light line presentations they feature a long tapered point to enhance hook-setting and holding ability when targeting Yamame - this striking, Japanese native trout is noted for it's shy nature and lightning fast strikes. Iwai designed the unique Varivas line, leader, tippet and hook system which Mark Hamnett (head of Fishing Matters) will be discussing in an interview planned for this Autumn.

There's a tradition to the Mustad hooks that really appeals, especially when tying simple thread midge pupa patterns from Holbrook & Koch's Midge Magic. That said, modern hook design and manufacturing is an emersive subject which converges with an increasingly technical focus on small fly design and fishing. This link to the Varivas site provides fascinating design insights to Japanese fly patterns tied using Varivas fly hooks.

#28 Caenis spinner

2010-09-08T11:17:00.001+01:00

Like most (I guess...), I've become reliant on synthetic materials especially for tailing and wings. If you exclude thread and cement, this is an all-natural build:

Hook: TMC 2488 #28
Thread: UNI Trico 17/0 (coloured with henna Pro-marker)
Tails: Select mallard fibres
Abdomen: Fine peccary bristle
Wing: Cream cock neck

Winding the wing adds useful bulk to the thorax area, and a few stray barbs suggest legs. This is the Vince Marinaro winging technique described in In The Ring Of The Rise, so it has some pedigree and pre-dates the convenience of synthetics.
A tiny drop of Hard-as-Nails was added to the thorax, above and below... makes for a nice profile.
Not pure imitation, but covers the tiny caenis here pretty well... with just enough differentiation (marginally larger, slightly darker, stronger abdomenal segmentation) from the naturals to trigger a strike - .well, that's the theory.

Quill-bodied spent spinner

2010-09-03T18:33:00.002+01:00

Nik Dahlin is the quill-bodied master - he's brought a fresh European flavour to the Catskill style of dry fly tying.
I takes thoughtful material selection and a steady hand to apply a stripped hackle stem on a #30 but it can be done if you take your time - using hackle pliers facilitates control. The use of Niche Shuck Yarn for the wing on this fly should ensure a drowned presentation, with attractive shimmer in the upper 2" of water. Blood red tailing (I'm using these more and more on small flies) seem to trigger positive strikes.
May fit in a drift or two this evening... I've added 18" of 8X tippet to a 7.5' / 7X Varivas leader on a SA XPS DT2F partnered with a 7' rod... could be good.

UPDATED

Just back... got skunked.

Well I got skunked, Cal raised the bar with his personal best, a thick-set, hard fighting brown of just over 30cm taken on a #20 Black Pennell and 6X tippet fished tight against the far bank on his 7' five weight.

We've been working on his line control (no need to work on his casting - his roll-casts are effortless) and tonight was a joy to watch - he outfished me with ease.

Nice start to the weekend.

Future - next generation

2010-09-03T11:57:00.000+01:00

The wee folk headed back to school this week... it's been a great summer (those smiles say it all) and they're growing up fast. We travel to England next weekend for a family gathering...

Cal (13yrs) deadly assassin with a #20 Black Pennel, A* in geography

Joni (8yrs) muliple medals in Irish Dancing (AKA Bonkers Joni)

James (6yrs) the Lego maestro, eats adult-sized portions of Irish stew for breakfast

#32 late-phase emerger

2010-08-28T12:25:00.000+01:00

One final post on this subject....
Discussing this pattern on smallstreams, I kind of assumed this pattern bottomed out at #28. Speaking with Roy Christie yesterday he suggested I tie the wing in on the way down (from eye to bend) rather than on the way up, to save three thread wraps and simplify the steps... it then fits neatly on a TMC 518 #32:

This is a shift in tying methodology for me - I usually lay a bed of thread from eye to bend then proceed back towards the eye adding materials as I go. Sure, it takes a little concentration to add tailing with the wing in-situ at this scale but having tried both approaches with this pattern the wing-first method is simpler.

Pattern evolution

2010-08-27T15:02:00.002+01:00

Must be 3 or 4 years ago Roy Christie gave me some sound advice... tie your small flies just as you would the bigger stuff, just smaller.... I took his advice to heart, adjusted materials accordingly and now, when tying a pattern often start at #20 - #24 before tackling #26 and smaller.
The generic late-stage emerger on the previous post informed the tying of the #24 and then #28 below:

All three together, from left to right #20, #24 and #28:

Thanks for the ongoing advice and support, Roy - the style and material choice on this generic late-stage emerger also has a little Christie-spice in the mix...

Generic style

2010-08-24T22:04:00.000+01:00

If your fortunate enough to have access to lightly fished, wild streams chances are you'll encounter opportunistic trout. It's these conditions that inform much of my tying - style can be less prescriptive, more generic. The barring on teal suggests both shuck and tails, the blood red microfibbets suggest emergence and adds contrast. The sparse mallard wing makes for a pretty profile and the v-clipped hackle ensures both good floatation and a busy footprint. Multiple triggers rather than specific imitation...

Long weekend

2010-08-24T13:26:00.001+01:00

It has been good to take a few days away from work over the weekend. Following rain most days, water levels are up a little but conditions are good and there's lots of fish rising from mid afternoon through last light that will readily take well presented, small flies. The higher levels also enable close-range fishing at 15-20ft. This is a lovely way to fish and ensures fish are played swiftly to hand for release. Most fish are photographed in the net - it's a lot easier on the fish when out solo.

There's also been some time to tie and I'm still working on the budget-macro set-up, as shown below... it's very lo-fi but works fine with a little patience.

Macro on a budget

2010-08-14T14:20:00.001+01:00

The latest compact point and click cameras typically feature a pretty powerful macro setting, useful and conveninet if you photograph small flies. The images I post here are pretty low-grade albeit you get the flavour of what I'm doing. In the absence of a budget for a new camera I've had to think creatively. Lars Bensten first suggested the use of a maginifying lens to sharpen up small fly photography earlier this year. I need to work on lighting and the set-up but initial results are looking good. Below are a couple of examples with the new macro-on-a-budget I've set-up in the Small Fly Funk lab. The bivisible and thorax dun below are #24:

Even at #32 scale, this very basic approach illustrates ribbing detail on a spent caenis. The fibre optic Niche Midge Wing tips were unintentional but I dig the effect:

The set-up is far from convenient but worth a little effort for the improved results.

Trout Lessons

2010-08-08T12:30:00.011+01:00

Freewheeling Tactics and Alternative Techniques for the Difficult Days (ISBN 978-0-8117-0581)

This is Ed Engle's latest book and his first since Fishing Small Flies (2005). Not that he hasn't been writing regularly with articles in American Angler, Fly Fishing & Tying Journal and Fly Fisherman. It is these articles that have informed some of the new chapters with further development of the ideas for the book.
If you search fly fishing books on Amazon (UK) you'll find 4,396 results - not sure how many are unique titles but this result illustrates the extent of published material available. You can de-risk your selection if you stick with a group of dependable writers - Ed's right up there with the VERY best.

The titles of Tying and Fishing Small Flies were suitably succinct, the new book is more of a mouthful yet intelligently judged. It's a departure from the world of ideal conditions and covers the real-world situations and fishing tactics that likely cover more of the typical season most of us encounter. That's something quite unique in fishing writing.

There are 8 chapters covering specific fishing techniques, conditions and environments that at best challenge the fly fisher and at worst, leave us completely stumped. The High-Water Strategies covered in Chapter 6 will prove relevant to those of us who fish the spate rivers of Ireland and the UK and the shots of trout taken against a backdrop of coloured water illustrate that the advise is more than notional theory. Knowing where to find trout and the range of approaches that enable the angler to fish through such conditions is massively insightful. This opens up additional time on the water that may otherwise be written off.
Chapter 7's Small-Stream Finesse is a resource I just know I'll be returning to regularly. We're all familiar with the basics but Ed digs so much deeper here to help us fine-tune our small stream fishing. The concept of streakers is a revelation. Advise on how to find trout-holding small water using topographical maps is essential reading. I've long studied the OS maps of my local area and now have an awareness to really scrutinise the contours of the local area in search of unfamiliar water and wild trout. Exploration is a fundamental component of small stream fishing and this chapter is uniquely informed and insightful.
Whilst not dedicated to the subject, small flies feature throughout Trout Lessons particularly as a tactical response to catching difficult trout. The book also provides a helpful refresher on the range of casts and presentation techniques that enable success with some fresh tweaks and innovations to try out.
Ed's account of high-stick dry fly fishing is key for effective presentations when fishing pocketwater - and is also a proven approach when tackling small streams where multiple, micro-currents can compromise presentation. Even with a shorter rod this technique works a treat at close range, so finding the occassional familiar idea within these pages is a real confidence booster for the reader, and will no doubt motivate us to work on the new and unfamiliar techniques.

The photography throughout Trout Lessons is excellent, much of it is stunning - the settings, particularly in Small-Stream Finesse are quite beautiful. There's a few treats for those of us who enjoy John Gierach's writing - I guess that's all of us. I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure we see John in characteristically tricky small stream mode throughout this chapter.
One of the challenges of writing about casting is the supporting photography. Ed assists with a bright line to communicate the action both in-the-air and on-the-water, with highly visual results. The images of fly patterns are always crisp and sharp.

This is a highly relevant book, one that skillfully articulates new ideas and strategic insights that will elevate our fly fishing. What is equally remarkable, is that Ed applies these tactics intuitively to solve on-stream problems where as you or I may struggle or give up for the day. It's an act of great generosity to record and share such experience and skill, so that our own skills may evolve - it provides serious bang for your buck.
Returning to a small fly perspective, Vince Marinaro represented the first wave of writers on the subject. In The Ring of the Rise remains seminal and as valuable today as when it was published in 1976. Ed has defined a second wave with his books of the last decade which upgrade the formula - he is a sophisticated and highly intelligent fly fisher and writer who never resorts to hyperbole to communicate his unique depth and breadth of experience.

Juan Ramirez was so right... this one's a keeper.

Large mayfly emerger

2010-08-01T14:21:00.002+01:00

Like many regions, late June/early July provides predictable, large mayfly hatches on the local streams. I missed the action this year (the first time in the last four seasons) due to work commitments. The fishing is easier than at any other time of the year and trout exhibit less caution as they binge on plentiful fly. It's also the only time when I tie and fish on the fringe of small flies so the Partridge 15BN and BNX #20 hook enables me to fish bigger and capitalise on their wanton feeding.

A detailed hook study will follow later, the comparison chart below highlights the scale of the Partridge 15BNX compared to other #20 curved shank hooks:

Although subtlety is less of an issue, this hook enables a deeper exploration of triggers and the expression of emergence - there's simply more room to work. The recipe below describes my approach to this:

Hook: Partridge 15XBN
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0 - such fine thread is not strictly needed at this scale, but allows for total control of profile and enables you to build a densely dubbed thorax with guard hairs locked-in to the tie which aids resilience.
Shuck: This comprises 4-5 strands of Niche Shuck Yarn at the butt, and extends in to a section dubbed with Fly-rite Poly Dubbing (I prefer light shades, you may want to add an orange, or deeper red hue to suggest blood). There's no need to dub the thread too tightly, so the shuck has a little movement and catches the light.
Abdomen: Peccary bristle provides stunning segmentation, and is almost indestructible.
Thorax: The Uni Trico thread allows you to build a dense thorax. Roy Christie got me in to blending, and this is an example of what I've learnt so far. The blend is based on mink underfur - the deep reddish brown is highly imitative of the emergent stage of most upwing flies where sub-surface blood features strongly. The addition of mink guard hair (trimmed to 10-15mm) and hare's mask guard hare (from around the cheeks) imitates emerging legs - the dense dubbing adds to the crazy legs effect. A little chopped, clear Fly-rite antron is added to the blend to add sparkle and fizz.
Before dubbing the thorax, add a tiny drop of Watershed to the area you are about to dub. A dense thorax comprised of mainly natural materials will take on water - we want the thorax to sit both in and just below the surface film (with crazy legs flailing in the current) and the Watershed treatment seems to aid floatation in this crucial zone.
Hackle: You can afford to hackle more densely on this pattern, the fish are less cautious and you want to ensure the fly rides high despite the dense thorax. When sizing hackle, use the abdomen as a guide rather than including the shuck - this makes for an attractive profile. And treat with Dilly Wax at the tying bench.

If you check out the selection of Roy's flies at Han's Weilenmann's Fly Tier site, you'll see how he's influenced my appreciation of colour. There's so much to understand and learn on this subject, I'll be interviewing Roy this Autumn on the subject of dubbing and colour - his insights are staggering. He's also tempered my obsession with neatness, in the interest of creating a bugged-out approach to tying emergers.

A subdued wing post looks natural and is highly visible, particularly when my eyes are trained on fishing much smaller patterns throughout the season.

Juan Ramirez

2010-07-29T15:33:00.001+01:00

Based in Colorado Springs, Juan is a Fly Fishing guide for Anglers Covey, and Fly Tying Instructor for Ghillies Fly Shop and Anglers Covey. That's some resumé.
His site, the Hopper Juan has been on my blog list pretty much since day #1, I really dig his tying.
Over the last few months, Juan has been producing and posting tying videos. This a welcome development - high quality videos, of relevant, well tied patterns are pretty hard to find... and good quality small fly tying footage is near impossible. This is something Juan has nailed, and his videos can all be viewed in HD.

I'm hoping regular followers here are familiar with Juan's video output, I've selected his small fly tying demonstrations, including Ben Furmiskey's uber-cool BWO BDE and Rim Chung's killer RS-2, below.

I use a lot of super-fine dubbing in my tying - it's worth noting how effectively Juan control's this material, during application to the thread and then during tying.

This a valuable addition to the resources hosted on Small Fly Funk, and thanks are due to Juan for the quality output. Looking forward to more, special projects later in 2010.

Watch his, then this space... check

Fluoro Nymph from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.

Tying the RS2 from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.

Tying The BWO BDE from Juan Ramirez on Vimeo.

Second Chance: Ed Engle fishing the S. Platte

2010-07-27T13:16:00.003+01:00

Many of us got in to tying and fishing small flies thanks to Ed Engle's books, and numerous articles in US magazines. Ed's two volumes: Tying Small Flies & Fishing Small Flies have elevated our understanding of this uniquely rewarding pursuit. Irrespective of geography, these books are likely all you'll ever need on the subject. Working through the bibliography of Fishing Small Flies will enable you to read around the subject, particularly from a historical perspective. In the final chapter, The Elements of Style you will find the true philosophy of small fly fishing, skillfully articulated. I return to this chapter several times a season for insight and perspective.

Ed's one of the true heroes of our sport. Here, he fishes the trico hatch in Elevenmile Canyon on Colorado's South Platte river.

Second Chance from Samuel Ebersole on Vimeo.

Ed's new book TROUT LESSONS: Free-Wheeling Tactics and Alternatives for the Difficult Days (ISBN 978-0-8117-0581), is scheduled for publication by Stackpole Books in August 2010. I'll be posting a review as soon as I grab and read a copy.

In the interim, here's a flavour of what to expect.

You just know it's gonna be a special read.

#32 spent spinner SBS

2010-07-24T20:08:00.001+01:00

Fishing #32's is a greater challenge than tying them - and it's worth developing competence at both skills for the rewards of catching on these small flies. There are only four patterns I tie and fish on #30-#32's regularly, the simplest of which is the spent spinner. Any intermediate level tyer can do a good job of this. The following SBS is based on a couple of years of refining methodology to the point that every step is specific in the interests of tying a balanced, effective and robust fly... it's also a pretty pattern and for me aesthetics are EVERYTHING.

Best results are achieved when tying with Uni Trico 17/0 or Gudebrod 10/0 thread. Sheer 14/0 is an alternative, but better matched to tying #28-#30's due to a touch more bulk. Sheer 14/0 also demands a little more care with thread control, due it's cord-like nature.

Hook: TMC 518 #32
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0
Tailing: Whisper Tails
Wing: Niche Midge Wing

Starting at the eye, lay a bed of flat thread to the bend, tie in and split the Whisper tail and take the thread forward to the point of the hook.

Trim the Whisper tails and take a SINGLE wrap of flat thread forward to soften the shoulder where the tailing ends.

Take the thread back to the bend with touching turns of flat thread to complete the abdomen.

Apply colour to the abdomen with permanent marker. There are myriad options... I use Letraset ProMarker sandstone to cover most of the local hatches.

Apply a darker shade of permanent marker to the thread and cord-up TIGHT. Letraset ProMarker henna works well.

Apply four turns of thread to form pronounced segmentation to the abdomen, and allow the bobbin to hang free to un-cord/flatten the thread.

Take a SINGLE wrap of flattened thread forward over the shoulder produced when the tails where trimmed.

There's no need to tie in your preferred winging material - simply slide the wing underneath the far-side of the thread and position against the shoulder. Secure with TWO figure-of-eight wraps of thread ie. four wraps. Apply a further THREE wraps of thread behind the wing (two back, one forward) in order to taper the abdomen/thorax interface.

Make ONE final wrap of thread forward, over the thorax to bring the thread to the front of the wing. Finish with a THREE turn whip-finish to soften the bulb of the thorax.

Trim the wing to length (1-3 times the body length covers most species for imitative value... the choice is entirely yours for aesthetic appeal) by cutting in at an angle 45 degrees to the abdomen. Flare the wing with your thumb nail (push up and rock from side-to-side) and trim the wing further to form a neat profile.

There are a range of hook options for tying #30's

TMC 518: straight shank pattern, good for fishing on and in the surface film
Varivas 2300: as above with comparable shank length, and a useful, wider gape
TMC 2488: curved shank, ideal for drowned spinner patterns
Varivas 2110: as above but with a very pronounced curve which produces a uniquely pretty profile. It's worth adjusting the angle of the vice as you tie with this hook to avoid thread slippage. Drop the vice forward when working on tails, and preparing to rib

Wing material should be fine and also depends on fishing application:

Niche Siliconised Polypropylene Yarn: The best performing yarn available, bar none. No need to treat... simply fish on the surface film for the first three drifts, it will naturally sink in to the film during the next three. Fish drowned thereafter to cover all stages.
Tiemco Aero Dry Wing: Standard and Fine. Niche SPY outperforms standard Aero Dry Wing, the fine variant is however a delightful, super-fine alternative. Thanks for the sample, Jim.
Niche Shuck Yarn: You can treat this for surface fishing, I prefer to use it un-treated for drowned spinners where it imitates the shimmer of wings brilliantly.
Niche Midge Wing: Ideally suited to the scale of #32's and combines best-in-class floatation for on/in-surface film fishing and is highly imitative with a subtle and attractive shimmer.
EP TPI Fibres: Another super-fine winging material, Watershed treated and very easy to handle.
All of the above are available in white and shades of light grey (Niche Shuck Yarn is colourless, no options available or needed). You likely only need white to tie spent spinners.

Without exception, when I start a tying a session, I start by tying a #32. When I then scale up to #24 the hook becomes an expansive work area - if you adopt a similar approach, I guarantee your tying will improve.

Interim

2010-07-20T09:39:00.000+01:00

There's a backlog of posts developing, as time remains compressed due to work commitments. Over the summer, the following have been planned, drafted and will be completed and posted:

IIFF 2010 report
#32 spent spinner SBS
Hook study #2 (curved shank #20's)
Barrio Lines DT3F review
Hans Weilenmann - small fly master
Boo-mafia
SmallFlyFunk RADIO #2: Mark Hamnett

In the interim, here's a few images from the last week or so...

Thanks again to Marc for your help launching SmallFlyFunk RADIO, and for the new profile image...

... and for the #32 macro images of Whisper Tails, Fly-rite dubbing and Niche Midge Wing which provide fascinating insight, this is fly fishing in microcosm.

SmallFlyFunk RADIO #1

2010-07-08T13:50:00.003+01:00

After several months of preparation and planning, the first SmallFlyFunk RADIO podcast is live... featuring Federation Of Fly Fishers, certified casting instructor Marc Fauvet. To listen in, simply click play below... the podcast is available to download.

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eSnips Social DNA

I first met Marc in March 2008 during a trip to Lagrasse where we fished L'Aude system and spent a day talking fishing and casting - good times. We've been good friends since. I guess companionship is a feature of many sports, but fly fishing brings folk together in unique, and often deeply meaningful ways. Following a hugely successful IIFF 2010 last weekend, Marc and I got to hit the local streams on the N. coast of Co. Antrim. The benefit of Marc's on-stream casting instruction proved invaluable, my small fly presentations have been elevated. Marc also witnessed my PB wild brown trout... a lithe and strong 45cm fish taken on a simple #26 dun imitation and 7X tippet, this was a SERIOUS fish for this stream.

Please check out Marc's site, the uber-cool Planéte Mouche.

I'll post a full report on the IIFF 2010 shortly, until then enjoy the podcast of Marc and I in conversation... and check out some shots of our time together on my home waters:

IIFF 2010

2010-06-28T19:55:00.000+01:00

THE key event in the Irish fly tying and fly fishing calendar is this weekend's IIFF 2010, in aid of the Dibney River Conservation Trust.
I tied at last year's fair - and thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with fellow tiers, fishers and visitors. I'm especially looking forward to catching up with Roy Christie (one of the event organisers) and Marc La Mouche Fauvet, whom I'll be interviewing for smallflyfunkRadio, which launches in July. I'm also hoping Dave Wiltshire will make it - it'll be good to meet you at last, Dave.

Tying small flies always attracts interest, and as we enter the small fly season here I'm hopeful we can turn folk on to this uniquely rewarding branch of our sport. I've tied a whole bunch of flies to help out with the fund raising... any visitors to the fair are free to pick-and-mix for 50p a fly - ALL proceeds to the Dibney River Conservation Trust.

By consequence, I'm left a little light for flies to fish following the weekend... but hey, it'll be fun restocking in the weeks ahead.

Any followers in Ireland, please find time to visit the village of Killyleagh and celebrate IIFF 2010 with us - it really is a fantastic event and this years line-up is the very best to date with some of the world's finest tiers and casters demonstrating.

BIG THANKS to Stevie Kennedy and the team of organisers and volunteers who work so hard through the year to make the fair a success.

2010-05-27T22:45:00.001+01:00

I work away from home most weeks, it's a fact of life in a post-crunch, pre-recovery, recession hit world. I miss my family and don't get to fish or tie as much as in the past... but I roll with it.

Before leaving home earlier in the week, I tied up some #32's using select teal and mallard flank feathers from Steve Cooper. It's too early to fish this small, the trout are in careless binge-mode but come late July-August I'll be fishing #26 and below pretty much non-stop. Early to mid season is about easing in to the fishing and building rythmn and focus - thereafter I get locked in the small fly zone, targeting feeding pods with precision. I dig the intensity and total emersion in the pursuit. This eases in September through October when I'll be back fishing #20 - #24's and enjoying the casual stroll towards close season.

I uploaded a couple of images to my desktop in case I found time to post whilst away, including a scene from last weekend's outing on a local stream. It's not a good time to be away- the fishing improves by the day at this time of year so I'm missing some good, low water, surface fishing.

Enjoy the coming weekend.... following a little rain back home to freshen up the streams forecasts are looking good.

Daiichi 1110 #26

2010-05-20T22:23:00.000+01:00

For those seeking a standard dry fly hook in smaller sizes, choice is becoming increasingly limited. Many manufacturers' ranges bottom out at #20. Mustad have pretty much ceased producing many of their small hook patterns (R50 & R30 down-eye, standard dry fly and C49S fine wire, curved shank hook) with a greater focus on saltwater and pike hooks. Fulling Mill, the main UK distributor for Tiemco's TMC hooks offer a good range but mainly down to #16 - and at a time when pack size is being reduced from 25 to 20 hooks, and price increases result in a net 30% rise.

Daiichi is a well respected brand in the US - great care goes in to the design and manufacture of what is now a very broad range of patterns:

Eyes are precision tooled, true to the hooks design
Brittleness is minimised by tempering to an exact formula
High carbon steel provides superior strength and long point life
Unsurpassed sharpness: Daiichi start with a 12 degree angle constant tapered ground needle point. This eliminates irregularities in shape, assuring no weak spots and gives amazing speed of penetration
Chemical sharpening deburs the points to make each hook sticky sharp
Daiichi's mini-barbs have a low profile design that creates an increase in wire diameter of only 20% avoiding the risk of lost fish and broken points

I first used the 1110 two years ago when TMC 101's became scarce (Tiemco manufacture a single production run per year, so supply can be erratic). The 1110 has a shorter shank than the 101, a marginally wider gape and feature an oversized eye. This is a true small hook pattern, the #26 is smaller than some #28's.

Quality is impeccable and consistent, and these are among the sharpest hooks I've used. Aesthetically, the combination of finish and overall proportions make for uniquely attractive hook, something I value highly in small hook patterns.

Most standard dry fly hooks offer a down-eye and straight eye variant. My personal preference is for a straight eye. This style creates the illusion of a longer shank, a key psychological advantage when tying small, and also makes for an assured finish, it's almost impossible to slip the thread over the eye. Strength is excellent for a fine wire hook.

I've taken wild trout to 14" on both the #24 and #26. The wide gape produces solid hook-ups and a strong hold after de-barbing.

The shank length readily accommodates a parachute hackle. Thorax duns, comparaduns, no-hackles and more traditional collar-hackled fly patterns also look good on this hook. The fine wire lends itself to tying sparse spider patterns, floating nymphs and the midge life-cycle stages.

The Daiichi 1110 is a fantastic hook which can be used to cover a broad range of tying applications. From personal experience of tying and fishing this pattern over two full seasons in #24 and #26, this is one of the finest small, standard dry fly hooks available and Daiichi's performance and quality claims are entirely justified.

Daiichi 1110's down to #26 are available in the UK at the Fly Tying Boutique.

Tie with style, fish with confidence.

#28 Trico's

2010-04-21T08:55:00.000+01:00

I got speaking with members of the Irish Youth Fly Fishing team whilst tying at last weekends Lough's Agency Fair. These guys are heading out to Slovakia this summer, French nymphing will be the tactic - a style of fishing that has featured in the UK magazines this year. They have experience of small fly fishing from the 2007 finals in Pennsylvania where #22 and #24 trico's were fished, evidenced by an ability to thread and tie a #32 spent spinner to tippet in approx 6 seconds.... that's some going.

The trico's below are all tied on #28 hooks:

Partridge K1A Vince Marinaro midge hook (top left)
TMC 2488 (top right)
Varivas 2300 (bottom)

The shank length of the K1A makes for a sublimely proportioned fly and has an attractive deep bronze finish, the curvature of the 2488 is ideal for fishing the trico drowned and the 2300's wide gape and ultra-fine wire improves hooking ability. You can compare eye size by clicking on the image - the K1A features a large eye, the 2300's is the smallest of the three (so take care when finishing - you can just about see a little thread-creep on the image) but readily takes 7X tippet. Extended Whisper-tails add stability and provide a subtle trigger.

Although trico hatches do not feature on local waters, the black thorax against white abdomen triggers strikes. Trout are unlikely to travel far for such a small meal, so drift overhead of feeding trout with an accurate, short range cast.

The cork comes from a bottle of Black Bush, distilled just a couple of miles from home. Most evening fishing trips conclude with a glass of this smoooth Irish whiskey.

Hook Study: straight shank #20's

2010-04-13T18:41:00.000+01:00

If Small Fly Funk has one central agenda, it's to promote small fly tying and fishing as a focused pursuit- and to provide a reliable resource to those who share an interest. The blog list to the right extends this agenda beyond my own tying and fishing reports, so please do check out the growing number of sites where small fly tying at it's very best can be viewed.

One sub-category to this agenda is a deep interest in, and passion for, small hooks. Discovering Chapter 2 in Ed Engle's Tying Small Flies a few years back really got me started and I haven't stopped since - just ask Phil Holding.

A good place to start is the #20 - this is pretty much the entry-level of small fly tying and it is also a hook size that, whilst pre-dating some of the smallest hooks now available, has some heritage. The earliest account of #20's I've found is in A. Courtney William's A Dictionary Of Trout Flies (1949) where he discusses caenis. Ed Shenk's Fly Rod Trouting (1989) commits a complete chapter to Fishing The Itsy Bitsies and between these two reference points, Vince Marinaro shared his take on pretty fishing. So, we're not playing with anything new here, albeit the range of styles of small hooks is now more extensive than ever.

The following are my tried-and-tested pattern preferences, with a few notes on why and how I use them.

TMC 101:
If I have one go-to small fly hook it's the 101. I tie a lot of dun imitations and this hook pattern just works for me. I prefer a straight eye hook, it creates the illusion of space during the tie and makes for a neat finish. I'm aware of the case for improved hooking capacity with a down-eye hook, but it's not something that's ever concerned me, at least not over aesthetic appeal. Available down to #26 with a sensibly sized eye, this is a strong, reliable hook for tying dries, emergers, nymphs and midges. It covers most small fly bases.

TMC 501:
This is essentially a 1X short shank version of the 101. Not really suited to parachute hackled patterns, it is a great hook for tying clipped hackle, no-hackle or spent spinner patterns. Although a little larger than Ed Engle's recipe, it ties a nice Secret Weapon - a simple, effective and robust BWO dun imitation. This is a strong hook, fish with confidence if you expect to hit big trout. Available in #20 - #24 only.

Mustad R30:
This was my first small hook pattern. I know a guy on the North Coast who sells them to me for £5 per 100, I always drop him a few flies tied on them when I'm passing, it's an arrangement that works for both of us. I like Mustad hooks, there's a consistency about them and the dark, bronze finish oozes traditional appeal. This is a finer wire version of the R50, and it works fine with the 6" - 14" trout I tend to encounter. This pattern has a wide gape, whilst maintaining overall proportions of a standard dry fly hook. I don't tie or fish many collared-hackle flies, but this is the hook I'll use when I do - it just seems to work really well with Bi-Visibles. This hook was available down to a #28, the main UK distributor only offers down to a #16. Mustad seems to have lost it's appetite for small hooks, with a greater focus now on stainless steel saltwater and pike fly hooks.

Daiichi 1190:
Another down-eye hook, but this is a barbless pattern - straight-up, I just wish manufacturers made all fly hooks barbless. I haven't fished a barb since 1978. This is a good hook for parachute hackled patterns with it's long shank length. Those in the UK can pick these up in packs of 50 for sensible money, it's re-branded by Fulling Mill as a 71190 ALL PURPOSE LIGHT barbless. Available down to a #20.

Partridge SLD:
This is a good example of modern, barbless hook design, the Surehold Lightning Dry. The wide gape and upturned point make for a uniquely pretty hook. It's near impossible to comment on the improvement in hooking efficiency this innovation delivers, I've missed enough lightning fast strikes when fishing the SLD but when aesthetics count, this is a special hook. It features a shorter shank than the 101 and 1190 but ties a sweet #22 paradun. Available down to #20.

Partridge SUD:
This follows more classic dry fly hook proportions (almost identical shank length to the R30) and compares with many #22 size hooks in scale. Another barbless design, designed for upwing patterns, hence the Surehold Upwing Dry name. This is a good alternative to the 501 with a finer wire and features a nickel black finish. Available down to #20, this is another pretty hook from Partridge.

You'll notice the range of eye-style, gape, shank length and finish among these patterns - variables that are even more wide-ranging among curved shank hook patterns. I'll cover this in Hook Study II later this month. One pattern I omitted due to it's odd size (#21) is the TMC 102Y. Another black finish hook, this is a strong hook designed by Tiemco for the "quick-take" strikes of Japanese native trout. The point is moved back slightly as per the original Partridge YL3A Captain Hamilton hook (now superceded by the TDH, available down to #20). It's an attractive hook for tying parachute hackled patterns.

Current hook charts can be viewed from the following manufacturers:

Darrell Martin's Micropatterns also provides detailed information on small hooks, albeit a little esoteric with pages of stress analysis and supporting graphs to pour over. I will dip in to this content from time to time, but some of the joy of small hooks is lost in the analysis - it's just too anatomical.

There's many, MANY other straight shank #20 hook patterns out there. Would love to hear about others preferences...

AK Best's Spent Caddis

2010-04-05T21:16:00.002+01:00

AK Best is one of the giants of fly tying - a true master of the art across the tying spectrum, including small flies. I've read Advanced Fly Tying and Production Tying several times, and regularly dip in to both books for advice on specifics. His style is straight forward and informed by decades of experience, something that is in evidence when you see him tie - every wrap of thread is deliberate and measured - intuitive and economic.

One of the family of patterns I often overlook is the caddis, although there's lots of cool posts from Dave Wiltshire and Gareth Lewis covering this key early season fly in various developmental stages. One of the reasons for this is I'm no big fan of deer hair - I find it tricky to control when tying small, and it's a material that features in many adult caddis patterns. Given the rich caddis fauna on the local streams, this isn't a good call so I have been researching alternatives to deer hair to imitate the adult stage for surface fishing. The following video provides a good alternative to tying adult/spent caddis without the hassle of deer hair.

AK claims in his books that you only become competent tying a particular pattern after you've tied 100 dozen - you can see from this video how valuable time at the vise working on one pattern is - not to mention achieving total control of your tools and materials.

It's very early days for me with his adult caddis, but having found a pattern I'm comfortable tying in #20 - #24 I'll keep going with it...

Hook: TMC 101 #22
Thread: Sheer 14/0 dun
Abdomen: Fly-rite #19, light tan
Wing: Partridge breast
Hackle: Whiting midge saddle

Smaller than he naturals on the local streams, but this pattern works great down to a #26...

Hook: TMC 100BL #26
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0
Abdomen: Fly-rite #19, light tan
Wing: Partridge breast
Hackle: Whiting midge saddle

Fishing this weekend was a no-go as continued rain, and extreme winds kept me off the water. I did head down to the stream behind the house last night to practice casting a 2 weight in a sharp north-easterly for an hour. Figured I'd better raise my game if I'm hooking up with Marc Fauvet in July.

PS: If anyone knows where I can source a copy of AK's "Tying Tiny Dry Flies" on VHS or DVD I'd love to hear from you...

Style-shift

2010-04-01T22:00:00.001+01:00

Like much of the UK, this week has seen typically appalling early season conditions with opportunities to fish pretty much shot. I was fortunate to catch time on the water during the first few weeks of March, when the mainland season remains closed. The heavy snow, power cuts and loss of mains water have been unexpected though, even for this time of year.

So I figured I should prepare a strategy for high water as soon as the colour drops out of the local streams... which may be Saturday if conditions remain dry as forecast. The response is a micro-bugger with which to search pocket water and deeper pools if I add a No. 6 shot. I rarely fish lures so this should be both challenging and an interesting shift in style.

Hook: Partridge Vince Marinaro K1A Midge #26
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0
Tail: Saddle hackle base feather fibres, three strands of Niche Products Shuck Yarn
Rib: X-small copper wire
Abdomen: Dubbed with muskrat underfur, pine squirrel cheek, a few strands of chopped Fly-rite antron
Hackle: Metz hen, furnace (the smallest feathers are pretty much black and very webby)

Small maybe, but the combination of fizz and spice in the tail, a little flash from the rib and movement in the hackle may just work out. We'll see - certainly, it's always good to be on the water when temperatures are crisp and the mornings and evenings are fresh.

For those who celebrate it, Happy Easter. If not, I hope you at least get to enjoy a long weekend.

Either way, best to you and yours.

Andy

#22 Thorax Dun

2010-03-31T17:49:00.001+01:00

Few flies are as effective on skinny water as Vince Marinaro's Thorax Dun. Dating back to the 1950's, this is a pattern ahead of it's time. Originally tied with hen hackle tips to produce a split wing, Mike Lawson developed the pattern further in the 1980's using turkey flat for wings - an innovation that simplifies tying.

The footprint of this pattern is key, in either wing variant.

On standard dry fly hooks, things can get a little crowded - transferring the pattern to a Daiichi 1270, or TMC 200R adds valuable millimetres, and a semi-emergent profile. The large-eye Daiichi makes tying off the hackle a breeze, so this is my preferred hook. That said, it's not a bad idea to trap a few hackle barbs as you finish the fly (as per Roy Christie's EasyPeasy USD Mayfly, example below) with the effect of imitating anterior legs, thereby adding to the footprint. John Goddard was expeimenting with USD patterns in the 1980's by wrapping the hackle around a fine wire post. Roy's design is arguably simpler to tie and more robust - characteristics common to many of his designs.

Hook: Daiichi 1270 #22
Thread: Uni Trico 17/0
Abdomen: Just a wisp of Fly-rite Poly dubbing #19 light tan
Wing: Turkey flat, grey
Hackle: Whiting Midge Saddle, grizzly
Thorax: Muskrat underfur, pine squirrel cheek, a few strands of chopped Fly-rite antron

Small Fly Funk Radio

2010-03-30T16:29:00.002+01:00

Heads up...

Launching Summer 2010, Small Fly Funk Radio will host an ongoing series of interviews with special guests from the world of fly fishing with a focus on small fly fishing and tying.

First up is Marc La Mouche Fauvet, FFF Certified Casting Instructor, Comición Nacional de Lanzado - Master de Lanzado, Instructeur de lancer mouche and head of Planete Mouche.

I last fished with Marc in 2008 on L'Orbieu, in south central France so I'm looking forward to seeing Marc's Presentation Casting demonstration at this years IIFF and spending some time on the local streams with him after the fair (it's been too long, man...). We'll cover small fly presentation techniques and leader design during the interview. Feel free to post any questions you may have nearer the time, this is a great opportunity to gain insight from a casting expert with specific small stream experience. And if you're within striking distance of the IIFF, do not miss his casting demonstration... I got to see Marc weave a 2 weight line through tight brush using my 7' rod at 30 yards last time we hooked up... something else.

Always check your backcast...

Underway

2010-03-25T21:49:00.000Z

Second time out last Saturday and as per last season, the first trout of the year fell to a #20 RPE (Reverse Parachute Emerger, Roy Christie).

Despite no surface activity, this pattern again brought trout up from no where... By mid-afternoon a few small olives were found breaking free and taking flight so I guess my timing was good, more by luck than design.

I appreciate the unhurried pace this early in the season, there was time between fishing to check out what insect life was developing sub-surface. Most of the pools were alive with midge larvae ranging from 10-15mm in length (and a few tiny examples at 4-5mm), and dark olive to blood red in colour. These may lack the complex grace of an adult upwing, but I find them fascinating as they pulse with life.

The #20 below features a thorax dubbed with a home-made blend courtesy of Dennis (scotfly) of the UK Fly Dressing board. A neat innovation is that Dennis labels the dubbing according to hook size range - the fly below features #16 - #18 material, and is a blend of seals fur and hares ear dyed to suit. It's a delightful crunchy blend, incredibly easy to apply and makes an ideal thorax on Roy's RPE. Really looking forward to using this more - I have a few colours that cover the rusty and olive hatches here.

Good call Dennis - and thanks! I'll report further on the Synton thread included in your package.

So, I've eased myself in to the 2010 season... despite no casting practice during the long Winter, I soon found my rhythm and it's good to know there's still trout in the burn. The whole season's ahead of me. And there's the Irish International Fly Fair to look forward to in July.

It's all good.

Stripped quill midge

2010-03-18T22:17:00.000Z

Rick Takahashi's Bow-tie Buzzer is a key pattern from Modern Midges, which includes a detailed SBS. Featuring a fine silver wire rib, bright goose biot cheeks, a mylar wing-bud case and gills tied bow-tie style at right-angles to the hook shank, this is a pattern loaded with triggers.

The stripped peacock quill midge below is a minimalist variation, which relies on zelon gills as the key trigger, with strong segmentation on the abdomen providing more subtle attraction to midging trout.

Uni Trico thread (rated 17/0) excells when forming a neatly bulbed head. With very low bulk, you can really work the thread to produce highly controlled results and permanent marker readily bleeds in to the thread. Once the head is formed, apply a thick coat of Hard As Nails and leave to dry before tying in the gills and finishing.

Hook: Daiichi 1270 #22
Thread: Uni Trico
Abdomen: Stripped peacock quill, olive
Gills: White zelon

I opt for the Daiichi for sub-surface patterns, using 6X and 7X tippet. For on- and in-surface presentations, the TMC 200R has a more discrete eye.

Sno-Fly V11: Modern Midges Celebration Swap

2010-03-13T16:55:00.000Z

The annual Sno-Fly swap on Smallstreams has near legendary status among tiers and fishers of small flies. This year was particularly special as it celebrated the release of Modern Midges, which includes patterns from many of the Smallstreams community.

Although I missed the initial posting and so a place on the list, John Larson (AKA Alpinefly, Smallstreams admin) very generously supplied a full set of submissions. The swap is a celebration of small flies and midges, with contributors from across the States - and further afield. The flies provide insight and inspiration, and demonstrate how midge patterns have evolved from basic patterns of the 1960's to sophisticated imitations using both natural and synthetic materials.

The following is a selection of submissions:

Cory Ellis's Rojo Midge Emerger

Carl Pennington's Chartreuse Juju Midge

John Larson's Glo-lite Series Midge Emerger

Mark Olson's Bowtie Buzzer

I'll keep posting more in the coming weeks and months. There are numerous patterns to share, including lots of sub #28 magic. There's a dizzying array of styles, skills and flavours to share.

I'll also be working on my submission for later this year...

A huge THANK YOU to John for your generosity. I greatly appreciate the fly set, and samples of your úber-cool Glo-lite Series midges.

Catch you real soon.

Andy

Smooching spinner

2010-03-08T17:48:00.000Z

To celebrate the wedding of Mr Boutique, Phil Holding to Lynne, here's the smooching spinner. Many variants of mating and clustered flies exist. This is nothing new, but an appropriate celebration of Phil and Lynne's wedding.

Hook: TMC 101 #20
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan
Tails: Whisper tails, light dun
Wings: Niche Products siliconised polypropylene yarn, white
Thorax: coloured with permanent marker

Congratulations and best wishes for yor shared future, Phil and Lynne!

#26 Paradun

2010-02-25T22:51:00.000Z

I tend to use stripped peacock quill or goose biot for strong segmentation on small paraduns. For added floatation, ease of tapering and a quicker tie, Fly-rite poly dubbing is a very good substitute.

Hook: TMC 100BL #26
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan
Tails: Whisper Tails light dun
Body: Fly-rite #41 pale olive
Post: Niche siliconised polypropylene yarn, grey
Hackle: Whiting midge saddle, medium dun

Just picked up spools of 9X and 10X Varivas Midge tippet from Phil at Spidersplus, rated 1.66lb and 1.37lb respectively. The 10X is ideal for the mono loop on Roy Christie's RPE in #28 - #32, ribs perfectly and pretty much disappears without bulk when hackling the fly.

The 2010 season is now just days away...

Tooled-up

2010-02-20T20:26:00.000Z

For the last two season's I've tied small on a custom midge jaw, generously loaned by Roy Christie. The vise is a Thompson Model A, the midge jaw was turned by Roy's brother specifically for tying down to #32. This set-up has served me very well whilst I have saved for a new vise.

There's a lot of choice out there but few vises offer the robust, simplicity I was looking for within a limited budget. The combination of HMH Spartan and micro jaw is perfect for tying sub #20 and after a long wait, I'm at last tooled-up.

I was guided to this conclusion after a lot of research and conversation with small fly tiers. A particularly useful review of contenders was put together a couple of years ago by Hans Weilenmann. It's early days but this vise is a joy to tie with - first out of the jaw was a '#32 Roy Christie RPE. The micro jaw offers fantastic clearance at this scale, and the rotary action makes it simple to check your work from all perspectives - I really value this function, the Thompson Model A is a fixed design. With a lifetime guarantee (including jaws) I'm hopeful this is the only vice I'll ever need.

To partner the new vise I have a new pair of scissors. Nick Wright at Deer Creek is offering a range of Supa Sharp scissors, and the micro point version are ideal for tight work on small flies, although not exclusively. These are the first serrated blade scissors I've used and they cut clean and very close thanks to the fine blades. Large finger holes make them easy to keep in hand whilst you tie. These are excellent scissors, albeit I was initially a little suspicious of the low price - all scissors in the range are between £6.99 and £8.99... highly recommended.

Small fly resources

2010-02-18T20:27:00.000Z

I'm working away from home 3-4 days a week, a trend that's likely to continue for most of this year. So time is a little compressed... I haven't tied a fly for nearly two weeks and so I'm getting kind of twitchy, not least as the 2010 season is very close to opening and I've a new midge jaw waiting for me at the smallflyfunk lab.

So in the absence of any new stuff from me I thought I'd at least point you in the direction of some cool small fly tying to check out.

I've been a big fan of The Weekly Fly site for the last year, it's what you'd expect from the title... a new fly pattern video per week. The content is broad and there's some cool midges by Rick Wollum, whose Wollum Worm and this weeks Krystalflash Chironomid are favourites. All videos are available to download in HD with an account. It's worth bookmarking and checking each week.

I'm finding more and more smallflyfunk across the net as I search for sub #20 fanatics. Some content features on blogs and forums, but there's also some dedicated small fly action out there. Proven Patterns is the latest find, and worth a long, hard look. There's some really insightful content and excellent small fly tying by Lucas Carroll. And the Going Tiny fly swap on the N. American Fly Fishing forum features some nice flies including a neat #32.

One last site to visit... and this is for the hardcore small fly freaks. I first came across this site a couple of years ago and lost the link. This is NOT an easy site to find without a deep Google search, but the flavour is home-made #42 hooks and some of the finest #32's I've seen.
Takeshi Saitoh's tying and creative spirit is breathtaking and there is a wonderful range of content to explore. Here's a taste of what Takeshi creates:

Thanks for following, I'll work hard to get keep the small fly content fresh and innovative throughout the 2010 season.

Andy

14-02-2010

2010-02-07T14:07:00.000Z

This Valentine's Day, only go fishing if this is something you can enjoy with the love of your life. For just one day, stay home, cook some good food and spend quality time with this season's real trophy. If the greatest love of your life is piscatorial... then hit the water hard and catch some February action.

As I'll be away with Nic and the kids to get some sun for a couple of weeks, let me be the first to wish you all a happy Valentine's Day... whoever you get to spend the 14th with.

Thanks to Nik Wright of Deer Creek for the complimentary pack of TMC 518 #32's.... man, I love this hook...

There's more to life than fishing you know.... but not much more X

The Fly Tying Boutique

2010-01-21T18:55:00.000Z

bou-tique [boo-teek]
–noun
any small, exclusive business offering customized service
–adjective
of, designating, or characteristic of a small, exclusive producer or business

The name Fly Tying Boutique is not new to followers of this blog - many of the materials I tie with originate from Phil Holding, and my Varivas leaders and tippet are also sourced via Phil's Spiders Plus online shop, where you can buy Roy Christie's RPE's all hand-tied by Roy himself.

Although smallflyfunk exists to promote small fly tying and fishing, rather than serve as a commercial venture I have no hesitation in promoting materials of interest to discerning small fly freaks, with a respectful nod to their source. Because we often have specific requirements, and sources of materials and hooks suitable for tying small flies are not always readily available in the UK, resources such as the Fly Tying Boutique are valuable... and a little unique.

If evidence of Phil's interest in small flies (and amazing skill at the vice) was required, here's some of the micro-patterns he offers at Spiders Plus... all are #24's and tied by the man himself.

Over the last year or so, pretty much since smallflyfunk started, Phil and I have kept in regular telephone contact discussing our shared passion for small flies and good fly fishing books. It's easy to spend an hour or so chatting to Phil. To my knowledge, he was the first supplier of genuine zelon in the UK - a material much revered in the US but notoriously difficult to source here. And the dyed peacock herl he stocks is one of the key features of many of my parachute dun and emerger patterns - it's just perfect for tying small and really small.

With sterling so weak, the deals available if buying from the US or €zone are crazy and a regular scan of his front page will keep you updated on new arrivals and coming soon items.

Pitch over. I thought some of you might be interested to learn a little more about The Fly Tying Boutique and the man that runs the show so here is a short interview with Phil:

The Fly Tying Boutique is a relatively new venture, what are the ideas behind it?
There are many interesting and unusual products available for fly tying on the market today but until now, a high percentage have only been offered by companies outside the UK.
I have tied flies for a living for a number of years now and have always been fascinated by some of the materials available, but have also had to spend a fortune in postage costs to buy them - and wait weeks on end sometimes for my purchases to arrive.
I therefore created the Fly Tying Boutique to gather many of these products under one roof - offering the ability to order many different items from one source without high overseas postage costs and long delivery times.

How do you select and source new materials to offer?
I have personally tied with all the materials I now stock so a good number of materials are already known to me - I am also very lucky to be invited to tie at various shows around the country and increasingly overseas - a great opportunity to pick the brains of other tiers to find new ideas. I also welcome and receive ideas from customers.

How do you see the Boutique evolving in the future?
If money was no object, then there would be a wealth of high quality materials on my "wish-list" that I would love to bring to the UK - a whole range of capes and saddles from Charlie Collins in New York and the hard to find micro hooks from Tiemco for example - but I have to walk before I can run so I will be growing the business in a controlled manner for now - but always trying to maintain a point of difference from the other businesses.
After all, it would be easy to just offer the entire stock list from Veniard but that would compromise the core idea of the Boutique.

You also own and run "Spiders Plus" which offers a range of micropatterns. How much interest in small flies and tying exists from UK fly fishers?
When I first set-up SPIDERS PLUS I offered patterns down to size 20 but on receiving many requests from clients for smaller patterns, now offer an albeit limited range of patterns tied down to size 24 - I intend to introduce an expanded range this coming summer.

What would be your own favourite small fly patterns? How and when do you fish small flies?
I personally fish small Spidres down to size 24 on the Wharfe in the summer months - "Spiderlings" - I have had great fun fishing a Greenwells Spider and also a simple, black parachute midge pattern under the trees.
Also, in the late winter months I enjoy picking off Grayling with a cream bodied Spider when Pale Wateries are coming off - and of course, the ubiquitous bead head PTN under a bushy dry "indicator" pattern.

Quick and simple...

2010-01-21T12:41:00.000Z

Another couple of patterns from Ed Engle's Tying Small Flies, these are so simple and a pretty addition to the midge box.

Hook: TMC 2488 #24
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan
Body: Stripped peacock quill, tan
Thorax: Peacock herl, 3-4 wraps

Ed Engle's Secret Weapon:

Hook: TMC 518 #32
Thread: Sheer 14/0 red
Tails: Whisper tails, light dun
Body: Fly-rite poly dubbing, #12 cream
Wing: Niche Products Midge Wing

#28 Baetid on a #32

2010-01-16T16:56:00.000Z

I try to keep in regular touch with Mick Hall, he is a valuable and greatly appreciated source of high-quality tiny fly images. It is always a real treat to receive new mail with attached jpeg's of naturals he has photographed whilst out and about in his native Australia, a region blessed with a myriad of tiny baetids. These are simply beautiful flies, typically #26 - #28 in size and a constant source of inspiration. Close observation of naturals is a great way to develop small fly tying, colouration, scale and proportion benefit from an informed approach. Below is a couple of recent images Mick generously shared.

I'm constantly seeking new patterns to tie on TMC 518 #32's, driven by the thrill of catching on this smallest of hooks. Of course, space is a little limited when tying on a hook with a shank length of only 2.5mm so some innovation is required.

There's nothing new here in terms of technique, more a case of applying tried-and-tested methodology to scaled down tying. Ed Engle drew my attention to Hisashi Suzuki's CDC Yusurika Stillborn in his review on "Modern Midges" in the Jan/Feb edition of Fly Fisherman magazine, which features a shuck constructed of 6X tippet. This is also a #32 pattern, and demonstrates the extent of innovation achievable at this scale.

I got thinking that Suzuki's shuck could be tweaked a little to form the basis of an extended body - using 8X tippet twisted together and fixed with Zap-A-Gap, the remaining loop is then cut to form a neat, forked tail. The body is coloured with permanent marker to match the natural, cut to size and simply lashed to the shank. The wing is formed with Niche Midge Wing and careful wraps of thread build a neat thorax profile.

The result is closer in size to a #28 to match Mick's Brown Watery Baetid and the light tippet plus Zap-A-Gap offers almost no resistance to a striking trout.

Alongside the spinner, I reckon we've got late evening in high summer on Roy's secret burn pretty much covered.

The Road

2010-01-14T19:18:00.000Z

Cormac McCarthy (2006)

"Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery."

USD Kossiedun #26

2009-12-30T16:57:00.000Z

Mick Hall's photography of naturals has inspired my tying during 2009. Tying and fishing small flies is great fun, it's also the very fabric of my fly fishing experience. There are a multitude of tiny mayflies in Australia that Mick has photographed, particularly tiny Baetidae so the fun is amplified by taking inspiration from naturals, albeit they inhabit the southern hemisphere.

The TMC 100BL is a useful hook pattern for tying adult USD Baetids. The long shank provides plenty of room to work with and the bend is neatly proportioned so as not to get in the way when tying or fishing USD. Oh, and it's barbless... a feature I really appreciate.

Tying methodology is based on Roy Christie's instructions - minus the posted-wing, countered with an additional turn of hackle.

Thanks again Mick and Roy.

TMC 518 #32 USD

2009-12-28T11:43:00.001Z

The upside-down style of fly design is nothing new, Roy Christie's been designing flies this way for over thirty years. It's something I've studied closely yet rarely tie and fish, despite the incredible foot-print and profile the design affords. I also have some unqualified reservations about hooking ability, which should be effectively overcome by tying small, only the smallest of trout will fail to inhale such a diminuitive fly.

Transfering the design to a TMC 518 #32 demands other considerations. The tails are two coq de leon barbs, providing neat barring using a very soft material that will readily bend in the trouts mouth. Tie in at the bend to lift the tails above the waters surface when fished. Hackling a #32 demands the smallest of feathers, which can be found on most genetic capes, and Whiting's midge saddles.

Palmer the hackle from rear to behind the eye, gently split on the top and hold apart using a length of Niche Midge Wing to form a shimmering thorax cover. This is easy to do as the hook is held is in the vice in the traditional way with the midge wing pulled over the top of the hook shank to split the wing/legs with hackle.

The result is robust as hell, features a fantastic profile and footprint, and further demonstrates the many design and pattern options that can be applied to this smallest of hooks.

Hook: TMC 518 #32
Thread: Gudebrod 12/0 light grey
Tails: Coq de Leon (thanks Lars)
Hackle: Whiting Midge Saddle, brown
Thorax cover: Niche Midge Wing

Gareth's Sparkle Chironomid

2009-12-09T19:39:00.000Z

Hook: Varivas 2200BL-B, #24
Thread: Roman Moser Power Silk 10/0, grey
Body: Pearl
Thorax: Squirrel
Wing: CDC, natural

Gareth Lewis is a small fly tier and fisher from South Wales. He regularly updates his fantastic blog with small fly patterns, fishing reports and some very, very cool posts covering essential advice on reel maintenance and bamboo rods. The Sparkle Chironomid above is Gareth's and it's one peach of a fly, and a proven pattern on his home waters. Flies as good as these always catch my attention - the stray guard hairs suggesting newly emerged legs, the movement in the thorax and the brilliant sheen of the mylar ribbed abdomen are such effective triggers.

This is inspired tying.

So I hope I Gareth doesn't mind me applying a little smallflyfunk to his pattern, the fly below is tied on a #30 Varivas 2210, and his CDC is replaced with Niche Midge Wing.

Thanks for the inspiration Gareth, I look forward to catching your new posts and following your adventure.

TMC 200R #20 generic emerger

2009-12-05T10:49:00.000Z

Hook: TMC 200R #20
Thread: Sheer 14/0 claret
Abdomen: turkey biot
Shuck: Niche Shuck Yarn
Wing: Niche Siliconised Polypropylene Yarn
Thorax: Fly-rite #28

I'm already thinking about the 2010 season, and studying the pupal and emerger phases of the midge lifecycle in anticipation. I'll apply Dilly Wax to the stubby wing on this generic emerger, which should be good for half-a-dozen drifts, then explore just an inch or so sub-surface.

Tie the wing in at the back of the thorax, in the plane of the hook shank. Make several wraps of dubbed thread forward then fold the wing back and bind down again. This makes for a full and natural wing profile.

Daiichi 1273 #22

2009-12-04T20:12:00.001Z

Hook: Daiichi 1273 #22
Thread: Sheer 14/0 black

This ultra-simple pattern uses the red hook to produce an imitative chironomid pupa. Form a pronounced rear-end, a subtle but effective trigger to differentiate your fly from the natural. Cord the thread super-tight to form a ribbed body.

A single application of Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails and your done. Or apply multiple layers to build a cool profile and added transparent depth.

Southern Comfort

2009-12-04T17:12:00.000Z

A few months ago the board on Sexyloops featured some cool #22's tied by a guy called Ally McDonald. Seems that small hooks are hard to source in Australia (Ally's from Scotland, now living in Victoria) so I posted off a selection of hooks, mainly #24 - #28's with a handful of #30's and #32's in a range of patterns, some Whiting Midge saddle hackle and a few flies.

I've yet to see Allie's latest work, but he has been in touch.... the magazine shown below arrived in today's post.

Published by Australian Fishing Network, Flyfisher is pitched as relevant, sophisticated and cutting edge and it's very hard to disagree. This is a large format magazine (310 x 260mm) and printed on 128 gsm high gloss art paper, focusing on the scene in Australia, NZ and the Pacific Basin. Published twice a year, this is a unique magazine similar in style to some of the high-end surfing magazines I've seen on friends coffee tables. The writing, photography and even the advertising are very much on the next level. At the expense of raising a few eyebrows, publishing of this quality puts the monthly printed output in the UK to shame... I'd much rather receive something this good twice a year.

This copy features a fantastic article written by Mick Hall and includes amazing macro photography of the tiny duns found in Australia, and lots of his own exquisite patterns. Mick is a master of imitation, he matches wing, thorax and body colour with staggering integrity.

As I said, even the advertising is something special - Hardy girls move over, the Reddington model just took centre stage...

Big THANKS Ally - this is a seriously good journal, looking forward to seeing more of your flies.

2009-11-26T22:09:00.000Z

Towards the end of a long year it's good to find new energy and creative spirit. Anish Kapoor at the RA, London thrilled me.

The photography here isn't great... but you should get a good steer on what I'm trying to do.
I use a simple compact digital to crop this...

to this...

This fly could cover both pupa and emerger: simple, quick, robust but as yet unproven.

And this is a #28 a diptera emerger... build the thorax with a blend of cheek hair and short belly hair from a pine squirrel pelt. Niche Midge Wing is easily handled and gives off a cool shimmer for the wing case.

Still compressed...

Compressed

2009-11-23T22:37:00.000Z

... that's the flow of new posts until Christmas...

TMC 200R #22, add a wisp of Fly-rite #28 to a split thread
and cord up TIGHT to rib
gloss up the head with Hard As Nails

Same again but Fly-rite Clear Antron replaces the Reddish Brown

Last trout of 2009, #24 quill-bodied paraduns (TMC101, Grip 19111BL, Daiichi 1110) reigned out-right during the last six weeks of the season.

Roy Christie's RPE is a design he invites tiers to develop new patterns with.
Peccary is strong and makes sublime bodies on small flies.
In a #20 this fly will last two dozen fish plus.

A good place to start.
The Partridge K1A Vince Marinaro Midge Hook (full title...) features an off-set bend with exceptional hooking
properties, and a discrete dark (not black) nickel finish.
In a #28 the shank profile makes for a sublimely proportioned midge pupa.
Simply run thread from eye-to-bend-to-eye-to-bend, cord up TIGHT,
colour thread with marker and rib neatly.

A local stream had good hatches of full #18 olives in 2009...

Modern Midges

2009-11-10T17:14:00.001Z

Modern Midges (Headwater Books, 2009)
Rick Takahashi & Jerry Hubka

A book review is long overdue on this blog - there's some simply fantastic small tying and fishing books out there, especially from the States. Publishers to look out for are Stackpole Books and Headwater Books.

This is a timely review with Modern Midges hitting the shelves very recently. Notice of this book's publication came via an article in Fly Fisherman earlier this year, and a gentle reminder from Roy Christie (whose patterns feature in the book) last month that I really should order a copy.

There are numerous branches to our sport - each evolving over time as technique and approach are developed and refined by specialists and passed on. This is very much the case with midge fishing and tying. The simple, generic patterns developed in the States during the 1970's were the precursor to a fantastically diverse scene today. Modern Midges very much captures the state-of-the-art in contemporary midge tying and fishing.

Firstly, this is a big book at 288 pages measuring 8.5" x 11" in hardback. It delivers a lot of bang for your buck! The first section makes the case for midge fishing and describes the midge lifecycle. This is a brilliantly judged introduction - concise and complete. It sets the scene perfectly before we get to the (main) tying section. This is organised in to the key developmental stages of midges: larva, pupa, emerger and adult. Each section opens with a handful of proven patterns presented in step-by-step sequence. These are trusted and effective patterns tied by the authors, and photographed extremely clearly.

What follows in each section is at first a little overwhelming... this is a compendium of patterns, tied and supplied from a global congregation of fly fisherman. The book features over a thousand patterns, with a clear photograph and menu included for every fly. You may not fully appreciate just how good this book is at first, the depth and scale of what has been put together here is vast. I've had the book for seven weeks now, and I'm still discovering jaw-dropping patterns.

The final section covers midge fishing technique - and the approach here is as unique and effective as elsewhere. Rather than write extended pieces on midge fishing, the authors invited articles from recognised experts covering a broad range of subjects. Each piece is concise, yet highly focused and rewards the reader with insight and knowledge.

There is an assumed simplicity to tying midges. Certainly, there are brilliantly simple patterns comprising nothing more than hook and thread - and these provide a good place to start. But in time, you may want experiment a little more, widen your prespectives, the posibilities are endless as evidenced in Modern Midges. Some of what is presented here is breathtaking.

And there's some simply wonderful #32's for the hardcore midge-heads.

This is an absolutely essential book if you dig small flies.

Split-tails, stripped peacock quill and wing-posts

2009-10-12T21:01:00.000+01:00

My go-to fly this summer has been a simple #24 paradun - there is something uniquely pleasing about it's form and scale. This size of fly is small without being microscopic. Paraduns are a highly effective pattern, clearly visible on the water and they float well. I always tie this pattern with a split-tail; it looks cool in the fly box but also provides incredible stability ensuring the fly fishes well, even over the choppiest riffle. On smooth water I'm convinced the impression of the split tail resting on the surface film provides an iresistable trigger to feeding trout.
With a little care during tying they can also last a dozen fish or more.

Here's a few tips learnt over the last couple of seasons of tying this pattern. Some of this learning has been a process of trial and error, much of it has been read in the pages of Ed Engle's and A.K. Best's books on tying and most, if not all of these steps have been discussed regularly and in depth with Roy Christie. I'm not covering the whole tying method here, just the bits I've spent most time thinking about in the interests of aesthetics and resiliance.

I almost always tie a split tail using microfibbetts. They are stronger than natural materials, albeit they do not have the aesthetic appeal of well-barred Coq de Leon fibres. You can split the tail by forcing the microfibbetts apart with your thumb nail, then teasing them in to place by applying downward pressure with the pad of your thumb. This looks fine, but the tails will stick together after the first fish and splitting them again on the water is tricky and consumes valuable fishing time.

Splitting tails (by locking them in position) takes practice, but it's worth the effort. This method works for me:

Bind two microfibbets flat and absolutely central on top of the hook shank with one loose wrap to position correctly and a second tight wrap to hold them securely in place.
Split the tails with your thumb nail by pushing firmly towards the eye of the hook.
Holding the nearest tail fibre to the side, ease a single turn of thread under and between the tail and carefully wrap at a 45 degree back over the hook shank.
Repeat with the opposite side, noting that the thread turn will come over (not under) and between this time.
Check your work.
If the tails are sited equidistant apart and on a level plane with the hook shank then apply one further tight wrap of thread.
Add a tiny drop of thinned cement and leave well alone... you only risk undoing good work.

The fine, stripped peacock quills used here are fragile. I apply Dilly Wax between thumb and forefinger rather than water to soften them. This puts floatant in to the heart of the fly and avoids trapping water against the hook.

Tie the quill in at a 45 degree angle to the shank with the darker edge pointing backwards and apply a thin and even layer of Hard As Nails to the threaded hook shank. The angle avoids any harsh twisting as you make the first wrap, and the rear facing dark edge ensures strong segmentation to the abdomen. Take extreme care as you make the first wrap to avoid breaking the quill, then wrap forward with touching turns.

I'll usually wrap the quill (or biot) to the 3/4 point... it's a personal thing but I like the wing-post and thorax to sit just behind the eye of the hook.

Wingposts need to be strong - it's not easy removing a small fly if hooked deeply, the wing-post provides a useful point to grip with hemostats. On the water I apply floatant with my left hand then hold the wingpost (between thumb and forefinger of left hand) to degrease tippet. They need to be up to both jobs. A strong but slim wingpost can be formed as follows:

Select the amount of wing-post material very carefully. For reference, I'm using one-third of a single strand of Niche Products Siliconised Polypropylene Yarn here.
Secure the yarn with one loose wrap (for positioning) and two tight wraps of thread across the hook shank.
Then apply a tiny drop of Hard As Nails to the thread base.

Form the wingpost by holding the polypropylene yarn upright.
Flatten the thread and take three tight wraps up the post, and three tight wraps back down the post.
Add tiny drops of Hard As Nails to the wing-post and thorax area.

Check you work. Before the Hard As Nails dries, ease the wing post dead centre and upright on the hook shank.

So, nothing too radical or ground-breaking here... but I hope there's some useful and clear steps described which are interesting to read about. Thread choice is important, there's several steps requiring a tight wrap so know the characteristics of your preferred choice. I'll use Gudebrod 10/0 or Sheer 14/0 for most of my tying, the Gudebrod was used above.
It's also worth applying a drop of thinned cement or Hard As Nails at each stage of tying any fly. This really does reinforce the finished product.

Grip 11911BL #24

2009-10-10T15:04:00.000+01:00

I'm not sure how long Grip hooks have been in production, but I've seen several patterns by cool tiers like Hans Weilenmann and Dave Wiltshire tied on them. They are a recent addition to the growing portfolio of quality hooks available at the Fly Tying Boutique. Phil offers worldwide shipping and exchange rates are particularly favourable if you are ordering in the € zone or US dollars at the time of writing - so do check out his online shop.

The Fly Tying Boutique offers the full range of Grip barbless hooks, and this is the first pattern I've had a close look at, not least as it is available in #24. Quality is impeccable and entirely consistent among the 25 in the box I recieved. The point is super-sharp (barbless hooks always seem sharper than barbed variants) and the gape and shank length make for a sublimely proportioned hook, ideal for parachute hackled patterns. The fine wire seems to have great strength from the tests I conducted whilst holding the hook in the vice. This simply involves tying 6X tippet to the hook and applying pressure from a range of angles. Serious side and downward pressure is required to distort the hook from it's as-manufactured form. The hook has a sensibly sized eye making tying to tippet a breeze.

On the water, it performs great - I fished a familiar pool with a stripped peacock paradun for 90 minutes taking eight trout, the best tipping just over 13"

Hooks-up are clean and secure, and although I missed a couple of strikes, once hooked every fish was brought safely to hand - and released without fuss or delay thanks to the barbless point.

After eight fish, the point still seems very sharp - and the fly remains fishable - helped by the addition of tiny drops of cement and Hard As Nails at every step of the tying process. Of course this takes longer during tying, but it's worth it.

This is a seriously good hook, and a pleasure to tie on and fish with - right up their with the Daiichi 1100 and 1110. If only the Daiichi's were barbless...

Mustad C49S #26

2009-09-18T12:34:00.000+01:00

The fishing tackle industry thrives on our lust for the new, the latest and the now improved. It's a lust I have resisted to date, not least for reasons of simple economics. So I was comforted when I read Don Holbrook's chapter "Fishing The Midge" in Midge Magic (which he co-authored with Ed Koch). He makes the point that he "...never had much interest in acquiring new rods, there always being some fly-tying purchase to be made." I do get kind of excited when I see a Hardy Flyweight reel, and I would love to join the ranks of the boo-mafia but I'm more than happy to make do with my affordable 7' two weight and 6 1/2 foot 3wt rods and simple reels. I will invest good money in a good line, if it's a Scientific Anglers XPS DTF in heron grey... beyond this, I'm set up just fine.

Hooks are a somewhat different matter. If I can admit to being seduced by the tackle industry then without doubt I'm well and truly hooked. Where others may scan the glossy pages of brochures and catalogues at the rods and reels in stunning settings, I'll stare, at times mesmerised by my growing collection of hook charts. TMC has one of the best I've come across with accurate size charts by pattern when printed A4. Mustad is less slick, but does include size charts and some wonderful wee flies tied by Hans Weilenmann.

If I lived Stateside, such an obsession should be less of an issue - small flies and the hooks we tie them on are more widely available and a greater part of the fly fishing fabric. Things are very different in the UK... frustratingly so from a supply perspective - less so if you enjoy skirting on the fringes of your chosen sport, as I do.

I've been aware of Mustad hooks most of my fishing life - and fondly recall being among the first to fish #22's and #24's in the early 1980's when the Continental style of fixed line, long pole fishing first arrived from France. Like fly fishing, this was all about presentation, albeit the means of achieving this were very different to casting a fly line. I've used the TMC 200R widely in #20 and #22 for a couple of years, and the Varivas 2200 and 2210 more recently. The Mustad C49S sits somewhere between the two in profile but is only available to #16 in the UK.

Phil Holding is aware of my hook vice (groan...) so I made a call to him in search of the C49S in #24 through #28. Phil has an enviable network of contacts across the globe - makes sense, he ties for a living. A return call soon followed, with assurance that he could source #26's and #28's, but #24's were likely to prove difficult. So an order was immediately placed and the hooks commenced their journey to Ireland from the source in Germany, via Phil's place in N. Yorkshire. The hooks arrived a couple of days ago - now I understand why my kids appear to lose all self-control when they set upon opening presents on Christmas morning. I would have been embarrassed but for an empty house at the time.

I immediately emailed Phil to thank him, with assurances that I would share some images as soon as I got tying. This is a very special hook, just perfect for tying parachute hackled emergers and Roy's RPE - two patterns that cover a lot of my small stream fishing.

Simple emerger and a Roy Christie RPE on Mustad C49S #26

I'll have to make this batch of hooks last - possibly a lifetime. Mustad have discontinued production of the #26 and #28, with plans to top the range out at #20. Not sure what plans exist for the smaller R50's and R30's. Seems Mustad's future lies more in the saltwater market.

So, if you can get them, get them quick and stock up.

TMC 518 #32

2009-09-11T19:44:00.000+01:00

Sooner or later, a blog that focuses solely on small flies has to discuss the smallest "useable" fly available. This is how Ed Engle describes the 518 and it's hard to disagree with this assessment. There are smaller hooks out there. Hans Weilenmann has challenged me to tie a fly on a Mustad 277 #32. Have yet to rise to this challenge, suffice to say that the 277 looks less than "useable" to my eyes, and Ed knows his stuff.

I first learnt about the 518 series of hooks reading "Tying Small Flies" which includes a chapter dedicated to #32's (the pattern is also available in #28 and #30). The chapter also mentions "Midge Magic" by Don Holbrook and Ed Koch, another book with a #32 only chapter. Pretty soon, the 518 had attained legendary status to my mind - a status reinforced when I started to try and source some. Until very recently, these hooks simply were not available in the UK. Fortunately this situation has changed, with both the Fly Tying Boutique and Deer Creek offering 518's at a lower price than you can import them from the States. I may regret sharing my reliable sources of 518's but there's real fun to be had tying and fishing these hooks, and we're a small community of small fly fanatics, right?

I now tie just one pattern on the #32, a spent spinner. With an extended, split tail (Whisper Tails reduce bulk, they are apparently 40% finer than standard microfibbets), and Niche Midge Wing it makes for a pretty, and entirely useable fly. Fished on 7X or 8X (ideally) tippet it can be fished dry or drowned, so we have some options when on the stream. The fly is constructed entirely from thread (Sheer 14/0 or Gudebrod 10/0) with a darker thorax made by colouring the thread with permanent marker. On the close-up pictured below, I even ribbed the fly with six turns of Spiderweb which you may just about make out if your viewing this on a 17" plus monitor (forgive the low-fi photography). An unnecesary embellishment but hey, this is how I get my kicks.

So I set out on Wednesday evening with the set-up above, this was a pre-determined mission so I geared up at home. I headed to Roy's Burn to fish below a road bridge where the water breaks over a shallow weir of small boulders then runs smooth. It's full of small trout, thanks to the vigilant work carried out by Roy as a boy, back in the sixties. A real gem of a micro-fishery - and almost completely unfished, aside from my regular trips. A 7' rod and 2wt SA XPS DTF line (I love this line...) provides a really balanced approach, partnered with 7X Varivas tippet.

There's great hatches of small and medium olives on this stream, the bed is alive with small shrimp, and tiny sherry and pale olive spinners come off in droves at last light this late in the season.

This isn't a technical water, but there is always an element of challenge trying to catch using a #32

As the sun dropped below the horizon and the light started to fade, so I started to fish. Maybe a dozen casts without a strike failed to put these eager trout down. A #32 is no attractor, even a small trout is unlikely to swim any great distance for such a small snack but I was able to drop the drowned spinner two foot above a rising trout. The strike was obvious and a clean lift resulted in a hook-up. This is thrilling stuff in my world - the combination of small water, short rod, light line and tiny flies all converge. A 7" trout was brought to hand, carefully unhooked and released. There was no need to fish on, rather I just sat back against the steep bank of the stream, taking it all in.

John Gireach wrote in "Fly Fishing Small Streams"...

"... let me introduce an idea - just something to kick around: Maybe your stature as a fly fisherman isn't determined by how big a trout you can catch, but by how small a trout you can catch without being disappointed, and, of course, without losing the faith that there's a bigger one in there." -

I got this philosophy as soon as I read it, and I can't imagine another writer articulating this in a more meaningful way than John Gierach. So much of what I do on the water is about trying to catch trout with as small a fly as possible - often at the expense of catching more and potentially larger fish. To this end, tying pretty wee spinners on #32's and catching on them, even just that one magical fish, is pretty much as wholesome a pursuit as any I've found in this sport.

If that makes me one of the "eccentrics, crazies, crackpots, and weirdos" Ed Engle describes in his introduction to "Tying Small Flies", then it's a badge of honour I'll wear with genuine pride and great satisfaction.

A 7" wild brown trout (pushing 8"...) taken on a #32 spent spinner last Wednesday

#20 Quill March Brown

2009-09-09T13:56:00.000+01:00

I've been reading lot's of good books this last week, well re-reading, not least as I've been travelling with work.

A favourite is John Gierach's "Good Flies", in fact I'd forgotten just how good a book this is. Everyone should read the introduction at least once a season (so much of this feels familiar, reassuringly so), if only to identify how similar many tyers are as they evolve from absolute beginner, through competent and in time, pretty good.

A few achieve brilliance... Ed Engle, AK Best and Roy Christie being favourites.

They are also increasingly unique within the contemporary fly tying spectrum, in that they almost exclusively favour natural materials, and the few synthetic materials they do use are always sympathetically selected for form and function. Where Ed Engle incorporates zelon for trailing shucks, AK Best opts for natural duck flank fibres. Gierach's book reinforces this philosophy of approach, yet never sounds dogmatic or preaching. Form and function aside, the aesthetic value of flies tied with natural materials is hard to doubt. That said, Mick Hall uses synthetics widely and likely more effectively than any one else I've come across to date.

I use my fair share of synthetics for wing-posts, tailing and trailing shucks, and use Fly-rite poly dubbing widely. But revisiting Gierach's "Good Flies" got me thinking that maybe I'd forgotten the beauty of natural materials, not least as I like my flies to look like... well, flies!

Hook: Mustad R50 #20
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0
Tails: Ginger spade hackle
Abdomen: Stripped peacock herl
Thorax: Fly-rite March Brown (yeah, yeah, I know...)
Wing post: Duck flank feathers
Hackle: Whiting midge saddle, brown

Varivas 2200 BL

2009-09-07T10:29:00.000+01:00

I picked these hooks up last year and... kind of forgot about them. Foolish really. They are readily available, good value at about £3.50 for thirty hooks (this is good value at a time when TMC have increased prices whilst reducing numbers from 25 to 20 per packet, a net increase of about 30%) and they are a really sweet hook.

There is also a light weight 2210 that goes down to a #30 for the hardcore, small fly freaks...
To date I've only tied simple thread midges on these and they make a nice addition to the fly box. Size 30 Klinkhamers are not for the feint hearted, but Hans Weilenmann shows how it's done.

There seems to be a trend towards shorter shank, curved hooks to tie emerger patterns. I only recently discovered the new TMC 212Y which is the latest design in this style.

And I love that the Varivas 2200BL is a barbless hook. Sure, they are also available with a micro-barb but why would you? Even a pinched barb can catch on the mouth of a trout. Removing barbless hooks couldn't be simpler, or faster - preservation of wild trout stocks through careful handling is central to sound fishing philosophy.

To date, I've only used this pattern to tie micro-klinks. This is a quick and simple pattern:

Hook: Varivas 2200BL #24
Thread: Gudebrod 10/0 tan
Body: Fly-rite poly dubbing to match hatch/natural. Aim for a smooth taper and visibly bulbed abdomen. Feel free to darken the thorax with permanent marker - this can be done streamside to increase options.
Hackle: Light and medium dun Whiting midge saddle
Wing post: Niche Siliconised polypropylene yarn in grey and white, Tiemco Aero Dry Wing in flouro pink for last light fishing (you can add a strand of pearl micro-Krystalflash for an extra fizz). A tip from Phil Holding is to leave the post long - again adding to the options streamside.

The colour options are massive, match to your requirements and taste.

The fluoro pink post is a life saver during last light, otherwise more subdued colours provide a very natural wing with enticing Krystalflash providing a little sparkle.

The fly rides the smoothest curents and choppiest riffle equally well - and the sharp curvature sits the flies body deep - which seems to reinforce stability on the water. The eye of the hook readily takes 6X tippet, I'll tend to fish them with 7X more because a 12" trout is a good trout on my local water and matched with a 7' rod and 2 weight line, the whole set-up just feels very balanced and natural. It's also worth pinch wetting the body after you've ginked the parachute hackle to ensure the fly sits right first cast.

Right now, this is one of my favourite small hook patterns... but I'm fickle as hell when it comes to small hooks, and a batch of Mustad C49S's in #26 and #28 are en route so, watch this space.

Stripped peacock herl Pt. II

2009-08-26T16:47:00.000+01:00

Really enjoying the segmented body effect using this material... so here's another pattern.

Hook: TMC 200R #22
Thread: Sheer 14/0 cinnamon
Shuck: Niche Shuck Yarn
Abdomen: stripped peacock herl, tan
Thorax: Fly-rite #10 (BWO)
Wing-post: Niche siliconised polypropylene yarn
Hackle: Whiting midge saddle, light dun (tied off with spiderweb, as per Hans van Klinken method)

Stripped peacock herl

2009-08-24T14:54:00.000+01:00

This material features in numerous fly patterns, and adds little bulk to a fly - important when tying small. One of my frustrations has always been the lack of colour variation when stripping herl from natural peacock eyes, resulting in limited segmentation on the body. Natural herl is a v. dark brown, almost black in colour.

So I was intrigued when Phil Holding started stocking dyed peacock herl recently. Available in a range of colours, the tan makes for ultra-natural looking bodies and the size of the herl is simply perfect for sub #20 patterns. Once tied in, apply a thin layer of Hard As Nails and carefully wrap the quill forward in touching turns. The effect is a robust and highly imitative body.

There's enough material on a single eye feather for 100+ flies and a pack of three (colours can be mixed when you order) for only £2.50 makes for insane value.

This is a simple sepia dun, tied on a #24 TMC 101:

Oh, and still tying spent spinners on TMC 518 #32's... Simply colour the thread with permanent marker to make a neat but striking thorax.