Recent comments

Need to find Clive Perkins

Hi guys,
My name is Svetoslav Pavlov and I am trying to reach Mr. Clive Perkins cause I spoke with him like 6 may be 7 months ago. I am working for Sky but cause Sky has a very strong and strictly security policy I was not able to exchange contacts with Clive even though he wanted to .... Stupid but can I have his e-mail address cause I am a fly fisherman too and I know that I've got a lot to learn from this man. Thank you!

Thank you!!

I tied my first Muddlers today. I need something to use around the numerous boat landings on Lake Allatoona in Georgia and thought the Muddler would be a good start. I appreciate the detail of this article and will apply the information as you presented it. I am am excited about this idea. Thanks for the help!

dryer lint dubbing

I guess with all the different cotton and poly blends in clothing this could work very well..
Must say I looked at the lint screen a few times and it looked like it could be nice dubbing...

Less bulk

Colin,

Hans probably won't see your comment, so I'm taking the liberty of replying for him.

My guess is that Hans uses the barbs only because the stem on the partridge feather is typical pretty thick, and he simply doesn't want the bulk. He can also control the length of the hackle using this method.

Martin

crawfish

Nice tie.

Question on partridge barbs

Can I ask why you dont tie the partridge in as a sparse hackle? It would seem to give the same result.

Shooting line

Hi, Martin!

Thanks for your advice on the rod - didn't go for a switch and bought a 9"Fenwick Techna saltwater rod rated #7 for coastal sea trout.

Another thing I'm still confused about, is what shooting line to use. I have tried a monofilament line with a shortened #8 guideline shooting head and I also have a regular airflo 40+ intermediate line. I would prefer the shooting head setup for the ease of use, but the monofilament tangles up occasionally. I read that you use a braided line - do you have any recommendations and what are the pros of braided line? I'm thinking about the Airflo Miracle shooting braid. Not many shooting braids on the market and to be honest, no one has even heard of a shooting braid here in Estonia.

Fishy

I have meet Fishy at our annual Sowbug in Mountain Home Arkansas. To know Fishy is a privilege to say the least. He has a sense of humor that don't quit! His knowledge in fly tying and fly fishing is above and beyond most people I have ever meet. He is fast to share his knowledge with anybody. I am proud to say that today Fishy is an honored friend of mine.

Hi Martin,

Thanks for taking the time to correct the misunderstanding on my side and hopefully the comment will help also others to better understand the valid point you wanted to make with the post.

The right way to fish

Hannu,

I think I may have conveyed my message badly in the post above.

My grudge wasn't with the women who get all these male followers thanks to their (the women's that is) obvious advantages. No, my grudge was with the horde of drooling men who join the stampede and follow troop in the like-avalanche of these women.

If the men were in it for the fishing and the good advice, they would not be following women who post a half naked pictures of themselves holding a fish now and then - and not much else - but follow fully dressed men and women, who actually contribute valuable knowledge and tips and not just bare skin.

I have no problem with people being rich in "the currency of social media" as you put it so well, but I do have a problem when these extremely popular pages and profiles are totally without substance. I know a lot of people (men) will say that there's nothing wrong with looking at pretty women, and they might be right. But I'm a little more old school when it comes to that, and think that these men - and also the women posing - reduce the few fishing women who actually do a good job to sex objects and not much else. I know it's a knee jerk response and an argument as old as... well older than me, actually, and that's old, but I still think it's a valid point. To me women are more than silicone implants and small bikinis.

Sure, people can do what they want, and I'm certain that the women do it by free will and get a certain satisfaction in seeing the reaction of their followers, but if all they have to offer is large breasts and duck's arse lips, I'm out – even if they hold up a fish now and then. In that respect I'm obviously not in agreement with several hundred thousand other men.

And I'm not envious of these women - just as I'm not envious of Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton or Snooki for having millions of likers and followers because they are famous for... nothing actually. I'm not in the game for the likes. I'm in it to have an outlet for my images and articles and for the networking, friendships and fishing it brings. Having hundreds of thousands of followers would probably give me more frustrations than joy.

With regards to the guide to Copenhagen and Denmark, it was one of the casualties in the conversion to a new system. I still have all the data, but haven't found time to convert it. It may come.

Martin

weedless bairfish fly

Very nice tie. Its a lot like Derrick Filkins' HPU(Hook Point Up) patterns, except he uses a piece of hard mono line to tie the pattern on and for the weed guard. Its quicker than having to use so much light cured resin, and cheaper since you can use a piece of grass trimmer line (this also makes great, large mono eyes). Also, you can tie onto the line instead of having to cram a lot of material behind the hook eye. You can even tie the material directly onto the mono on the vise tube-fly style, and then add it to the hook.

Fishing and entertainment are two different businesses.

I'm really sorry to see you comparing these talented, good looking or well produced girls and women to yourself trough your own idea of what is "the right way to fish" and then deeming that they are not "real fishermen." I know that likes and followers are the currency of social media, but comparing your figures to everything that has a word "fish" in the tittle gives really odd results as you noticed. Fishing is a great thing and it becomes greater by adding more diversity to it, may that be girls who like to look good while enjoying the great weather and drinks on Bahamas while angling, boys and girls fishing small in city canals for roach or middle aged men wading in strong winds middle of winter to catch the sea trout for Christmas table. Being envious of social media likes and friends of others and generating this kind of "wrong way to do my thing" posts does not do any good to anyone.

Anyway thank you for the great site, I've enjoyed the fly patterns greatly and your guide to Danish fishing spots around Copenhagen was worth it's weight in gold when I visited the city last spring (this seems to have been removed since from the site?) Keep up the great work and enjoy the likes you get and keen followers you have knowing they are there for what you do. Hopefully you'll get a lot more of both as you deserve.

Comment to Kevin Kirkelie

MY GOODNESS! You are good friend, fisherman, rancher and artist too! Thanks for sharing your talent with us.

I do fly thing video's and

I do fly thing video's and have a huge red beard. My earlier films used to have my beard in the video. I thought for a sec, after seeing this screen shot that it was one of mine! HAHA Thats almost my exact beard color too!

I like your vice!

Boobs

Martin, if you had a such a lovely pair as per the top photo, you might have a lot more fishing "friends" :)

This presentation is so much

This presentation is so much simpler. Definitely a must try to see if the fishes will be willing to take a nip the next trip.

Fly Tying

Very useful tips for those who will try this technique for experiment purpose.

Transparent baitfish

Very clever tie Dan. I'll have to give it a try after I find the right hackle. I think I would put the red spot a little more caudally so that its out of the way of the eyes.

This looks a lot like Dave's

This looks a lot like Dave's NearNuff Sculpin. The video is on this site in the pattern library. I'm thinking that changing the color pattern to white and using plastic bead chain eyes would make this a good snook fly.

Head cement and open hook eyes.

Joe Mahler of Fort Myers Florida showed me a cool trick to keep the hook eye free of cement when cementing heads. Simply use a stick of cheap, generic lip balm ( Brand name Chapstick in the US) to coat the eye before applying cement. Not only does this keep the eye clear, but it lubricates the knot when tying on the tippet. No more putting the dirty line in your mouth and possibly hooking yourself when tying the fly onto the tippet. One stick should last for years. When breaking hard cement out of a hook eye, there may still be a rough edge that could weaken a fine tippet.