As you've seen this fly can be tied with a number of different materials and colours. This is an all white version I've called the Banger. 
The only slight difference with this to the next one is that I added several peacock hurl feathers at the front of the fly to act as lateral lines
Here is a tutorial you can use for quite a simple tie and is a proven fish catcher pattern.View in full screen mode
The lads from "Sleeping in the Dirt" have just released their "second issue" 
Here are a couple of different variations of the same featured fly from the past week.
I haven't forgotten about the tutorial for these. Ive done all the images and written the text I just need to place it on the the template and upload it onto Issuu. Tomorrow it will be up. Anyway the difference with these is instead of bug-bonding some eyes on I wrapped Orange flash chenille to form a ball then stuck some eyes on.
This one I wrapped Hot orange krystal flash chenille in to a ball for a head and then stuck some eyes on. I want to give the front of the fly some decent surface area which I'm hoping will help in giving the marabou hairline some extra movement during the retrieve. 
Click images for larger view!
Rabbit pelts have slowly trickled into our house this winter from friends and family and our spare room's floor is covered with them. The faint smell of death and sea salt fills the air.A small price one has to pay for free furs these days. The process for tanning and dying pelts has been a long and winding road but I'm starting to eventually see the fruits of my labor. I mean if you have the facilities and time available to you why not,I say. 
Not sure what you'd call this but am pretty sure it will catch me a fish. I had a couple of long shanked hooks left over from the Helsinki fair so I put them to good use with these critter imitations. 
White and grizzly microbarb saddles tied onto the back and rabbit fur dubbing looped along the hook shank.Stuck some eyes on and bug-bonded them together.
Just to be safe, I've gone for more natural colours with my dyes with this winter batch of furs,Red/browns, blacks & Greys. This critter was tied with some brown microbarb saddles and brown/silver FFF Flash at the back of the hook and dubbing looped reb/brown rabbit zonkers around the hook shaft to the eye.stuck a couple of eyes on and bug-bonded together.
I've seen this floating around on a few blogs this last week but It was Wayne's post at "Willfishforwork" blog that caught my attention to the writings of a one, Mt Bob Wire about the invasive terror the northern pike to his native waters of Montana. Read his article here.
Blue was quite a productive colour for me around the island last season. I started with a clump of turquoise bucktail spun around the back of the hook. Then added several strands of sea blue flashaboy.Then added another clump of turquoise bucktail to the top of the hook. 
Then added a clump of Blue Goat hair all around the top half of the hook. Then added several strands of flashaboy. Then palmered on blue and black marabou hairline feathers. 
And finally bug-bonded a couple of eyes on.
I've tied so many of these Coonbunny's this winter I could barely keep up with all the other orders. 30 dozen in total. Eumer liked them so much they have taken 10 patterns from me and are at present having a tying house reproduce them..Nice!
This is one of my favourite colour combos White n Yellow raccoon with Olive ostrich hurl feathers mixed in with grizzly microbarb saddles
This is Grey & Turquoise raccoon mixed with a splash of Xmas holographic tinsel and pink rubber strips
Much the same as the fly from yesterday except with this one I started by splaying out a decent clump of White bucktail at the back of the hook.Then added some strands of red flashaboy then added another clump of white bucktail tied on top of the hook shaft. Then added a small clump of white goat hair...tapered.
Then Palmered on a white then red marabou hairline feather.
This one I used Turquoise goat hair,light blue flashabou and a purple marabou hairline feather.
Looking for snotrocket collectable's? Then how about a postcard from the 1920's. Go to "Bonanzle" to pick one up.
Or this one from "Vintagepostcards.org"
Or how about one of my framed Durex condom pike streamers for behind the bar. I have several framed in a variety of different colours. Write to me at balticpiketours@leisurepath.fi
This a variation of a fly tied by Niklaus Bauer in Sweden called the Hoover. Instead of using a foam popper head at the front I've Bug-bonded some eyes on and used all natural materials on this except for the FFF Flash. I will do a tutorial for these this weekend for Monday's post.
I've combined Bucktail with Goat hair and marabou feathers in Chartreuse & whites. 
Click images for a larger view.
Here are the ingredients. I forgot the cup of sugar and & 2 eggs in this pic
Crush 1 & 3/4 packets chocolate wholewheat biscuits in a mixer till very fine
Melt 180 grams butter in a pan
Add the crushed biscuits and mix in butter well.
Then pour in biscuit/butter mix in to glass pie dish and flatten all around the edges then place the fridge for half hr.
Grate the rind of the lemon and simmer in a bit of water for 1 min
Pour in to small siv and squeeze out excess water and leave to cool
Place 750 grams creamed cheese + 1 cup sugar in a bowl and mix together until softish
Add first egg and mix in. the consistency starts to get a bit more thinner
Then add the second egg and 200 grams sour cream. Mix slowly with the mixer. 
Add the lemon rind and mix in
Pour bowl of mix into the center of the glass pie bowl
Fill to the top of the biscuit crust & leave in an oven for 30 min at 180'c or 350 f. then turn off the oven and leave in the oven for an extra 30 min. Take out, and leave to cool then place in fridge for 5 - 7 hrs
Best served with fresh rasberries, blueberries, Strawberries and Mango I guarantee you if you serve this up you will not only gain the respect and love of your missus but will have those bargaining chips I banged on about when wanting to go fishing. Trust me this is the shit right there, and any mug can make it.
This is a multi combination fly similar, to the feathered fur streamers I tie. I started by tying a 100 mm strip olive raccoon zonker strip at the back of the hook. The palmered on a small dubbing loop of purple raccoon zonker. Then added 25 -30 olive ostrich Hurls. The added a clump of white then red bucktail facing forward around the hook, then bent them back and tied under them to give volume.
Then added 25 - 30 black ostrich hurl feathers. Lastly I added green & white grizzly hackles. Stuck on a couple of silver holographic eyes and bug-bonded together.
With so many glowing detailed reviews out there regarding the Jvice I thought I’d talk about why its such a fantastic vice for me for tying big flies on. I first came across the Jvice while over in Cuba and learned that it was manufactured by a chap called Jay Smit in Kloof, 30 km north of where I grew up in Durban South Africa. I’ve tied on several vices over the years….not all my own I might add, and all seemed a little rickety. I use strong thread on my surf and pike flies as I like to secure my materials rather tightly and often found these vices to sometimes topple or move around when pulling down. The great thing about the Jvice is regardless of whether you have it in the table top mode or laptop mode the Jvice feels solid & sturdy. The weight of the oak wood tying station which also doubles as a pedestal base combined with the silicone feet, give it stability I haven’t felt with other vices. Although I haven’t used the laptop mode yet, I still like that I have that option available to me if out on a boat or by a river.
I don’t know about you but I’m the worlds worst when it comes to keeping order in my man cave, Lena often says that it falls nothing short of an Amsterdam whore house so to have 10 x 8 mm holes drilled in the backing board for me to slip an assortment of tools + bobbins down is a god sent, not only that but the 7 larger holes are used for keeping head cements, super glues and smaller containers with dumbbell eyes or hooks close at hand. Small details like this which other vices don’t offer, have drastically improved the way I keep order around me. What truly has improved relations with myself & the missus around the office has been the handy waste basket that slides on and off the main body shaft whenever its full. “A marriage saver basket” is probably a better name to describe it. Yes there are similar products on the market but not many come with the vice when you order one. (A tidy work station, is a safe work station, & a safe work station is a happy work station….I say!)
Anyway, I ordered the Jvice Gooseneck kit (See website) with additional saltwater streamer attachment for keeping my long tails from flapping around when I’m bug-bonding my heads. This is a must have feature for those that tie long flies and I can’t praise this piece of kit enough. It’s easily attached by way of an allen key screw when needed.
1st take allan key (Supplied) and extract the grub screw from the front of the vice
Then slide out the jaws elbow
The tube fly attachment then screws easily onto the front of the GooseNeck vice. It has a collet clamping mechanism to lock the pin and the tube which is then locked in place by turning the front cone. Once the rotary crank has been locked the attachment doesn’t move at all. Needles are interchangeable and are available with 1.7 mm pin for Salt Water and 1 mm for freshwater fly's. I’ve spoken with Jay to see whether he could widen the 1,7 mm needles end cap, as larger tubes seem to slipping when I butt them up against the front cone. Its nothing major but if you do tie with larger tubes ask for this feature when ordering
Lastly I’ll talk about the jaws with this vice. One can either have the Standard Jaws, Pro jaws or the midge jaws. I settled for the pro jaws purely because of the larger hooks I tie onto. What makes these jaws stand out from many other vices jaws are the little recesses that have been cut into the jaws themselves, so once you have the hook between the jaws in its specific recess and you have tightened up the 3 stage jaw cam your hook stays put. Since receiving this vice just before Xmas I’ve tied a good couple thousand flies and not one hook has slipped in the jaws. Jay you’re a genius mate.
This vice does have a number of other fantastic features & attachments for all you trout bums tying smaller flies so don’t be mistaken into thinking this is just a big fly vice…its not. Sure there are loads of great vices on the market and everyone has their own preferences about a specific brand or model, but I can honestly say that this truly is one of the best vices I have ever used within the price bracket range it comes in. Not only that but it can be transported around in a handy carry case & has a lifetime guarantee. Well that’s until Jay snuff’s it ! I haven’t even talked about how smooth this vise rotates and locks, purely because its what you’d expect form a truly well thought out piece of engineering. If you are in the market for a new vice then get hold of Jay and he’ll answer any questions you have. It’ll be the best investment with regards to your fly-fishing you’ll ever make.
I would just like to state that I have not been paid in any way or form to write this short review or am in no way sponsored by Jvice. Its just a fantastic vice that’s all.Follow any of the Jvice links to visit the website