Pike fly-fishing articles

Fly swaps!

2012-02-16T08:05:00.002+02:00

Last year while attending the Swedish fly fair I was fortunate to meet master fly tier Ole Kristian Skaar and since then we've hit up quite a friendship. So it was only obvious that I would eventually ask him for a fly swap and I have to say this set of classic spey flies he sent me are the nuts! All are used on the famous Norwegian Gaula salmon river by Ole and are practical works of art. If your a collector like myself or fly fish for salmon, then visit his website "Flies of Norway"
To order yourself a set of his flies. Thanks for these Ole they are absolutely stunning mate!

Cliff hangers in the Underberg!

2012-02-15T07:53:00.005+02:00

Was fortunate to spend a weekend up in the Underberg recently at a friends farm fishing a stretch of river that hadn't seen a fly in over five yrs and was apparently full of Rainbow & Brown trout!

The cottages we were staying at called "Cliff hangers" are probably one of the most picturesque places I've been fortunate to have fished at.

Wading underneath the cottages was a daily occurance for me infact I spent practically every bit of daylight either casting from the banks or half submerged in the water.

Result!.......I Fished extensively with either a Klinkhammer or a RAB (Red arsed bastard) and managed five Rainbow & two brown trout the whole weekend. Am sure I probably would have had more fish to hand had I been more experienced but was over the moon with my overall tally. This is a small Brown I bagged that came from under a overhang to suck my Klinkhammer off the surface.

My first Underberg mountain rainbow trout caught with a dry fly. Not a monster by any stretch of the immagination but an absolute pearler none the less! To be honest I wasn't expecting too pick up this size as they don't get much bigger than this one due to lack of food that high up. Anyway a fish is a fish,Is a fish in my eyes!

Great backdrop.....Innit!

You'll agree its a fantastic stretch of unfished river to have all to yourself. Click images for larger view or if you want to see more pics from the weekend then click the link to visit my facebook page "Cliff hangers"

The Hangtime optic minnow!

2012-02-14T06:35:00.002+02:00

Heres a great fly by Brad Bohen from Musky country outfitters with his Hangtime optic minnow!

Monic fly lines

2012-02-11T07:19:00.004+02:00

Been very very impressed with these two Monic lines I was sent by Easyfly to try out while I was over here. The one on the left is the Monic 100ft Light green "INTERMEDIATE SINK WF 10s" Which I've been using with the Airflow 9" 10# & the one on the right the "Monic 100ft TROPICAL SEAMLESS PT FLOURESCENT GREEN WF6 F" with my new Hardy proaxis 9" 6#. Both have been truly wonderful to cast. I'll chat about these once I'm back in Finland at the end of the month as I still have 3 weeks left of fishing here with them.

Beaded shrimps!

2012-02-10T08:09:00.003+02:00

Based loosely on the "Crazy Charlie" I've tied up a number of these little critters for my saltwater trips down in the harbour off the sandbanks. All tied on a Gamakatsu saltwater 2/0 hooks, I debarb the hook point then slide three glass beads down the shaft & secure behind the last bead, then add either a single small clump of white, pink, tan or olive bucktail in front of them. Add a couple of short strands of matching FFF Krinkle flash and I'm ready to fish. Had a couple of tiny sole and flatheads last week on this simple shrimp pattern. Now all I need is a Spotted grunter on them and I'll be happy!

Mindless killing!

2012-02-09T12:49:00.002+02:00

I took this gruesome image at my favourite fishing spot on the island 2 days before I left for my three months SA trip. I fucking despise mindless killing of any creature especially when Pike are concerned. Unfortunately these arrogant.... and from what I can see disrespectful fisherman caught 4 decent pike then left them dumped on the bank with all their disgarded lure boxes. This happens a lot in Finland and its something very hard to understand about the mentality of some Fins in general. To me, this is just blatant mindless killing from either outsiders or locals trying to eradicate pike, purely because they think they affect the local perch stocks around the island. I mean how fucking uneducated & ignorant must you be to think that. I wouldn't mind if it was just one age group but I've seen pentioners do the same and leave their fishing areas in an absolute shithole. I mean if you take portable barbies,beer cans and food wrappers to your favourite fishing spot in your car,then why aren't you able to take it back from whense they came. Pure fucking lazyness and disrespect for other fisherman.....I say!

Fly Candy

2012-02-08T13:00:00.002+02:00

Not sure what this is really. I started with all good intentions of tying some form of marauder but decided to tie the brown & Chartreuse feathers on facing inwards instead. After that I lost the plot and added Chartreuse and tan bucktail then added twenty or so super fine strands of gold tinsel followed by several brown microbarbs.

I finished the fly off with a some tightly packed spun black & chart deer hair, then trimmed it close to the hook shank underneath but kept the top of the head long. Stuck a couple of eyes on and crimped them together giving it a Jonny rotten mohawk head.

In search of mountain trout!

2012-02-06T08:06:00.004+02:00

Spent the day up at Giants Castle on the head waters of the Bushmans river with Jan from Wildfly last week in search of mountain brown trout and what a day it was.

A box of Dry flies we had for the occassion. I stuck with one the whole day called a RAB (Red arsed bastard) - bottom right.

Having watch many dvd's over the years it didn't take me long before I had my first mountain brown trout caught with a dry fly. Cast up stream and let to drift naturally,The RAB was the shizzel.

Stunning little fish!

One of the many pools along the stretch of river. Watching the trout come up to the surface and suck my fly down was just the absolute bollocks!

On again!

What a cracker!

Chuffed as punch I was. Big shout goes out to my good friend Jan for taking me to one of his favourite stretches of river. I had a truly memorable day that will stay with me for the rest of my life,Thanks brotha!. If any of you are interested in seeing more stunning images of the area then click this link to visit my facebook "In search of mountain trout" photo album.

Fly Candy

2012-02-03T08:32:00.003+02:00

Another "Marauder" hot of the vice,this time in orange & yellow. Tan & orange bucktail was used to build the body up with.

Bass slammin!

2012-02-01T21:53:00.006+02:00

Spent last Saturday with my mate Greame and his son Jordan down the south coast at Ifafa fishing a private dam nestled between rolling hills of sugar cane stocked full to the brim with Bass. I'ts been several years since I last fly fished for them in Africa, so I jumped at the opportunity to spend a day floating around in a float tube chucking poppers and an assortment of multi coloured patterns at them

It didn't take long to feel that thump on the business end of my line, (first of the day) I'd actually forgotten how hard these fish hit your fly. I didn't catch any monsters but did end up with over twenty for the day.

Am loving my new Hardy Proax 9" 6# with Monic 6# floating line which Easyfly sent me before I left Finland last November. More on them at a later date!

My mate spent the day fishing from his ski and eventually ended up also in the twenties and had a couple over the kilo & a half bracket.

Jordan with a medium sized hog! This is a lad that's represented the boys South Africa fly fishing team last year and missed out this years selection due to a broken collar bone. Jordan you rock brotha!

Man I wish we had this species in Finland. By the way, excuse my unorthodox way of holding my bass but I just couldn't bring myself to grab them by the bottom lip,god knows why bass fisherman think its the norn to hold them like that without supporting their bellies.

These are the two flies that did all the damage. A bucktail baitfish pattern with a couple of white microbarb saddles in between the olive & white. length - 110mm

And this saltwater popper length 130mm. Thanks Greame & Jordan for a truly memorable day.

Good reads

2012-01-31T07:04:00.002+02:00

Bloodknots 2nd blogger issue and POOL 32 Ezines are out if your in need of some lunchtime reading. click images to visit the sites.

Fly Candy

2012-01-30T08:19:00.003+02:00

I've called this surface fly a "Marauder" Its a combination of splayed out schlappen feathers,Bucktail and a tightly packed trimmed spun deerhair head.

I first combined Olive grizzly schlappen with plain yellow and tied three on on either side of the hook shaft splayed outwards. Then addd a couple of thickish clumps of tan bucktail around the hook shaft. The added another four schlappens,two on either side also splayed outwards.

The head is simply olive deerhair tighly packed up to the hook eye. The trick to this fly is to slice the entire bottom away with a razor blade then evenly trim away the sides upwards. It pushes a lot of water and has a real good frog like action as the schlappens spring back after every strip you make. These can be fished either with a floating line or an Intermediated.

Fly Candy

2012-01-27T07:29:00.003+02:00

Three new Lazyboys colour schemes to be featured in my shop once I get back in March.
This one has a Chartreuse raccoon zonker tail. The body is a mix of Olive,Cream & white Bucktail with several strands of yellow rubber floss in between. The head is Natural spun deer hair trimmed Dahlberg diver stylie!! Total length 150mm

This one has a brown raccoon zonker tail with an all olive bucktail body & cream rubber floss in between. An elk hair collar with and tan brown tightly packed trimmed spun deer hair head.

This has a yellow raccoon zonker tail. Olive & white bucktail body with yellow rubber floss strands inbetween. Finished off with a two tone brown and cream trimmed spun deer hair head. Total length 150mm

Cracker shrimp

2012-01-26T08:16:00.004+02:00

Been fishing down at the harbour on the low tide a lot over the last month on what I call "The Durban Flats". Exposed sandbanks that can be waded out to as the tide receeds. Fish like Springer and Trevally patrol between the deeper drop off channels and the shallower bays chasing the mullet down and so tiny baitfish patters have been the normal fly of choice. However there are a hell of a lot of Sole and flatheads in the harbour as well that love the odd crustacean offered to them so I've tied up a number of feastly delights for them

Cracker shrimp (Alpheus crassimanus) live in small holes all over the sand banks and are gobbled up by Spotted Grunter, Flaties, Snapper, Sole & eels. Around 50mm - 65mm in length they can be a deadly bait on any given day.

I first added a couple of mono filement eyes. Then added the front pincers which are made from elastic bands. I then attached a tiny dumbell eye towards the back of the 1/0 long shanked hook. I then palmered pearl chenille down the length of the hook shaft for the body. Then added several strands of cream floss rubber legs. Then finnished off the flies with a tail under the hook eye.

Male Cracker shrimp are slightly browner in colouration so I used tan bucktail for the legs,Some grizzly saltwater hackels splayed outwards for the pincers & used tan wool dubbing for the main body. Click images for larger view!

Finds around the house

2012-01-25T08:04:00.002+02:00

Found this "Birdy chick tail" feather duster the other day wedged between two cupboards at my oldmans place. So being the ultimate tight ass oppertunistic fly tier that I am, I raped four of the best plumes off it.....Result!!,although if the old fella found out am sure he'd have my bollocks on a stake!

What I love about this find is I've never come across natural ostrich hurl in such perfect condition with such long hurls before. I mean this duster was massive and never been used either. Well,Its gone to a good home now!

Bad ass musky flies

2012-01-24T06:39:00.002+02:00

This ones tied in Chartreuse and black Schlappen, bucktail,microbarb saddles,chartreuse fine fluoro tinsel & 3 green grizzly microbarb saddles. Total length 13" inches.

The next batch I'm tying up I'll be combining those synthetic microbarb extentions I aquired last year from Greg Bekker white water flies with an old friend. At 16" inches long you can expect things to get out of hand with regards to length, and am going to working on improving my Replot slug designs which I think the extentions would work well with.

Well I'm off to the harbour to catch the low tide and hit the sandbanks for a couple of hours. Have a good day all!

Pike on the fly in the Netherlands

2012-01-23T07:20:00.001+02:00

Bad ass musky flies

2012-01-20T08:20:00.004+02:00

I've been so snowed under with fly orders through my shop the last month and a half, that it's great to be able to have some freedom to get the creative juices flowing again with this new batch of Musky flies I'm tying up. This double tandem rig is just over 13" inches long and is a combination of Yellow & Brown schlappen.
Gold fff flash,Brown, yellow and black bucktail, Red/brown microbarb saddles and a tightly packed yellow and black deerhair head. The images aren't up to my usual standard as I'm having to take them with a shitty cheap hand held camera in an area of my dads kitchen that makes my Amsterdam whore house of a studio in Finland look like a palace in comparison.

With all these Musky flies I like to tie the schlappens splayed outward to give it optimum movement. This I do by adding two tightly packed clumps of bucktail around the hook shaft then butting the schlappens up against that. This allows the feathers to be splayed out away from the body of the fly and once wet stops them from clogging up between one another and frees the tandem tail up for more movement. Tying them on this way as well, allows them to spring back after each strip giving maximum vibrations under the water as well as give the fly much needed volume and a larger silhouette from below.

Road kill!!!

2012-01-19T09:15:00.005+02:00

I'm always on the hunt for a decent fresh road kill and none come more finer than this find the other day while walking back after a Durban harbour flats fishing session. Okay not a proper road kill as such, but this gold wig hair extension still in its packet was lying ontop of a skip not far from a local hair salon........result!

Fly Candy

2012-01-18T08:17:00.002+02:00

Another one of my hybrid ghost bangers for the new season. Probably out of all the flies I tie and fish with, the Banger is one of my favourites. This one is a combination of white bucktail, white microbarb saddles, red arctic fox, Pearl fin tinsel, and Olive UV Polar chenille. I'm also back on the Musky madness trail at the mo, tying up some more monster flies which I will start taking images of this evening. Trying out some new colour combinations and material blending on these ones, so stay tuned.

How to use Icelandic sheep hair!

2012-01-17T09:49:00.001+02:00

Icelandic sheep hair gives great movement to any fly but has one downfall, Its not pike mouth friendly especially when combined with synthetics. The hairs are too fine and tend to end up being matted far too easily. Never comb this material out when wet as well and allow to dry before doing so.Even then, you'll find clumps falling off the fly and it very quickly becomes half the flies original length. Great tutorial though.

Wiggle tails update

2012-01-13T08:24:00.003+02:00

A couple of wiggle tail flies that bagged me a number of fish in the second half of the season. I've been very impressed with them and will most deffinetly be stocking them in my shop once I get back home in March. There are two types which will be available. the first are these softer materialed type models that aren't coated with a thin plastic layer. If I have to be honest here though,they aren't as strong and probably not so suited to pike fishing purely because they tend to rip off the back of the hook in a pikes mouth or when being pulled through thick reed or weed beds.

The slightly stiffer plastic coated models like the ones shown in this image though, are another story, and are as tough as hell and have far longer longevity of around
20 - 30 pike per tail. Even after extensive casting they still hold their shape and bare no showing of deterioration. I caught fish with all the available colours.Holographic, Blue, Red, Black, Silver, Gold.

Yak fly

2012-01-12T07:57:00.000+02:00

The J- Bobbin!

2012-01-11T08:16:00.003+02:00

The "J Bobbin" is something you might not have seen yet. Manufactured By Jay Smit who also produces my Jvice is also another reason why I rate this chaps workmanship. I've been using this bobbin for the last eight months now and will be loading up a review on this fantastic piece of fly tying heaven over the weekend. Am also looking forward to going up and visiting and tying with Jay soon as he's just up the road from me. Stay tuned!

Fly Swaps!

2012-01-10T07:30:00.002+02:00

Sorry for not being around for the last week or so, but a trip down the South coast over the new year period and some quite painfull back problems have kept me away from the laptop. Fused Muscles in my lower back and damaged nerves have had me in hospital for a couple of days on a mix of morish pain killers! Anyway more on that when I know the true extent of the damage. Thought I'd start the week off with a couple of fly swaps I've been involved in. This stunning creation is from a fantastic fly tier Called Holger Lachman from Germany.Its a tandem rig purely made from Raccoon fur with a smattering of flash thrown in for good measure.Total length 130cm.
This over sized Sculpin pattern is from world renowned fly tier & good friend Ulf Hagstrom. I'm just digging these new sculpin fish skull heads from Flymen fishing co.

Maybe not specificaly designed for us pike fly fisherman but still very tasty all the same. They still add some fantastic extra weight to any fly you add them to and still give a wonderful jigging action to your flies that need to be fished at deeper depths.

Pike on the fly in Sweden!

2011-12-27T07:57:00.003+02:00

Although I've done a lot of Canoeing & Kayaking I haven't fly fished for pike before from one,and it looks a bag load of fun. So much so that I'm looking at getting four sit on top "Freedom hawk kayaks" for here around the island. 7 day trips paddling & fishing between many of the 2000 islands that can be found here while camped out during the evenings.

Knots

2011-12-23T07:50:00.003+02:00

Everyone has there own prefered set up with regards to pike fly fishing. I like to keep things as simple as I can. My leader is always joined to the fly line by way of a loop to loop connection. I then merge my 60lb mono leader to my flexible wire trace by way of an albright knot. I have total confidence in this knot as I've never lost a fish since I started using it many years ago. My wire swivels are then attached to the wire trace by way of a Uni knot. Quick and simple!

Cavity search please Mr Graham!

2011-12-22T06:37:00.006+02:00

Sorry for not being around for a few days but have been suffering from serious back problems and also construction work down the bottom of my oldmans road ripped through the telephone internet lines last week as well.Anyway You know I like to fish with a condom strapped to a hook well around a year or so ago I came across a fly from my good mate Marc Fauvet who writes the popular "The Limp Cobra" blog who had a novel idea for a pike fly by strapping on doctors rubber glove to a hook which I thought was down right over the top!

So I decided to give one a go my self.

Step 1: Take a rubber latex glove and add some colour by way of permenant coloured markers. I used black and a number flouro colours with this pattern.

Step 2: Take a pair of sharp scissors and cut the fingers up into thin shreds

Step 3: Add a clump of flash to the back of the hook bend.I used blue Xmas flash. Slide the glove over the flash & tie securely on.
Step 4: Stick a couple of eyes on if wanted.I used kids party stickers here in green and blue. Bug-bonded over them, and there we have it, one of the ugliest fucking flies I've ever tied. This will be one of the first to be used in the spring and I can guarantee it wont be long before I catch something with it.

Fly Swap with Mike Williams!

2011-12-15T11:15:00.005+02:00

Another fly tier that has blown me away over the last year or so is a chap called Mike Williams who writes the very popular blog "Bigflychucker" . This guy is really pushing the bounderies with regards to fly construction and has become not only a great resource but a massive inspiration with regards to my own fly tying. I was so impressed with his "Duckling fly" that I knew I needed one for my collection.

This fly is simply one of the best I have in my growing wall of fame. I have had it on the water but just to see how it floats and it looks the bollocks I can tell yeh! Two sections of round foam tubing are mounted onto a double hook then layers of under feathers strategically tied on to form the body of the duckling. It also has a couple of rubber jig tails mounted to imitate the ducklings flapping feet as it moves on the surface....Fucking genious!

Mike you know I've been busy with moving,my trip here but I have nearly completed your flies for the swap my friend. Thanks for this, it's the shizzel brotha! You all need to visit his blog and bookmark it cause this guy kicks ass! "Bigflychucker"

Mike Smalls Musky/Pike madness

2011-12-14T08:07:00.005+02:00

Here are a couple more Musky/Pike flies from Mike Small that will eventually feature in Balticpikeflies.com. The top one is another version of the Slide Winder and is a combination of flash, fur & feathers and will retail for $25,00

This ones called the "Cone Head" and can be fished as a surface lure or mid depth. Personally I'm not a big fan of these cones on pike flies as you need to work extra hard to impart any action on the fly and they are a bugger to cast but I was pleasantly surprised how light it was and especially how well it swam. These will be retailing for $20,00 Click images for larger view!

Fly Candy

2011-12-13T11:17:00.002+02:00

This was the last fly I chucked before I left for my South African safari. Grey Raccon zonker tied onto the back, followed by several strands of silver krinkle flash and 5 white microbarb saddles,then a clump of Chartreuse bucktail followed by a clump of white.Then several more strands of the silver krinkl flash ending off with a small strip of white raccoon zonker palmered around the hook shaft. It moved great under the surface but I just wasn't able to entice a snotrocket to take it. Oh well, its dried and ready for next spring.

I haven't been out fishing the last week much as I'm still clearing fly orders away but will be out a lot from next week so I'm hoping to have some decent reports from up and down the coast here and from the sandbanks in Durban harbour.

2011 season Stats

2011-12-12T06:45:00.007+02:00

They've taken me a while to compile but here are some of the more interesting stats from my season this year around the island.

2012 stats

Fished exactly 240 consecutive days this season on the island
Approx 720hrs
1838 before 12h00
1059 after 12h00
First (120 days) - 1670 pike caught & released + 2 pike for the table
Second (120 days) – 1224 pike caught & released + 1 pike for the table
797 caught between 60cm – 65cm
691 caught between 65cm – 75cm
968 caught between 75cm – 85cm
409 caught between 85cm - 90cm
18 caught between 90cm – 95cm
11 caught between 95cm – 100cm
3 caught between 100cm – 105cm
2 caught between 105cm – 110cm
3 pike taken home for the table
Had 11 blanks this season
733 caught in the North of the island
814 caught in the Centre of the island
532 caught in the West of the island
312 caught in the South of the island
506 caught in the East of the island
1122 caught on sunny/partly cloudy days
1775 caught on overcast/rainy days
134 caught on calm flat windless days (Interesting stat)
723 caught on days where the wind was 0m/sec – 5m/sec
866 caught on days where wind was between 5m/sec – 10m/sec
651 caught on days where wind was between 10m/sec – 15m/sec
451 caught on days where wind was between 15m/sec – 20m/sec
72 caught on days where wind was between 20m/sec – 28m/sec
367 caught on days when Northerly winds were blowing
1121 caught on days when Southerly winds were blowing
861 caught on days when Easterly winds were blowing
548 caught on days when Westerly winds were blowing
1841 caught with floating line
1056 caught with Intermediate line
19 fish caught with the 1^st cast of the session
912 fish caught from 72 days fished from a boat
1985 caught while wading or rock hopping
1177 caught with water temps between 3´c – 12’c
1238 caught with water temps between 12’c - 20’c
482 caught with water temps above 21’c
342 caught with spinner blades running along my wire trace
366 caught with Fish skull head flies
Guided 43 clients this season that caught and released 2632 pike
Clients caught 17 pike over 1m (biggest being 118cm in late Oct)
I Caught 27 Ide this season on the fly
I Caught 12 Perch this season on the fly
I foul hooked 7 Bream on the fly
1 Carp on the fy
1953 caught with attractor patterns
944 caught with synthetic baitfish patterns

Flies (Attractor patterns)

Replot stinger

132 Chartreuse/white
119 Pink/white
82 Olive
111 Black/green
246 Black/purple

Raccoon bunnies

97 Red/White
36 Turquoise/White
71 Orange/Brown
25 Blue/Grey

Fury Flash-tails

46 Pink
39 Blue
17 Chartreuse
11 Brown

Dubbing brush flash flies

22 Gold/Brown
19 Red/Silver
41 Balck/Blue
52 Balck/Silver
76 Green/Gold
9 Purple/Pink
56 Red/Orange

Bunny-bug type patterns

83 Fire tiger
72 Black/pink/White
17 White/Black
68 Black/Red/White
45 Orange/Black
28 Olive/white
37 Red/White
12 Purple/Orange
43 Black/Purple
21 Chartreuse/white
9 Chartreuse/Black

Feathered fur streamers & (Deceiver type patterns)

34 Black/Silver
18 Black/White
13 Chartreuse/White
27 Orange/Black
19 Black/purple
24 Pink/White
21 Olive/White
16 Olive/Black
10 White/Silver
22 Pink/Black
7 Black/Yellow

Synthetic baitfish patterns

Soft belly baitfish

26 Electric yellow
31 Olive
17 Perch
28 Pink
79 Blue
12 Tiger Chartreuse

Realistic baitfish

146 Baltic Herring
39 Black/Olive
51 Black/Chartreuse
23 Olive
47 Red beard
20 TX9
32 Perch
19 Green Mamba
106 Herring 2

Baitfish patterns

29 Black knight
46 Blue white
38 Red/Black
28 Perch

Rattle n hums

17 Pink
25 Blue

Other streamer baitfish (Bangers)

12 Orange/Black
16 Pink/White
24 Black/Silver
9 Black/White

Poppers/Lazy boys/Divers

16 Lazy boys
5 Popper streamers
3 Divers

glag rags!

2011-12-10T08:04:00.004+02:00

Bloodknot latest offering " Off the grid" issue is out on the airwaves

As well as "Flymage issue 10" , if anyone didn't know already

Pike on the fly in Sweden!

2011-12-09T08:37:00.004+02:00

Heres my mate Rickard Hodel from "Me & my rod" blog in Sweden getting stuck into a nice fish!

Friday funny!

2011-12-09T08:35:00.001+02:00

More from Mike Small

2011-12-08T08:36:00.002+02:00

Here are a couple more flies from Mike Small that will be retailing in my fly shop.This one is called the "Hawg Frawg" and has become one of Mikes go to patterns. They become deadly when thrown into the bank,grass or brush then pulled into the water. They can also be fished with a sink tip,starting with a few pops on the surface,then retrieve it the rest of the way like a streamer.It will rise slowly between strips. Retail price $22,oo

This one is called the "Slide winder" and is primarily a surface fly that has a great "walk the dog" action. Dropping the tip as you strip gives the fly a little slack and allows it too swing sideways (or vertically) and will retail for $25,00.Here is a short video of the flies in action at the Milwaukee Musky expo.

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Mike Smalls Musky/Pike madness

2011-12-07T08:26:00.004+02:00

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Many of you might remember this video I featured at the beginning of the year with regards to Mike Smalls musky/pike flies swimming action in a testing tank at the musky expo.

Well over the last couple of months I've been toying with the idea of not only featuring but also selling other like minded Pike & Musky fly tiers flies in my Baltic pike flies shop. Flies that aren't produced in some dingey sweat shop buy by the tiers themselves.Each will have their own page of six flies to showcase and retail. The first of these fly tiers is newly aquired friend Mike Small. The quality of these flies are unbelievable and are proven musky/pike/Bass catchers. This one is called "The snake eater" and is around 13" inches in length & is a combination of feathers,synthetics and flash and retails for $32,00

This second one, "The Rainbow leach" comes in at 14" inches and is similar to "The Snake eater" in length, materials and swimming action (above Video) and retails for $35,00. I've tested all these flies this autumn with regard to casting and fishing them and they are fun fun fun,I can tell yeh! I'll be featuring a couple more of Mike flies tomorrow, Click images for larger view!

Rag mags!

2011-12-06T07:20:00.003+02:00

A bit late with these but here's some lunchtime reading for you. "This is fly"

"Scale" - spin & fly magazine
Click images or links to visit sites

Tube fly combination tails

2011-12-05T11:48:00.004+02:00

Heres a cool concept for all you guys that like to fish with tubes for Pike. I was sent these a few weeks back by Fabrice Boucher that have interchangable tails or heads depending on the colour combination you want to fish with. The tail end where the hook slides in gets pushed into the main body tube which allows for easier splitting of the fly once you've hooked a pike. Not only that but one can make the tails however long you want to as well. These flies are super light to cast & are a combination of synthetics and fur (craft and icelandic sheep hair)

Thanks for these Fabrice,I'll give them a good run in the spring mate.

Surf Candy!

2011-12-02T08:05:00.002+02:00

Stepping out of the plane in Durban, the unmistakable smell and vibe of Africa hits you. Yes I've arrived and after a couple of days getting organised I'm back on line. Anyway I'll be updating daily again now that I have a portable modem. Just to get this African adventure started I've been tying up a couple dozen of these surf candy just before I left.Marco Reisen from the German fly tying team blog sent me a batch of flashy white synthetic material to try out whie I'm over. I.ve combined Krinkle flash and other assortments of flash n microbarb saddles to produce these 100 - 120mm baitfish patterns onto 3/0 long shanked hooks.The heads are Bugbonded for extra rigidity. Looking forward to getting these wet soon. I've nearly completed compiling my stats for the season which will be up on Monday. See yeh tomorrow!

Fly swaps!

2011-11-25T13:23:00.004+02:00

Another fly tier who I have come to admire over the last couple of yrs is my mate James Plante from "The Salty Riffle" blog and so when He asked for a fly swap I jumped at the chance to get hold of some of his flies. I've kept the yellow one aside for a frame but the other two I'm taking out to South Africa with me to hit the surf.

He also sent me this double stinger pike fly in chartreuse and white Icelandic sheep hair which has already seen some action but as Chartreuse hasn't been working for me too well this Autumn Its going to get a hammering in the spring time. I still have this evening and the weekend still to fish before I pack the rods away for my trip so Once I get out to South Africa I'll stick up my stats for this season. 240 consecutive days fished and over 2800 pike caught and released. Anyway thanks for these awesome flies James,much appreciated mate and I'll send you some images with fish caught with them once I'm out there.

Fly Candy

2011-11-24T12:02:00.002+02:00

Some more flies for my trip out to South Africa next week. All have been tied onto slightly bend back hooks and all have the hook point facing upwards & range in length between 80mm - 110mm. I've combined Reindeer fur with white microbarb saddles,Holographic Xmas flash,white chinese cock hackles and white marabour hairline feathers. This will be fished off & around the rocky groins up & down the south coast and will be targeting Shad,Trevally, Stump nose grunter,Springer and anything else that might like the look of em!

Fly Candy

2011-11-22T09:39:00.002+02:00

Here are a couple of flies I've been fishing with the last couple of weeks with varying success. I started by tying on a thin strip of grey rabbit zonker 120mm ,then added a barred black n white rabbit zonker directly over the top of that. Then added a couple of decent pencil thick clumps of white bucktail around the whole hook shaft followed by a thin clump of brown bucktail, then finished it off by wrapping some black UV Polar chenille near the hook eye. Both these flies have been fished slowly and left to drift in the current more than usual yet this has out fished the bottom one 4 - 1.

This one is very much the same kind of fly except instead of rabbit zonker I used recycled white/chartreuse & black icelandic sheep hair for the tail. Then added a couple of pencil thick clumps of chartreuse bucktail around the whole hook shaft then finished it off with some black raccoon fur. Out of the two models this has been the less successful. Chartreuse generally is a fantasic colour here around the island but maybe not in late autumn/early winter. As you know I far prefer naturals over synthetics, but if I have to be honest I'm not a big fan of using icelandic sheep hair on pike flies. Yes it has fantastic movement in the water but its certainly not pike mouth friendy and tends to get mullard and knotted all too easy. The same goes with big fly fiber as well.

The Gurgzilla

2011-11-21T10:03:00.002+02:00

Our mate Raymond Noordermeer out in the Netherlads is at it again with another of his creations "The Gurgzilla". Sweet fly Raymond!

Pike on the fly in Canada

2011-11-18T11:20:00.002+02:00

Love em or hate em, but these are the notorius Midnightsun charter guides in action. Yes the same Charter company that were involved in Barry Reynolds film "In pursuit of the waterwolf" and the same ones that threated our favourite Danish pike fly fisherman with their lives......As guide myself the last thing I want to be doing is threatening people with their lives especially on water that doesn't belong to me.

Season so far!

2011-11-17T09:03:00.003+02:00

Its been a long hard season for me. With constant unseasonable southerly winds I've been able to fish a whole month extra than last year. Water temps have stayed a constant 4'c - 6'c, and with no ice to worry about, the pike have been feeding well. I only have a few more days left before I pack up my kit for the winter and have already started compiling all the stats and its interesting reading for me. I've started to get a better picture about what coloured flies work best in certain areas of the island and especially what flies have been the most productive at different times of the year. Again, tactics were changed,and they have payed off in a big way and although I haven't caught many fish over a meter here this year, my clients have,and thats the most important aspect when your life revolves around this magnificant fish. I'll post my stats a couple of days before I leave for South Africa.

Readers fish porn

2011-11-17T09:00:00.002+02:00

Olivier Lesage out in Belgium sent me this the other day of a nice 76cm pike he bagged quite recently. Thanks for this Olivier,I'm looking forward to meeting you and your party here in October mate.

Fly Candy

2011-11-16T09:01:00.003+02:00

Another Banger hybrid this time tied with white and cream bucktail, white fluoro floss,red arctic fox and a couple of strands of pearl tinsel flash. This though is the saltwater version tied for South Africa.Total length 90 mm

Free swag if you impress!

2011-11-16T08:48:00.003+02:00

For all those in the Uk or subscribe to fly fishing & fly tying magazine then I recommend you look out for the december issue as its running a fantastic fly tying competition with some great prizes as giveaways in the form of Bugbond kits and a Regal fly tying vise.

Rudd, nah!......prefer a Burrito instead!

2011-11-15T10:53:00.002+02:00

How many times has a pike followed your fly all the way to the boat and not taken it. Found this yesterday that might shed some light on why Pike can be quite selective at times with what looks edible or not!

Flies for a far!

2011-11-10T09:25:00.004+02:00

I'm off to South Africa at the end of this month for 3 months break to get out of the impending winter, so I've been tying up a load of saltwater flies and poppers to be used in the estuaries and also off the rocky groins. I'll still be posting on a daily basis, but there will be a tropical feel layed down once a week depending on where I've been fishing and for what species. I've teamed up with "Easyfly" out in France who have sponsored me a load of new kit to try out (Hardy Proax Sintrix 9" 6# & Airflo bluetooth Nantec 9" 10/11#) lines (Monic phantom WF6 F tropical and a Monic clear WF10 intermediate), reels (Airflo Airtecs) as well as other goodies. I'm going to be running a number of fly tying workshops around the country and will also be up in the Drakensberg mountains flicking 2# & 3# sticks at brook trout which I'm really looking forward to.

The Knuckle head crank bait

2011-11-09T09:44:00.000+02:00

Pike on the fly in the Netherlands

2011-11-08T10:03:00.000+02:00

A backyard in Nowhere review!

2011-11-07T09:23:00.009+02:00

So I've watched "A Backyard in Nowhere" three times over the weekend and I can honestly say that this film is without a doubt, one of the best Fly fishing films to have come out in the last couple of years. In fact I'll go as far as to say that if this film doesn't pick up any accolades at the next fly fishing film awards I'll take a dump in my hat! It makes the "Deliverance" look like a tea party! And lets face it there aren't many fly fishing DVD'S these days produced where it says on the back cover CONTAINS: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE,PROFANITY,DRUG USE & NUDITY.

"A backyard in nowhere" is set in the muddy barren wastelands of Alaska down the legendary Innoko river and has a supporting cast of local misfits that any film maker could only dream of having. Its fantastically well edited, and as it says on the back cover "It mixes Western & Gonzo with traditional fly fishing.......Just cant believe they managed to bring the Molboro man out of retirement to narate the film!

On top of all that, these four intrepid Danish fly fisherman that go through hell and back to avoid being literally threatened with their lives by a bunch of unruley fishing guides from the "Midnightsun" trophy pike adventures, bring you one of the most riveting fly fishing films to come out in a long time.

And yes, its filled with the kinda pike fly porn dreams are made of and will quite literally be the benchmark for all pike fly fishing films in the future. In short This film shows why Pike on the fly has become the fastest form of fly fishing in the northern hemisphere and why So many of us fish for this truly awesome species.

If you don't already have this film then I suggest you order it today from Flyfishingwestern.com
Its the absolute bollocks!........nuff said!

Fly Candy

2011-11-04T09:16:00.003+02:00

These bendback hightie synthetic baitfish patterns are another fly that going to be added to my shop in a variety of different colours. I've been testing them for a number of months now and they are by far the best fly I have fished with through thick reed, long water grass & weeds ever. Granted, as with all bendback flies you do loose your fare share of fish but I'd rather loose the odd one every now and then just to be able to strip this fly back through thick obstructions where snotrockets will be lying up just because I'm able too. Sorry for not getting the tutorial up for this fly yet but have been so busy the last month I haven't had time to finish it off in Photoshop.

Readers fish porn

2011-11-03T08:40:00.003+02:00

Its been a fantastic year for my Baltic pike tours clients. 33 in total and over 1623 pike caught. Nine over a meter, 37 between 90cm - 100cm. This was the last decent fish caught by Philipp a few weeks back when he was over. Considering this was probably his 8th pike ever he managed to get this 112cm snotrocket into the boat within a couple of minutes. Congrats mate! I Still have a couple of openings for next season if anyone is interested in coming out here to the island and fishing with me. www.balticpiketours.org

Catch Issue 20 out!

2011-11-03T08:34:00.004+02:00

Catch magazine Issue 20 is out if any of you aren't already subscribed to this fantastic magazine.

Building furled leaders

2011-11-02T10:23:00.003+02:00

I dont use furled leaders but I know several people who do and have no complaints,so this winter I'm going to make several of these to test them for next spring. My only concern with using this method that even after twisting the 15lb mono to approx 30lb and then twisting it again to make an approx 60lb top part to the leader,your still left with a 15lb loop where your tippet attaches.If like all pike fly fisherman that use some kind of wire trace of around 25lb's to 30lb then surely the weak point would be the 15lb mono loop. Any thoughts on this or if any of you use this method then drop me a comment or two.

2011-11-01T09:01:00.003+02:00

I've been very impressed with these woolhead flies catching ability over the last 2 months. This Pike version has accounted for numerous fish and its still looking in good nick. Over the winter I'm going to be adding a set of these flies in a range of different colours to my Baltic pike flies shop as well as 5 new models which I have tested over this past season.

Featured fly tiers -Mike Schmidt

2011-10-31T09:45:00.003+02:00

I've been fortunate to be part of some fantastic fly swaps over the last couple of months with some of my favourite fly tiers from around the world. Mike Schmidt is one of them. He hails from Dublin Ohio in the States and is someone who's tying skills I admire very much. These 6" - 8" inch double decievers can be found in his fly shop anglerschoiceflies.com where he has a wide range of Saltwater,Warmwater, Coldwater for Trout, Pike, Steelhead and Bonefish. He also runs the very popular Anglerschoiceflies.blogspot.com

Cheers for the flies Mike,muchos muchos mate!

A Backyard in Nowhere!

2011-10-31T09:34:00.003+02:00

Am going to be reviewing the new Dvd "A Backyard in Nowhere" shortly, once it arrives in the post. So stay tuned,It promises to be a rippa!

Acoustic foot prints

2011-10-29T14:09:00.003+03:00

With a floating line this is one hell of a popper,but I've been fishing this fly with an Intermediate line the last week and it bagged me several fish. It pushes a hell of lot of water and leaves plenty of shockwaves under the surface,which has been noticable when stripping it back. A very easy tie to do. Two 120mm rabbit zonkers tied to the back of the hook shaft.Then a large clump of Olive bucktail ,followed by a collar for natural brown deerhair finished of with a tightly packed spun deerhair head. Here's a great video from the Afton angler which better explains what I'm talking about.

The Bunnybug!

2011-10-28T08:06:00.002+03:00

Every pike fly fisherman should have two of these flies in his box at all times. A black/Purple and Red/white version. I don't fish with rabbit strips enough here on the island,I should but then again I get terribly bored using the same fly day in and day out regardless of how effective it is. I must say though that whenever I slip a bunnybug onto the business end of my set up It isn't long before I get a take. Different strokes for different blokes!

Synthetic microbarb extensions

2011-10-27T09:10:00.003+03:00

Here's something you might not have come across before, Synthetic microbarb rooster saddle hair extensions. I hadn't until a chance sighting of them on Facebook a month or so ago. Due to the sheer lack of the real ones these, days I thought I'd give these a go. They come in a multitude of colours and are around 14" - 16" inches long. You'll be seeing these on the next batch of Musky flies I tie up. Anyway Greg Becker out at "White water flies" got hold of me and said he stocks them in their shop 10 extensions for $10. Within 10mins of being told about them the order had been made and delivery was prompt from the States. He's going to keep them in stock for a while if any of you are interested. I can see some 25" inch monsters on the horizon!

Pike on the fly in Sweden

2011-10-26T10:30:00.002+03:00

The lads from "Front side fly" out in Sweden have been out snotrocket lining and have this short promo featuring their antics. Weather here has been unseasonably warm which looks like it will extend my fishing season for a few more weeks. Clients have all gone home so I'll be back to my usuall daily posts until the end of November at least.

Fly Candy

2011-10-18T20:20:00.003+03:00

Had a good day with this fly yesterday. A simple tie...two 12omm strips of grizzly rabbit zonkers a clump of long strand reindeer hair, several strands of pearl tinsel. an inch of grey raccoon zonker palmered round the hook then the same with chartreuse. My Dutch clients today caught & released 67 fish in some truly terrible conditions. Strong 12m/sec winds,driving rain and 9'c temps with wind chill factor 1'c.

Fly Candy

2011-10-17T13:30:00.003+03:00

A Banger hybrid variation tied with grey & white bucktail 3 white microbarb saddles and some peacock hurl. Its been a mixed week here weather wise but weve caught some decent fish none the less. I'll post some big pike images once my clients email me them. Again, sorry for the lack of post of late but have been away from the laptop around 14hrs a day and the last thing I feel like doing is spending time on the internet once I get back in the evenings. Normal daily posts will start towards the end of the week once I have a break from guiding.

New releases!

2011-10-13T22:34:00.003+03:00

Really looking forward to watching this film by a bunch of mad Danish lads that get more than they bargained for in Alaska. Have read a couple of articles recently about their epic trip and it makes Deliverance look like a tea party!

Readers fish porn

2011-10-07T09:19:00.002+03:00

My good mates Pietro & Francesco were here last week fishing the the lower central part of the island and got stuck into some nice fish by all accounts. More on their trip next week. I'm out guiding again for the next month and a half so I might be a bit lax with the daily posts on here. Hopefully though I'll have some nice pike porn to showcase...fingers crossed!

Lunchtime reading!

2011-10-07T09:14:00.002+03:00

A few days late but "Flymage - fly fishing magazine" is out on the stands. Click the image or link to visit the site.

Burl's Triad

2011-10-06T10:45:00.001+03:00

Not a traditional pike fly as such but what is a traditional pike fly anyway!

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-10-05T09:07:00.002+03:00

I know I went a bit over the top with this ones construction and am sure its going to be a bugger to cast but for one thing its going to move a lot of water. The trailing tandm tail is actually the front end from one of the first tested musky flies I started tying which I managed to salvage and comprises of brown schlappen,tan brown bucktail, and a very large spun deerhair head.

The main body is a combination of tan brown bucktail, a couple of clumps of reindeer fur, 3 micro orange opposum zonkers, a 70mm length of gold mylar and a bottling cork dremmeled out at the front.

Fly Candy

2011-09-30T08:20:00.002+03:00

Autumn's in full swing,plant life is dying out and water conditions are getting murky. Time to bring out the flash brigade for the next month and a half!

Readers fish porn

2011-09-29T07:54:00.003+03:00

Regular visitor to these shores Dmitry sent me a batch of images a while back with some of his own fish porn caught with some Baltic pike flies.

Mark out in the States who's been fishing wth my flyzilla Musky madness range of flies bagged this 45" inch Musky a while back. Thanks for these lads,muchos muchos!

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-28T09:14:00.003+03:00

Flyzilla's - "The Manta rat" This one is slightly different from the last in that the tailing tandem tail is a combination of steelhead silver and Mullet brown mirror image,several mixed white & grizzly micro barb saddles and a wide spun deerhair head.

The main body is a combination of tan brown bucktail, Natural deer hair, two primary (roadkill) seagull feathers. Silver mylar unravelled,white microbarbs, a tightly packed large spun deerhair head, brown foam helmet and cream floss whiskers.

Total length 14" inches

The "NEW" Professional BugBond torch

2011-09-27T08:44:00.002+03:00

BUGBOND professional is a new single emitter UV light that will appeal to the fly-tying fanatic, semi commercial & commercial tier. It’s possibly the sleekest, smartest, smallest & cheapest to run, UV light for curing resin on the market available. It utilises a Cree single UV emitter that provides consistent curing. It uses a single AA battery but It works equally well with alkaline batteries, NiMH rechargeable batteries also. What I love about this torch is that it weighs a measly 74g compared to the discontinued Night searcher torch at 152g. Another simple addition to this torch is the handy strap that is attached. Not having to place the torch down on the bench while you apply the resin is a god sent.

If you've never used a UV cured resin on your flies then you don't know what you are missing. Bugbond's closest rival is an American product called CCG - Clear cure goo, & although I truly do respect all you patriotic chaps in the States using a home grown product, there really is no comparisson between the two. You might say "well it's a little bit more expensive than CCG" but the reason for this is because it's a better product.....FULL STOP!!! It cures quicker with absolutely "NO" tack what so ever. It comes in "Lite" or "Original" 20ml bottles with revolutionary applicator caps which I see many of bugbonds rivals are now copying with their own products. If your from Europe then get over to the Bugbond site to order yourself up a kit. If your in the States then get hold of Greg Becker at "White water flies" who stocks it his shop.

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-26T08:13:00.004+03:00

This is a combination of brown schlappen,Olive/yellow grizzly schlappen,grizzly microbarbs,reindeer fur,Elk fur and deerhair. Total length 14" inches from nose to tail.

Keep an eye out this week for the new Bugbond torch, latex gloves, readers fish and fly porn,fly swaps,more fly Candy and the overdue bendback high tie tutorial.

Mirror mirror!

2011-09-25T10:25:00.004+03:00

So its not a monster and it didn't turn out to be the Carp slam I was hoping for but I can't tell you truly how stoked I am with this fish.In fact I'd go as far as to say that this little mirror carp is probably the most significant fish I have caught in the last two seasons and is my 1st Mirror carp on the fly ever as well as here in Finland. Weather conditions were awful, 8'c temps and persistant rain fishing in a year and a half old man made pond with very little plant life let alone insect life made fishing extremely hard yet enjoyable. In total our club caught 33 common and mirror carp which were relocated to a larger lake for breeding purposes. I tried all the flies I'd tied, as I was certain that the bread ,boillie and dog biscuit imitations would do the trick but with water temps low they just didn't feed off the surface no matter what I threw at them. I eventually caught this one on the top red fly from the last post. I did loose two others during the day but was so stoked once I'd caught this one that I spent the rest of the afternoon in total euphoria. In short, well worth the 360km round trip for this awesome little fish.

Carp slam!

2011-09-23T08:07:00.008+03:00

I'm off on Saturday up to Kokkola with my club (www.specimin.fi) to a private pond to hopefully slam some Carp so I've had to tie up a small range of Carp candy for the occassion. This has been something I've wanted to do here for some yrs now but just haven't had the chance due to other commitments and the wide distributuon of these fish that are generally stocked in privately owned lakes and ponds. God knows whether I'll catch any with this selection of patterns,although they are recognised carp candy from reputable carp fisherman. Now that I'm in with the right crowd, I'll be fishing for carp twice a month from next season, so It looks like I'm going to have to order me up some proper ammunition from my mate JP at ROUGHFISHER.COM
what makes this so special is that nobody targets carp here on the fly so I "might" be the first chap in Finland to catch one using this method. Its a big ask so we'll just have to see. Hopefully I can bag one or two!!

The Replot stinger

2011-09-22T08:23:00.005+03:00

Looking at my stats so far for this season, my Replot stinger has accounted for 457 pike. The Chartreuse/white and Pink/white models have been the most productive colour combo's. Cheers Juha for loading this up onto our club site!

Rudolf reines supreme!

2011-09-21T08:03:00.005+03:00

Remember those three reindeer fur flies I tied up a few months ago. Well Jeff Faulkner over at "Flyfishjeff blog" said they would be good for Striper so I sent them out to him to see how they would fare.

Looks like they didn't dissapoint after all! Thanks for the images Jeff.

Bucket mouth!

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-20T07:44:00.003+03:00

Been involved in some great fly swaps recently on facebook and this is one of them, destined for a chap in Germany. Its a down sized version of the flyzilla series and is only 9" inchs long.
The only criteria was that I must tie a fly that I found extremely hard to part with and I have to admit I'm a bit bummed to see this leave the house.

I'm a bit excited as I came across some 18" inch artificial grizzly barbed synthetic hair extensions last night on facebook through a contact and he's going to be sending 10 packets over for me to tie some truly monstous flies with. I'm thinking 25" inch baby's for starters.

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-19T10:50:00.002+03:00

Called this Flyzilla the "Phantom Menace". The tail is a combination of white schlappen,grey bucktail,3 long wide grizzly microbarbs,A 6" inch length of silver mylar tubing unravelled and a grey spun deerhair head with a section of foam epoxied to the top to give the fly extra buoyancy.

With the main body I followed the same tying recipe but added a couple of clumps of reindeer hair around the hook shank. Total length 15" inches.

pike on the fly in Montana

2011-09-17T09:35:00.004+03:00

Man I could spend all day doing just that with a small mouse catching hungry little jacks.

Popovic's spread fly baitfish

2011-09-16T09:09:00.002+03:00

Great little fly that needed to be added to the video fly tying section of this blog. If your new to these shores then use the Orange/Olive LABEL CLOUD on the left side of the site to locate questions you might need answering on the sport. For fly inspiration click "Baltic pike flies" or "Musky flies", tying tutorials then click "Video fly tying tutorials" or "fly tying tutorials" there's over 100 to get stuck into.

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-15T09:32:00.005+03:00

Flyzilla (III) - "The Bengal tiger". Total length 16" inches. The tail is a combination of long Orange chinese cock saddles,black bucktail, 8 short hot orange grizzly micro barb saddles,a 6" inch length of unravelled gold mylar tubing and a tightly packed spun deerhair head.

The main body is much the same materials except the mylar is 8"inches long. I added a collar of long Orange bucktail. then two sections of tightly packed spundeer hair then a thick clump of orange arctic fox splayed out and slid down the hook shaft and butted up againt the spun deerhair. Then five short hot orange grizzly microbarbs saddles,two more black packs of deer hair and a single packing of orange bucktail.

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-14T08:14:00.003+03:00

Flyzilla (II) - "The Grim Reaper" This was a fun fly to construct. The stinger tail is practically an all black affair with black microbarb saddles, black chicken feathers,some thick holographic tinsel and a 4" inch length of silver mylar tubing unravelled with a tightly packed black spun deer head.

The main body, is again much the same as the tail exept I added a couple of long grizzly microbarb saddles and then followed that with an 8 inch length of silver mylar tubing around the body before adding a collar of black bucktail,several short white microbarb saddles and a tightly packed spun deerhair head. Then finished off the fly with shaped piece of foam to give it bouyancy.

Man I took this out for a swim the other day & was blown away with how well the beast not only pushed water but pulsed and glimmerd with the silver mylar tubing around it. The only problem with these flies is that its so hard to part with them once I've finished one. Mark, thanks for leaving such positive words regarding these flies in the previous flies comments section mate.

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-13T08:05:00.006+03:00

Back on the Musky war path with this 16" inche monstrocity. The tandem stinger tail is a combination of Black and brown schlappen, Tan bucktail and 3 extra long brown microbarb saddles. With the main body I used black and brown chinese cock hackles,tan bucktail,several shorter brown and tan microbarb saddles and 5 long strands of wide gold hologtaphic tinsel. Gave it a decent colar of Elk hair then finished it off with a large spun deer hair head.

For all you detractors out there,especially musky fly fisherman that think these kind of flies are just too over the top to catch fish, then here's a great short video from Thomas Guyard from "Fish addict team" blog based out in Quebec with a superb 40" musky using a fly based on this double tandem rig system which can be seen directly after this video on his blog. Whats even more impressive is that this is his first full year fly fishing for Musky. Awesome Thomas,really chuffed for you mate!

Thinking outside the box!

2011-09-12T08:00:00.002+03:00

This is my kinda fly and ingenuity. With total scant regard for her hair & clothing, she proceeds to cut into her flip flop,rip cotton from her shirt and use some of her own hair to get back into the action....My kinda women!

Fly Candy

2011-09-10T09:27:00.004+03:00

Out of the 49 pike I've caught this week so far, this fly has accounted for 27 of them. In the water it looks and swims like an injured pike would. It darts from side to side and rolls during that all important 2 second hangtime. Conditions have been mixed here on the island but Its generally been free of any major wind but mainly overcast when I've been out in the mornings and evenings. Darker coloured flies have faired much better than their brighter brethren!

I've used Olive and yellow grizzly schlappen for the tail. Olive,white and yellow bucktail for the body and threw in several strands of green FFF Flash for good measure. Then gave it an olive and brown artificial wool for the head.

Every now and then get a feeling about a fly and this is one of them. I'm just finishing off the tutorial for those bendback hightie flies and I'll do one for this fly.Have a great weekend all.

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-09T09:26:00.005+03:00

The articulated tandem tail is a combo of tan brown and white bucktail,white schlappen,White microbarb saddles and black goat hair.

I followed the same tying recipe for the front hook except I added a 4" inch section of silver mylar tubing which I unravelled around the whole body of the the fly. Added a large tan brown spun deerhair head then epoxied a foam plate over that for bouyancy. Jobs a good en!! Total length 14" inches.

The ice pick

2011-09-08T08:40:00.001+03:00

Maybe not a pike fly as such,but a great video and fly none the less

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-07T10:01:00.003+03:00

I call this the "Tigerbomb",18" inches of pure unadulterated decadance. The Stinger hook is a combination of blended black & orange wighair synthetics, Orange and brown schlappen,orange and brown bucktail,orange fine luminesant tinsel and four large hot orange grizzly hackles with a spun deer front end up to the hook point.
The main body has all the same materials, bar the wighair. The head is spun deerhair with an orange/brown foam plate stuck over it to give the fly a little more bouyancy during the retrieve.

If this doesn't push a lot of water on the surface then I don't know what will, and if you think this ones over the top, then your going to shit yer pants when you see the next batch I tied up yesterday.

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-06T09:30:00.002+03:00

The benifit of having a webfeeder installed to this blog is that I'm able to track every reader that visit these shores. Many are from fly fishing or fly tying forums where someone has posted an image with link of one of these flies and what's struck me is how unbelievably negative the fly fishing fraturnity can be. With the advent of google translate I can follow practically any forums disgussion wherever from in the world. But more on forums & why I don't partake in them in an up and coming post.

These flies are tied for a reason, to attract and catch big fish which they do. They aren't supposed to be cast 25m with 9# rod. they are cast 15m with a 12" 12# rod at monster musky by fly fisherman that live for the sport and have one goal in mind to try and break the world musky record with a fly and to do that they say you need monster flies to get them interested which I'm glad to oblige in tying for them. Sure I've never fished for Musky before but you can't tell me that Pike wouldn't want to eat this monster flapping around on the surface.
This beast is 16" inches long and is a combination of reindeer fur,bucktail,white n brown schlappen feathers,white microbarbs & a spun deerhair head.

Fly Candy - Musky madness

2011-09-05T08:59:00.004+03:00

I'm back on the musky trail again. This time I've been asked to tie them longer,wider and if possible have larger spun deer hair heads on the largest hooks I can find. This becomes a challenge purely because you can only tie so much onto two hooks before they become too heavy and totally un aerodynamic to cast. Not only that but extremely time consuming to make and expensive to produce. Okay money's no object here but one can only add so many microbarb saddles to a fly regardless of how expensive they are at the mo,so I'm having to add less of them and look at other alternative materials (feathers/flash) that can give the flies volume, length and above all, movement instead.
One of these materials is Ostrich Hurl and I have shit loads of it lying around my man cave. Its super light retains very little water and moves fantastically under the water. I first build a base of bucktail,then add the stiffer feather to eather side of the hook (roadkill seagull I found in the spring here) , & finaly added the ostrich hurl feathers over the the long white feathers.

The head is tighly packed spun deerhair and I added a section of foam to the front of it for extra bouyancy. The eyes are purely there for aesthetics. Total length 14" inch - 35cm. Click images for larger view.

That time of the month

2011-09-02T08:04:00.003+03:00

Scale magazine from Germany with a great opening article about hunting pike in Alaska.

Bloodknots Ezine issue out

Catch magazine Issue 19 out today!

Its all in the blend

2011-09-01T08:25:00.000+03:00

Fly Candy

2011-08-31T07:56:00.003+03:00

I've fished with this fly a lot over the last 3 weeks for one simple reason purely because of its action and ability to attract fish. I've really been surprised with the longevity of the reindeer fur as well considering I average around 170 cast per morning and evening session. This fly has a far more erratic action than all the other woolheads I've fished with which put down to the shape of the head.

Using large eyes and crimping them together flattens its profile drastically and I've noticed the fly dart all over the place through a retrieve far mor than the others in the set. Whether the reindeer fur and microbarb saddles have something to do with it I'm not sure, but I'm going to try this same head with maybe feathers or even synthetics as a main body feature to see what action they produce.

I've had 12 fish with this fly in the last week and It still looks in good nick. Total length 150mm

Fly Candy

2011-08-30T10:54:00.002+03:00

So I've taken the woolheads a step further in their construction by adding a tandem trailing rig to the fly. I started by tying on five yellow/olive grizzly schlappen feathers facing inwards to an up turned Tiemco 811s 3/0 hook. Then added a clump of long reindeer fur. Tied on several strands of peacock FFF Flash then a small clump of yellow then olive bucktail.

Attached that to the main hook and then added a single yellow/olive schlappen splayed outwards followed by a clump of yellow then olive then cream bucktail.

For the head I first added a tapered clump of two inch olive artificial wool followed by some brown. Added several more strands of the peacock FFF Flash follwed by alternate inch clumps of Olive & brown A/Wool up to the hook eye. Trimmed the head into the shape of a pikes.Stuck a couple of eyes on and then Bugbonded the whole area.

I've been very pleased with how this looks and swims in the water. Total length 180mm

Pike tube fly

2011-08-29T08:58:00.001+03:00

You know me and my love of fishing with pike tube flies. Well here's a great http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif tutorial from Morten Bundgaard Owner of Profly tyer Called the Pike Buster tube fly. Chatting with him the other day he says that they have a new range of pike tube fly accessories hitting the shops very soon which I'm looking forward to trying out once I get my grubby little mits on some.