fly tying
Fly Repair Shop
This is the place where flies go to die.....or get repaired....or salvaged. I'm too cheap to throw away perfectly fine hooks. … [Read more...] about Fly Repair Shop
Streamers: Old School vs. New School
The Grey Ghost is a classic Maine streamer. It's intended to imitate a rainbow smelt, the primary food source for landlocked salmon. I use it all the time and fish it with confidence. It's worked for generations, but I'm not yet sure whether it's so popular because it so closely matches a smelt, or because it's the best that was available at the time. So it's fun to … [Read more...] about Streamers: Old School vs. New School
The Tying Bench: San Juan Worm
The San Juan worm is my kind of fly. It's about as simple to tie as it gets, and really catches the fish during high water on western streams. The 'fly' is intended to mimic worms that are washed into the stream from the bank and become part of the drift during high flows. It is especially effective during high flows in dirty water. I tied my variation of the San Juan worm … [Read more...] about The Tying Bench: San Juan Worm
Hooks, Hooks, Hooks
Keith over at the Singlebarbed blog gave a heads-up on some super sweet deals for bulk packs of vintage Mustad hooks on Ebay. Like a few others, I jumped in and bought more of the old hooks than I'll ever need. It may take a couple decades to tie all of them up, but I'm a sucker for a steal. … [Read more...] about Hooks, Hooks, Hooks