Recent comments

As you may know

Noé,

As you may know I have been using a small raft for my fishing the last many years because of my inability to walk and keep my balance due to MS. Like you I have focused on inflatable boats that can pack down small enough to fit a trunk. My choice has been smaller pontoon style boats, and they have done the job and been very practical and easy to handle. My main problem has been rust since I fish mainly saltwater.

I have no specific experience with the craft in your link, but judging from the price, I'd guess that it's a quality product. Even for a boat this size, it's not cheap, even though the price is of course significantly lower than many "real" boats. My experience with larger inflatable boats is that size matters, in particular if you are two or three people in the boat. It doesn't take much movement or commotion to create instability, and a larger boat usually feels a lot safer than a smaller one.

The boat in your link seems quite narrow, but it's obvious from the images that they are three people onboard, and two are even standing, so it must be quite stable.

I would recommend trying one out if at all possible before buying. This will allow you to judge quality and stability and maybe trying to unpack and inflate and deflate and packing it down afterwards, which can be quite a job, even with a smaller boat.

I hope this helps.

Martin

I can see why

Noe,

I can see why you're confused. Zandri Terenzio's technique and tools are pretty exotic, but the result is quite amazing.

I watched the video too, and looked at the pictures in your link, and all I can see from this is that there are three "core threads" - two which form the base on which things are tied ("standing threads"), and one which is used to secure the various materials, and also brilliantly forms the segments in the abdomen of the fly.

Judging from the speed and the hand movements, it seems that the tier is using simple half hitches around a single or both of the standing threads depending on the step. This seems to be the case in all steps involving the third thread or the yarn for the abdomen, but it's hard to see on the fuzzy video.
In the images in the article showing the tying of the abdomen, you can see that the yarn is tied around one, then the other thread using half hitches and a weaving technique not unlike crocheting. After each two knots have been tied, the third thread is used to secure the segment with a couple of similar knots that will hide in the gap between the segments. In the video it seems that the third thread is dark, and this accents the light body yarn nicely to form a clear segmentation. The final wraps holding the tail are simple overhand wraps, finished with a whip finish, but done with a loop tool drawing the tag under the wraps.

It's a very fascinating technique, and one I will look into. Maybe it would be worth doing an article on it, and perhaps a clearer video. I'll see.

Martin

Tip for hair trimming

If you steam the untrimmed bug over a small pot of boiling water, or the spout of a teapot, the deer hair will stand up erect. This makes the trimming a bit easier and delivers a tidier result.

No reason to "play" that fish

No reason to "play" that fish for over 20 minutes in open water and little current. Keeping that tip up puts no pressure on his swimming muscles. Side pressure would have whupped him in less than 5 minutes. That's the difference between playing a fish and fighting one.

DIY wooden landing net

Great looking net! Thanks for the 'How To'.

Sand Eel Flies

Merrimack River Flies is a local fly shop that carries flat wing sand eels that work great. There are always sand eels in the Merrimack and everyone should have some imitations in their fly box. www.mmrf.us.com

I first scored the wood with

I first scored the wood with a chisel and then used a wood file of the appropriate size. I finished it (for cosmetic reasons) with sanding paper wrapped around a small piece of wood.

Thanks for a great article!

Thanks for a great article! How did you create the lengthwise groove on the frame?

Something is missing

Something is missing in the description of materials and components of fly

So many peppers

Martyn,

Whether or not this is a Chili Pepper can be up for debate, but as this old article indicates, there are already several flies, which have that name.

One more might muddle the picture a bit, but not make the confusion significantly worse. That's the story of flies: so many have been tied identical and given different names, and so many bear the same name, but are yet very different.

Martin

Chili pepper

This isn't a chili pepper, Moana's fly is essentially a gotcha tied with green thread, a gold body and orange wing. This fly is more like an apricot charlie variant or a ring burner variant.

So right!

Bert,

You are so right! I didn't think of that at all:

grizzle
/ˈɡrɪz(ə)l/

adjective
(of hair or fur) having dark and white hairs mixed. "grizzle-haired"

noun
a mixture of dark and white hairs.

Thanks!

Martin

Grizzly is probably a corruption of the word grizzle

And grizzle refers to someone with a mixture of dark and white hair. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful article.

Martin

Sad to read what you have been through. Thanks for the update and take care Martin.

Sources

Shane,

You can use a variety of foam types, as long as they are closed cell and will float. I have used inexpensive craft foam, which is widely available and inexpensive.

Rainy's Flies has a ton of different special foam products for fly tyers, also sheets:
http://www.rainysflies.com/foam-products/cross-link-sheet-foam

They also have a ton of pre-shaped foam products, which might be useful:
http://www.rainysflies.com/foam-products

You can glue the foam with good, old fashioned contact cement - also cheap and easy to find. Thin layers on both surfaces, let dry, press together is the method. Super glue can also be used.

For the wasp bodies you make a stack of yellow and black from about 1-2 mm foam, let it dry and then punch out cylinders with a small metal tube, maybe filed to have a sharp cutting edge in one end. Simply punch the tube through the foam with a hammer over a wooden board.

You can also opt for finished bodies like these:
https://www.lurecraft.com/Bee_Wasp-Foam-Bodies-1_4/productinfo/13X1203/

Martin

foam

Can you please let me know what size foam and where you got it from? also, what type of glue are you using to hold the foam together please.

Mojandomoscas.com.ar

I love this type of flies, specifically this pattern I did not know, so it will surely be part of my fishing box next season. Thank you very much for sharing. A hug from Patagonia Argentina

Me encantan este tipo de moscas, específicamente este patrón no lo conocía, así que seguramente será parte de mí caja de pesca en la próxima temporada. Muchas gracias por compartir. Un abrazo desde la Patagonia Argentina

Hi Martin

Hi Martin
Sorry to hear about you having Covid19 but I'm glad that you are on the road to recovery. My daily fix of GGF is always such a mix of recent and archived articles that I don't think I really noticed a reduction in new articles lately. Anyways, thanks as always for your wonderful work and all the best for a full and speedy recovery.

Good news

Good hear that you are on the mend Martin. Stay positive!
John

Good to hear!

Good to hear that you're back at it Martin. GFF is such a big part of my online reading and you've done an absolute great job at it over the years. Here's to your good health!

Martin,

Martin,
So glad to hear you are recovering! I am sure that I am just one among many who appreciate what you have created here and painstakingly maintained over the years. Thank you, and hope you are back to full strength soon, friend!
JK

Great looking fly

Jeff,

That's a nice looking little baitfish. That would be able to catch a lot of different species.

Martin

Pink Floyd

This is a very effective pattern for landlocked salmon. It’s origin is from the Moosehead Lake Region here in Maine I believe. I’ve used it with great success in many areas of Maine. Beautiful tie.

wow

Wow, that was a very nice video to watch. I love chasing chub with dry flies and this is a great example of the amount of fun you can have doing so. Thanks for sharing this video! Can you share which river this is? Or is that a secret?