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Down – and up!

Sometimes everything is turned upside down – and it seems to be a tendency that is also permeating this blog lately. In March we introduced the SA 210 Bob Clouser Signature hook, and while it, in every way, is a “normal” hook, the fly it was designed around is an upside-down-fly. I’ve touched on the subjects “up-side-down” and “weedless” before, and here we go again.

Matukas and zonkers

I wrote a blog about matuka flies late summer last year, diving a little bit into the history of the style. Our resident, fly tying factory, Håkan, has made a step-by-step instruction on tying a matuka, so let’s take a more detailed look at the fly.

The colour of flies

There are plenty of subjects that flyfishers can discuss at length over the campfire at night. Some of them will likely even cause animated exchanges of words, in all friendliness. Rod actions, reels (from the need of a brake and upwards), lines, leaders, knots and at the business end, flies and not least the colour of them.

Introducing…

The Salt SA 210 Bob Clouser Signature hook. We are quite excited to present the newest hook in the Salt Series. It’s been developed in collaboration with the legendary Bob Clouser himself and is specified to his specifications and proportions – just as he wants a Clouser hook to be.

The Lady Caroline

The classic Spey flies are beautiful flies, and one could point to several flies, but among the most classic of the classics is The Lady Caroline. As stunning and beautiful as the “fancy flies” are, I find the Spey flies as beautiful in their simplicity and subtle nuances.

Busy Times

The last few months have been busy here at Ahrex. Spring and fall have always been our seasons for releasing new hooks. A few weeks ago we released the FW 538/539 May Fly Dry and we’ve of course been busy packaging and shipping them out and we’re pleased and thankful that they’ve been well received.

FRESH OR SALT?

Fishing trout in still water has a lot in common, whether it’s salt or fresh water. The trout live much in the same way: The feed and grow to maturity in the large still water and migrate to streams to spawn. Whether fresh or salt, the habitats also share some of the same types of prey – gammarus and baitfish/fry being two of the notable ones. In both fresh and salt water you can even be lucky enough to find trout feeding on terrestrials.

Old Wets

To me there are few flies that embody the whole essence of “a fly” as old, classic wet flies. There are plenty, hundreds, to choose from and I’ve featured some of them in previous posts. A few decades ago, most new fly tiers began with a Red Tag and once the basic techniques were in place, next on the agenda was learning to tie feather wings. Usually the subject was a March Brown wet. It’s simple (until you get to wings), catches well and challenges the fly tier. Hen pheasant wing slips aren’t hard for the experienced fly tier, but they’re not the easiest either.

Merchandise

This week’s blog is shameless promotion, for which I apologise in advance. I wanted to let you know that we have added a few new items to our merchandise that some of you might be interested in. One item has been delayed, but is now in stores or on it’s way.

Hook Anatomy

There are certain terms used in relation to describing a hook. We use the terms when we communicate with our production engineers and they are of course widely used in general descriptions of hooks. Read along and I’ll take you though the terms and how the relate to the anatomy of a hook.