I’m generally very reluctant to use the word, “iconic”, but in the case of Jack Gartside’s Gurgler I think it fits. Gartside died in 2009, but has left a legacy of so many flies, for so many different applications. Many of them all-purpose flies that are at home on a bass lake as they are in the salt.
Continue reading “Gartside’s Gurgler”
It can sound a little strange but you’ll never hear me say that I love fishing, trout or something like that. To me the phrase love is reserved for human beings, my loved ones. That said, there’s a few things around fishing especially fly fishing and fly tying that are so close to my heart that it resembles love. Sitting in the evening sun with my fishing buddies, they are among my loved ones, catching a strong trout or spending a whole cold winters day in front of my vice, brings me a joy I can’t live without. The latter got a twist. I’m, if not in love, then pretty intrigued by a feather.
Photo: Matt Guymon / Freestone Rivers Photography.
If you’re fly fishing for trout and grayling, you won’t get far without a good imitation of both mayflies and caddis. In the books and online there are literally hundreds of specific patterns and styles to choose from. Some of them we’ve featured here on the blog and some on our YouTube-channel, but I don’t think we’ve ever touched on the X-Caddis and the Sparkle Dun.
Continue reading “Essentials”
“Wake me up when September ends” is a song by Green Day, but if you happen to sleep through September, you’re missing out. Septembervej is a great month for a lot of reasons. But one of them is the Daddy Long Legs. They are busy right now, because it’s getting late for them to mate and lay their eggs. Much like mayflies, they don’t live for long after they emerge from the pupa, although a mayfly would think they live forever. Some mayflies live for just hours, Daddy Long Legs for up to two weeks.
Fishing sea bass along the west coast of Denmark is becoming increasingly popular. It’s not new – it was in the mid to late 1990s that I first heard of a couple of pioneers targeting this unusual species. They can be found along the entire west coast, but the fishing seems to be best along the northern shores.
Spinning deer hair around a hook or a tube can have different purposes. Depending on other choices muddler heads can make a fly float, wake or push water or fished on a sinking line or weighted. We’ve had a lot of rain in Denmark the past few weeks and I decided that I wanted a fairly small fly, fast sinking and one that sinks fast, so I don’t lose too much swing while waiting for the to drag the fly down.
Continue reading “Sonic Tube Muddler”
It’s the middle of August and some of us (myself at least) are looking forward to cooler weather and autumn fishing. Autumn is by far my favourite time of year and has plenty to offer in terms of fishing. One thing that some tend to overlook is the fact that hatches of both may flies and caddis can pick up a little and offer some surface action. At this exact time, I’d concentrate my effort in the evenings and early night. Just as sea trout, big browns like big flies fished just under the surface (just letting you know).
Continue reading “Burned Wings”