I was invited to tie flies at the annual Black Friday event at Nordic Anglers’ show room last Friday. When I tie flies at events like these, I always focus on tying patterns that don’t take too long. Maybe with a focus on something relevant for the season and if I can fill a vacant space in my own box, even better. I tied a simple sand eel imitation (well, many), gave some away, talked hooks with some of the customers and even took home a few flies.
Continue reading “Keep an eye?”
Did you catch our recently published video with Andreas Andersson? It’s a very detailed instruction on how to tie the famous fly, the Dahlberg Diver. You can tie the fly however detailed you want, but I think it’s safe to say that Andreas’ instruction is among the best and most detailed you can find on YouTube. There’s no need to go into as much detail as Andreas does. Andreas is also among the best with deer hair, so I think it’s also safe to say that no matter how detailed you want to tie your fly, there’s a lot to learn.
Continue reading “Dahlberg Diver – by Andreas Andersson”
IFTS is an abbreviation for the International Fly Tying Symposium – an annual show that has been running for 31 years. The show is an institution on the international fly-show-scene and one that has attracted some of the biggest names in the fly tying world. We, Ahrex, are going this year for the first time and we’re excited and proud. Please come and say hello, we’re hanging out at the Regal & Keough stand.
Continue reading “International Fly Tying Symposium 2022”
There’s nothing new about fishing floating flies on sinking lines and I talked a little about it earlier this month, when I was preparing for the Hökensås Trout Safari, where I am right now, writing this blog entry. Booby flies are very popular on the Hökensås lakes and following a discussion in the car on the way up here from Denmark, I had to write a friend to get a little bit of the history behind the fly.
Continue reading “Floating sub-surface”
The summer’s high water temperatures are receding and as the water cools down, it’s time to get ready for the fall predator season. Maybe the lines, the wire leaders and the reels need a quick check up and maybe, just maybe, the boxes need a replenish with your favourite flies? Mine did – and still do. I’ve been enjoying tying flies with home made dubbing brushes recently.
Continue reading “Predator season”
I assume that if not everyone, then the vast majority of the readers of this blog tie flies. For most fly fishers it’s a naturally, integrated part of the hobby. Most like to put their own touches on known patterns, many have personal favourites of their own design. And some of course have completely secret flies that nobody ever gets to see. But there’s a fair number of fly fishers out there, who don’t tie their flies themselves. Maybe they can’t find the time, maybe it simply doesn’t appeal to them, maybe they can’t find the time to learn.
Continue reading “Tied 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.
Continue reading “The colour of flies”
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.
Continue reading “Old Wets”
I’ll leave today’s blog to Håkan Karsnäser and yet another of his material descriptions. Håkan is an excellent fly tier and even though he has a vast collection of materials, Håkan is always aware that it’s not always important to acquire new and specific materials. Often you can be creative and use what you already have by using materials in a ways they are not typically used for. Today Håkan provides some inspiration on how to use turkey tails fibres.
The headline might sound a bit counter intuitive, but there’s sense in the madness. It’s still cold, we’re just (in the northern hemisphere) heading into spring. The water warms up slowly and fish can still hold deep, close to the bottom.
