On Sunday 2023 is over and 2024 is upon us. We’ve had a good and busy year as always, working on all fronts. We enjoyed every second of it and will continue to do so. Let’s take a quick look at what we’ve done on 2023.
New Year
Category: Hook design
Wooly Bugger
The good, old Wooly Bugger has at some point been in most fly boxes around the world. When asked that “which-fly-on-a-deserted-island-would-you-bring?”-question, a Wooly Bugger will probably end up high on the list. I should add, of course, that the deserted island is littered with lakes and streams and surrounded by sea with all sorts of fish. There are probably hundreds of variations being fished and there’s absolutely no doubt that not’s highly effective.
IFTS, IFF and Trey Combs
Steve Silverio and UK flytyer Paul Little discussing hooks and flies at the Irish Fly Fair.
On November 11th and 12th, we attended the International Fly Tying Symposium in the US and last weekend we were at the Irish Fly Fair. Being based in Denmark, fly shows always require some travel, so we’ve been busy. Morten was at the IFTS, Søren and myself at the Irish Fly Fair.
Continue reading “IFTS, IFF and Trey Combs”Beast Fleye
Bob Popovics and Steve Silverio at the IFTS 2023.
Last weekend, Morten and Steve Silverio were at the International Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset, NJ. We were in place on Hareline’s stand and we want to say thank you to everyone who came by and said hi.
Pike flies and dubbing brushes
From last years International Flytying Symposium; Brian Shumaker, Steve Silverio and Bob Clouser.
Before we get to that, let me remind you that we are attending the International Fly Tying Symposium in New Jersey tis weekend. We’ll be there so if you’re there, please come by and say hello.
The small stuff
Small is always a matter of context. A small pike fly is infinitely larger than a small trout fly, but no matter the context, small flies are often important to have, often even the deciding factor between and take and a refusal.
Continue reading “The small stuff”Ismo Pupa
Caddis are important prey for trout and grayling. Some species leave their pupal case and swim towards the surface. Here they swim towards shore to hatch on land or in vegetation. They’re fairly big and you can easily see them almost rowing along the surface. This behaviour obviously makes them highly exposed to trout and grayling, but also very fun to fish, because you can skate and twitch the fly, which often triggers quite aggressive strikes. Skating and twitching is often something we strive to avoid when dry fly fishing, but in this case, it’s exactly the way to fish.
Continue reading “Ismo Pupa”New sizes, autumn and shrimps
We’ve added a few new sizes to our SA 250 Shrimp hooks. The SA 250 maybe be called “Shrimp” and it’s designed specifically for that and it is indeed excellent for tying shrimps, more on that below. t’s one of those hooks that has a name that does imply a very specific usage, but is really more versatile than that.
Bending? No more – the SA 258/PR 358 CA Bendback is here
We’re pleased to, once again, announce the official release of a new hook. We love making hooks, and in particular ones that are made for specific purposes, maybe even a model others would call a niche product. It only makes it better when they are a result of a collaboration with others. In this instance the hook is a result working with Chris Adams (from Australia), who contacted us about a bend back hook for his barramundi fishing.
Stinger
Not the missile – at all, but a hook. A stinger hook is defined by it’s shape (as most hooks), it’s placement in the fly and the way it’s attached to the hook. Stinger hooks are short, have a fairly deep bend and are up-eyed. The up-eye is important and I’ll get back to that. Stinger hooks can be used a different ways. They can be the one hook and a fly or they can be used as a two-hook-setup, most commonly on long flies.