The Butcher, proberbly the best known classic wet fly – tied by Håkan Karsnäser.
When fly tiers and fly fishers think about “mallard wings”, I suppose that most of us have the image of a classic spey fly with its low set roof shaped wing of the beautiful (and impossible) brown- and black speckled feathers from a mallard’s wing.
Two words for the same insect – an insect that is quite important to the trout- and grayling fisherman. In fact probably even more important than the mayflies since there are so many more species of caddis than there are mayflies. Like the mayflies they are important both as nymphs, emergers and adults and imitations are plentyful.
The largest mayfly in Scandinavia are the Ephemera danica and it’s stillwater relative, the E. vulgata. The are the same size and the vulgata tend to be a little darker than the danica. They hatch more or less at the same time, and both of course offer excellent fishing. Our “house fly tier”, Håkan Karsnäser lives close to the Hökensås lakes in Sweden and fishes the hatch every year, so I asked Håkan for a few tips and tricks, and a couple of good flies. Over to Håkan…
This coming weekend it is time for another great show. Sportsfiske Mässan is the largest angling show in Sweden, and if you are anywhere nearby, you owe yourself to drop by Elmia in Jönköping March the 17’th to the 19’th. It is an all-round angling fair, so there will be anything from trolling boats to fly fishing tackle. But there will be a lot of fly tying as well. Continue reading “Hökensås Sportfiske – and the Swedish Sportfiske Mässan show”
This spring is a busy one for us at Ahrex Hooks. The last couple of weeks we’ve attended festivals and shows in UK and Italy and this coming weekend, we are in our own neck of the woods. More precisely in Kolding, Denmark. Continue reading “The Danish Fly Festival in Kolding – Marts the 2nd and 3th”
The word midge has a duality of meanings – at least for fly tiers and fly fishermen. First of all, it can mean: a very small fly, natural or artificial. So any bug tied on a fly hook size 18 or smaller is a candidate to the midge title, even though it may represent a mayfly or even a sow bug. Very confusing. Continue reading “Midges in winter – and new fly tying videos”
Now it’s time for one of the most important events on the British fly fishing scene. British Fly Fair International is held in association with Fly Fishing and Fly Tying – and naturally we will be there along with anyone else the European fly tackle business.
Continue reading “Meet Ahrex Hooks – At the British Fly Fair International 2019”
This week I was working in the studio, shooting photos of some fly tying materials. Looking at the photos afterwards I was really fascinated by the beauty in some of the totally basic materials. The warm glow of golden pheasant tippets and crest, the precise graphic pattern in a grizzly cock neck or the shimmer and sparkle of the casual peacock herl. Plain natural beauty. Continue reading “Natural beauty – a celebration of fly tying”
Booby Flies. The name says it it all. These flies are busty… hot and will turn eyes anywhere – in the vice, in your fly box and under water. Fly tiers and – fishermen either hate or love boobs. Trout on the contrary has more of a one-track-mind. They love Boobies to pieces – and I feel the same way about these small morsels.
Once upon a time, fly fishing was primarily a technique for catching trout and grayling. But today an increasing number of species are targeted with the fly rod. Anything from dace to sailfish is caught on a regular basis by anglers seeking new experiences. And since there are around 34.000 recognized species of fish on the planet, there’s no lack of targets. Continue reading “Fly fishing for ide – a cool alternative for warm days”
