An other variation of a T-Bone. This one is the only type that i like to fish with a wiggle tail. In previous post i said that i don't like using wiggle tails as they act to much like a break on your fly and stops that side to side action. That said there is many versions of the wiggle tails (especially if you make your own). The trick is to use a thin wiggle tail like the slim version of the Pachiarni tails.After many designs i like a tail that is slim and not to much curved. A bit like the tails on the new hybrid lures like the Strike Pro Guppie.
The Guppie tail is made to wiggle without holding the lure back
This allows the fly to keep on its chosen course after each strips.
Compare this with an original wiggle, where you can see how wide they are and the curve is a lot more accentuated, narly like a full circle.
The final tie will give you a large fly that moves a lot of water, but it's a fly that is fairly light to cast.
As usual feel free to experiment with colours and shapes of tails but keep them thin (from what i experienced so far).
A new season is just around the corner here at the lodge and as usual i'm getting the place ready to welcome new and returning clients to the lodge.
This year we are refreshing the stock of float tubes. I remember before everyone wanted to fish from big boats in big loughs, as many believed (for some strange reason) that smaller loughs and ponds would not have pikes in many numbers and more importantly in sizes. But the last ten years this has changed immensely due to the arrival on the market of much better designed float tubes.10 years ago float tubes were like a tractor tyre with two holes for the legs and a huge backrest that acted more like a sail than a backrest..I didn't like float tubing in those days.Your sitting position was so low on the water that at best times you felt like drowning...But it didn't take too long for the major brands to improve on designs. Nowadays we have a huge choice in personal vessels and for all budgets.
Needless to say if you want something that last you need to invest a little. We have been using the tubes from Creek Company for a few years now, a nice tube but definitely not the best built. Stitchings didn't last long on them and a poor design for inflation lead to many twisted bladders, punctures and time wasted for me fixing them most of the time and for my clients on the water.
So it was about time to look somewhere else.
It's a good few of my clients that directed me towards the FLTB-5 from Caperlan. Caperlan is a fishing branch of a huge sporting chain called Decathlon in France.
All the reviews looked good and i had many good returns from my guests. Many of them do own a FLTB-5 and this was the reason i started looking into this model.
With the help of a client that works for Decathlon i managed to secure a deal and import 5 tubes ( 5 more are planned to arrive next year).
Like you will see in the video, they are pretty good at first sight and only time will tell how they last in the long run.
But i will make a follow up video at the end of 2020 to see how they are holding up.
Sometimes i need to get creative, and the tail design is a very important part of fly tying for pikes and muskies. The head gives you presence,volume and direction in a streamer, but the tail gives it life. I'm always thinking about new tail designs to create them magic moves to seduce a big girl!
If you're like me and always looking for inspiration and creativity you have to play with some faux suede! That stuff is just brilliant, it's super resilient to pike's teeth, it takes inks and paints so well, and you can make anything with it! It dries very well without any changes in the original shape .Tails, wiggle,wave, doubles,slims, long, fat ones! Crab claws, shrimp body, frog legs, possibilities are endless!
Like i mention in the video, i get a good few messages asking how to make your own tails. That video should help..I hope....That said i know the Ebay can be strange, some stuff i can buy here, people in other countries can't. Just try to get around it by maybe looking at different countries to ship where ever you live. Best of luck and get creative!
Made a fresh new logo for F.W.A! Might get a few cap done..?..
When i started my pike fly fishing journey many moons ago there was practically no help out there for tying flies.YouTube had very little and i had to find my inspiration somewhere else.
Big trout streamers tied in a much bigger version were my first pike flies. (Thank you Mr Galloup)
Sex dungeon , Boogie man and the articulated Butt monkey caught me so many good pikes here but i quickly got bored tying and fishing them, i needed to expand my catalog. So i turn my attention to saltwater flies and musky flies. And one particular fly really caught my attention, the T-bone. At that time bodytubing was non existent in tackle shops and i had to get the help from a few American friends to source that material.
Now you can find some in most good tackle shop or straight from FLYMEN FISHING COMPANY .
For the flytyer that need more colours, a wider choice of sizes or if you tie flies in large quantities it's worth having a look at TECHFLEX , after all bodytubing is a braided sleeving product used for cable protection and management called FLEXOPET.
Have a look on the Techflex website for a reseller close to you. I get mine from the German or Dutch resellers.
To this day i am still surprised why no more pike anglers tie or use T-Bones. When i look at the flies that are displayed in various social media platforms i rarely see any Bones....Is it because people are afraid in using body tubing? Have no confidence in using it on their flies? Well their loss....
Body tubing makes your fly so much more durable. I found pike teeth on a few occasions stuck in the head of my T-Bone while putting them up to dry after a day on the water...
It gives the fly a tremendous amount of volume and massive presence in the water by pushing water from the head and the volume created by tubing place inside the fly.
I get a lot of questions in what sizes to use, and i general i use the 1/2 inch -12.7mm Flymen website or the slightly bigger ones 9/16 inch -14.29 Techflex website for the heads of my larger flies and MiniBones . The 1/4 inch-6.35mm Flymen&Techflex for the body of the flies or smaller flies like perch flies.
And the 1/8 inch-3.18mm also for bodies of smaller flies.
Tips in using body tubing:
Make sure you cut the correct length, too long had your head will look like a cone and not round. Too short and you will simply struggle (this is usually the main problem people encounter ).
I usually cut a length of about 60/70mm for my heads and body parts.
Don't forget to burn each end to stop the tubing from unraveling itself.
I like to create a cone before placing it on the hook or shank.
When creating the cone like in the video, make sure both ends meet flush so when you start tying it you will capture both sides securely
To help the head sit better on your hook or shank, wrap an underlay of shammy leather strip, or a zonker strip ( remove the hairs and only keep the leather ) or a rubber band works too. This will give more surface for the head to sit and catch the glue resulting in a secure head.Nothing more frustrating the a head starting to spin after just a few fish caught.
As i said in the video i don't like using a wiggle tail on my T-Bones as it acts like a break and stops the fly from getting that side to side action they are known for. Hence the name T-bone as pikes love striking this fly after a strip when it presents itself sideways.
Feathers, a rabbit whip tail, wave tails are all good for the tail of a T-Bone.
That said if the fish are active and hit the fly on a fast straight retrieve then you can switch to a wiggle or dragon tail in the hope of triggering a larger fish.
Next video will be about the BigBoned , a larger size T-Bone that i love using. Then next in the pipeline is the MegaloBoned !So stay tuned and if you can go and subscribe to the channel it will help it greatly in growing.
Possibilities are endless with bodytubing, don't be afraid of it! Give it a go, it will take a few tries but once you get it right i can guaranty you that you will always have a T-Bone in your box!
Winter fishing marks for me a whole new approach to my fishing. The weather can get pretty unpleasant here during the winter months, bitterly winds, rain and sleet are on the menu on a regular basis.
When all goes to plan! Sadly it's not always the case.
The fly rods will see less and less action over the next few months, of course if we are so lucky to get a good break in the weather i will definitely try for a winter mama on the fly!
The biggest issue with winter fly fishing is to be able to present the fly to the fish properly, depth and speed is crucial to tempt a winter pike. Water temperatures usually over around 4º to 6º and this means pikes will look for a comfortable thermocline. On my local lakes 8 to 20m are the zones to work.
Cold, freezing fog...Will they feed?
The fly will have some successful days but mainly big rubber lures are the winning combo.
Again, presentation is so important, these big winter fish will not come up the water column to hunt your lure, you need to place it at the right depth.
Speed too plays a huge part, generally the colder the temperatures, the slower the troll.
Yes you can also cast and retrieve on a drift or at anchor, but i'm a firm believer that a slow troll at a constant depth will entice a (large) fish to eat.
In recent years the idea that big fish like to follow a bait to inspect it for a long time is proven time and time again with the help of the latest technology. Cameras that you can attach in from of your lure are a real eye opener in understanding how pikes behave to our lures. And if you spend time looking at some of the footage on youtube you will see more than often large fish following the lure for quite some amount of time before they hit it. Here's an example of a very curious pike:
These are the days where i don't look for big numbers of captures, but instead i concentrate more into getting the big one. After all i have all spring and summer to catch pikes in numbers, and on the fly. So in tempting to land a big girl we have to make a selection in lures. I like to go big at this time of the year, not "stupid" big, like the 50/60cm lures, but i tend to fish lures in the region of 25/35cm. The 40cm Magdawgs from Musky innovation would be my limit.
The inline lure from Westin did not take long to get noticed!
Knowing where to fish is crucial
Its not always the big fish that like big lures in the winter..
I will get into more details on the gear i use in my next blog, so keep tuned!
Hey guys! After a long resting period the blog is back...Sorry for the lack of entries but i started running a second blog on the lodge website. It's mostly updates on how the fishing and the clients are doing on a weekly basis.If you are interested here's the link to the website: www.ile-verte.com
I nearly thought of getting rid of this blog all together and merging it with the one of the lodge, but after looking at the analytics i see this blog is still alive and the traffic still look healthy, so i will keep this blog going.
Not that the winter is settling slowly here, my fishing will change a little. Ireland can have some very changeable weather and conditions at the best of times , but in winter this can change for the worse. Fly fishing windows are getting rare for many reasons, cold, wind and fish sitting in deeper waters makes fly fishing difficult and i'm not into struggling for no reasons. Big rubber lures will be more present in the coming months, but don't worry die hard fly anglers, if a good window presents itself i won't miss an opportunity to get the fly rod out.
I know it's not just fly fishermen that read this blog so i will try to keep everyone happy...
Please fill free to leave in the comments section below any subjects you guys might want to see more in the coming months.
Fear not fly anglers, i have many new tutorials coming up in the next few weeks. I'm nearly finished a busy season here at the lodge and soon i will have more free time to do fresh tutorials for you guys!
So for the winter season i am getting my personal boat ready, a new 15HP Yamaha was installed last year but i was having big problems to get my boat on the plane.Quite strange as my old engine was also a Yam 15 fitted with exactly the same propeller.
So i fitted some hydrofoils and the problem was instantly sorted! I went for the SE Sport 200 hydrofoil. They look sturdy and i like the fact that it's one piece. First try on the water and i runs like a dream, definitely a good investment.
Second massive upgrade is the new tech on board. I got rid of my Humminbird 998 HD side imaging and replaced it with a Garmin Echomap plus 92sv. The reason is simple, Garmin is so much more user friendly and when i'm fishing i don't like wasting time changing settings. The GARMIN has a touch screen and i can draw and record the bottom of your favorite lake. Humminbird can do this but it's such a backward software...And it's not IOS compatible.
I can already spot a pike looking at a bunch of baitfish
Garmin has also an app called the Active Captain that you can install on your phone or tablet, and you can move and visualize your maps in a flash.You can also share them with friends...If you trust them...
And one important last detail, this unit is compatible with the Panoptix livescope transducer! As yet no other company has come up with something similar or even got close to the Panoptix. I think it's only a matter of time before other will follow with something similar and the prices will start to come down. Check the video below on the Panoptix livescope.
super easy menu to navigate
The green is so easy to look at with polarized glasses.
Not all good flies have to be complicated....Some of my best patterns are very simple to ties. Yes it sure is fun to sit behind the vice with a good whiskey for a couple of hours and tie a big articulated fly. But when it comes to the crunch, a simple fly that is quickly tied, doesn't use 20€ of materials , that you can cast all day without the need of painkillers is a good fly in my books. Especially when it fools fish over and over.
It's also a great fly for beginners. Many newcomers to the sport are fueled by social media and Youtube, and in all fairness i was the same, as usually there's not much information available elsewhere. Big flies, wiggle tails, dragon tails are all the rage at the moment, and they are good flies, but most of my time catching flies ( around 70%) i catch pike on flies that are not bigger than 20cm. Match the hatch is not only applicable to trout fishing...
So this is why the tisel tosser deserves a place in my top five pike flies. As usual, play with flash colors to suit the conditions and with the weight at the front, some days pike will chase something that glides, and others it's only a sharp jigging action that will induce a take.
It's a subject that's been in the back of my head for quite some time now, and one that i'm often asked about. What are my top five pike flies?
First of all i do have a top five, but i cannot rank them against each other as they all reach top spot depending on the season, weather condition and of course, pike mood (s) .
So i will not do a countdown type of article, but i will reveal my top five in no particular ranking system.
We start with a firm favorite, the Gamechanger. Undoubtedly it's a fly that will scare most fly tyers. Some see it as too complicated and time consuming others think that it's simply not worth the effort.
Their loss...If well tied a gamechanger will catch a huge amount of fish before it's retirement. It's also very versatile, you can use different materials depending on the action and sink rate needed.
Here's how to tie one:
The easier way is to use synthetic brushes, and to "match the hatch" is even better if you make your own brushes , and it will save you ton of money as brushes cost a fair bit from fly shops.
I call a gamechanger a fly that's made of at least four articulated sections. The sky is the limit, but 4 to 8 sections is the perfect match. You can use only one hook at the front or if the fish are nipping the tail, it's always good to have one or two GC with a small single hook incorporated at the back.
For pike i use a large, strong front hook as it will act as a keel and make that fly track straight.
Most of my GC are synthetics or bucktail for longevity. Bucktail if i fish shallow waters as they will sink slower . For that really slow sink try a full trimmed bucktail head like the ones on musky flies , deadly when you need to let it sit to tease moody pikes.
Synthetics are great for deeper waters. And dumbell eye can be used if you really need to get it down faster/ deeper.
You can fish them with many types of retrieve , rolly polly will give you that swimbait action, try to alternate from fast to long stops.And some days they are total suckers for the regular slow speed without interruptions.
Strip them with short and long strips to send them in a crazy jerkbait action. This fly is many flies rolled into one, get out there and get some practice, you will be amazed how one fly can catch fish in many different situations. Definitely deserves a place in my top 5!
Here's a list with all the materials used and where to get them (cheap!):
Not fishing today? Watching the rugby? Sunday flick is back on the blog! Every Sunday i will post a fishing/ outdoors video.
This week enjoy this very nice movie made by a fantastic couple, Aimee and Chase from Tight loops.
Dropping your job and traveling thousands of miles to Yellowstone sounds like a fantastic adventure.
A well made movie with brilliant cinematography, get the pop corn and grab a beer , enjoy!
For a long time now i have been using Gopro cameras for most of my filming while fishing. They are so durable, waterproof and easy to use . A perfect blend for any fisherman that want to record precious memories, film for social media or vlog. But if you want to spice up your filming quality, you need more than one string on your bow..
A DSLR or mirror less with interchangeable lens will give you that cinematic, smooth, professional feeling, they are also great if you get into filming your own tutorials. But these can hurt badly your bank account, especially if you start buying more lens ( and yes you will buy more lens..)
So for the budget minded angler, Gopro is very reasonable.The new one (Gopro 7 black) is packed with fantastic features, the most notable one is how stable the footage is now! Mind blowing how such a small device can pack so much tech inside.
But coming silently on the market is a company trying to rivalise with the mighty Gopro and get 360 videos more approachable.... Insta360.
360º cameras have been here for a good while but haven't generated much interest in the consumer market. A lot of people see 360 camera a thing for specialized video makers or for making virtual reality videos. And that's what they are mainly used for...Until now!
Insta 360 is changing the 360 world in a big way! To cut down to the chase, no i don't think that this new camera will replace the Gopro, but it will certainly be a fantastic addition to your camera bag.
Why? i tell you why, filming in 360 captures everything that's happening around you! No more pointing the lens at what you want to film, this means that if your fishing with a friend on a boat, both anglers are in the frame, all the time. If using by yourself, you get that feeling that someone else is filming you, as the clever software will simply make the selfie stick/tripod disappear from the final footage giving you a third person point of view.
With different attachments comes a multitude of new camera angles.
The built in 6 axis stabilizer is amazing ( called Flowstate ) as good as the Gopro 7 Black. Making shaky footage a thing of the past. There's nothing worse than watching a video thats wobbles in all directions!
Quality of the image is surprisingly good, filming at 5.7K / 30 fps , 4K/ 50 fps and 3K / 100 fps ( great for slow motion). It films with two 200º lens, a 1/2.3" Sony sensor and a large aperture of F2.0.
One advantage it has on the Gopro is that with the latest firmware you can now film in HDR (high dynamic range). We're getting geeky now but trust me it will give the picture more depth, vibrancy and improve the quality of your videos.And i think more software will be released in the future.
Time shift is an other nice thing to have already built in, that will save so much time in editing your video. And talking about editing, Insta360 can be edited on your phone or tablet ( Android&Apple ) via a very easy application. Finished videos can be also uploaded directly from the app to many platforms, Instagram, Facebook,Youtube...
If that's any interest, you can also become a Google street photographer as the 360 pics are so good they are accepted by Google street view. It takes photos at 18MP.
Battery life isn't too bad at 60 mins / battery use under normal conditions. Extra batteries can be purchased too.
Add to all this a myriad of accessories, from protective or dive cases, drone attachments, harness, selfie sticks, enough stuff to cover any situations.
Okay, i have been going on about all the pros of the Insta360 and here's my ( very short ) list of cons:
1: Audio is not great and even worse if you use a protective case...
2: Because of the way the lenses are placed to cover 360º they are prone to damages, scratches and even cracks. But if a lens is broke or badly scratched, you can send the camera to Insta360 and you can have it replaced. I think its a 100$/ lens at the moment, but it's better than having to buy a whole new camera..
So should you buy one? Well that's entirely up to you, but i think Insta360 have reinvented the world of 360 cameras making them more approachable to the common soul. Sure you can get away with filming from your phone or Gopro, but for the enthusiast film maker, content creator the Insta360 X will surely give you an edge and will spice up your shots.We are so used to see now Gopro videos, it's a nice touch to see something fresh and different.
If you consider buying one, please click on the link here, or on the picture on the left column. Being now affiliated with Insta360, i will get a little cut for each sale.You will not be paying any extra, but you will be helping me a bit. Thank you.
All my DIY trips are based on one criteria: getting my dose of winter sunshine and a stress free couple of weeks. If i can add a few fish to this recipe, then it's a bonus. I rarely travel without a rod in my bag, just in case. If i want to travel and my main priority is to catch fish then i rather save my money and go with a reliable lodge/ guided tour.
This particular trip i was joined by my parents and sister, and it was bliss to see all of us trouble free for two weeks. Destination was picked by my sister, the Dominican Republic. Upon a few quick research on the web, i quickly realized that apart from big charter boat trolling for marlin, very little was on offer. This type of fishing is simply not my thing, too expensive for little rewards. Rewards = work put in / type of catch. A good jack from the rocks after casting for two days is more rewarding to me than catching a marlin after stepping on a boat sitting down waiting and drinking beers (and 800$ out of pocket) But this is a question of personal choices...After a long time behind the computer screen i managed to find and got in touch with a couple of guys that know the area pretty well. One of them fishes there on the fly regularly with some successful outings. One aspect that attracted me straight away was that this guy was getting some baby tarpons from the float tube.
So, a few preparations was in order, tie a bunch of flies ( bring with that some of my lucky patterns from previous trips) Deflate the float tube and make everything fit in the suitcase.
The flights were fine, the hotel was very nice, but empty. Probably a change in ownership , everything was closed on the resort, restaurants, bar....luckily we rented a self catering.
The fishing grounds looked brilliant! Rocks, lagoons, beaches....But one thing was odd compare to all my previous trips...No local fishermen to be seen on the horizon, the sea was empty, apart a big cruise ship and some container ships in the distance. An other thing that surprised me was the total lack of sea birds, i remember my trips in Costa Rica, driving along the road to spot pelicans diving on huge balls of baitfish...But not in here...Calm seas, clear waters, a few stingrays on the sandy beaches and some small needle fish was all i could spot.
One morning was different, the water got super clear, less wind, and finaly i get some action, first a few small jacks, one was followed by a massive barracuda, i was not geared up for a fish that size!
I did hook a good cudda, i had him for a while , he was around a metre in lenght, but fishing from the rocks you have to bully these fish or they will cut you off on the rocks...The hook pulled out of this fish...I kept fishing, i knew the conditions had to be accounted for this sudden show of larger predators.
Persistance paid of when i tried a popper along a rock point, a big jack came up and smashed it, took me well into the backing on his first run. I fought this guy for a good 10 minutes on my Epic 8 weight. Total confidance in the rod and reel i played that fish hard...He was playing me hard too...Unfortunatly the hook pulled out as well on this fish. I fished for an other two hours and i could feel that the conditions were changing again, sun was getting high a hot, a stiff breeze was blowing...No more fish came that day.
I did fish one day with a guy that knew the place well, and even himself was baffle by the lack of activity...So is fishing...
