In the next few months, most of my spare time at the vice will be in preparation for that trip to French Guyana. Like i said in previous posts, flies for the aimara need to be noisy! And nothing crates more splash and noise than a good popper!
For this collection i am turning the heads myself...Sure i can buy them already made, but where's the fun in that?
I will have a few foam heads, like the double barrel and Howitzers from Flymen and some home made as well, but i think durability is essential when you chase such an aggressive fish armed with teeth that would put a pike to shame...
So the heads will be made out of wood, not balsa, as i thing its way too soft (even with a couple of epoxy or envirotex coats). So i went for basswood (or known as tilia for others) , a much harder wood than balsa .Yes it's heavier than balsa, but it won't crush like balsa, and that is the key when targeting a fish like the wolf fish!
● Basswood comes in a rectangular shape in different sizes, it's up to you to cut it to size.Using a table saw is safe and gives good, clean results.
● Drill each block to prevent splitting when you will insert a nail in the next step.
●To make the sanding an easier task, roughly cut of the corners and shape your heads a little.
● Insert a nail and make sure it's a mm thicker than your hole to assure a good grip. But also be sure than the nail fits in you Dremel tool.
●Secure the nail in the Dremel.
●Spin and slowly apply your sand paper to the wood, start at the narrow side and work you way to the front of the head. Use a coarse sand paper at first and finish with a finer one.
Heads done, just need to apply the finishing touches ( Part 2 )
In part 2 we will do the finishing touches, more shaping and painting.
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...
The final part in this series, i tried to keep it as simple as possible. If any doubt with your built,always check the manual that comes with the kit, its very detailed and should clear any questions.Alternatively you can always send a mail to the Epic crew, i'm sure they will assist you in any way they can.
My tips for building your rod...Read the manual, take your time, if it doesn't look good you can always do the wraps again. Make sure everything is correct before you start the epoxy! Once you apply the epoxy on the wraps, its too late to go back...Well you can , but it's adding extra headaches that you don't really need at this point.
Your build is your build, even with little imperfections (mostly them damned bubbles in the epoxy) it will not change the performance of the rod.So don't be afraid and take the jump! Build your own rod!
I was once told there is three important moments in your fly fishing career, the first fish you catch on a fly rod, the first fish you catch with a fly that you tied, and the first fish you catch with a rod that you built...
After i posted my last video on how i make my own shanks , i got a message from "anthony_lee " on Instagram, and he put me on these pliers.
After a quick search, i found the best value was on amazon. Two clicks and two days later the loopers arrived. Right out of the package my first impression was not great , as the pliers were smaller than what i was expecting. Are they gonna do the job with thick stainless steel?...
I ordered the 3mm loop maker for my pike shanks. Not disappointed with the size of loop it creates, i rather have a larger loop to help with movement and not to get stuck sideways like some shanks can do when you cast them.
You have two other options as well if you want to make smaller and lighter shanks for your trout or bass streamers, the 1.5mm loop and the 2.25mm loop.
I open the package and as soon as i have them in hand, they feel heavy. (usually a good sign) The grip is very nice and it does feel like a quality product...Now lets bend some wire and see...
First go and it makes a perfect round closed loop, effortless! Just need a little squeeze with a set of normal pliers to finish the loop properly. This is so easy!
While applying pressure to cut and bend the wire at the same time, i didn't feel like the whole lot was going to fell apart. It's a solid piece of equipment! My first impression was well wrong.
The bonus with this looper is that you can do the "r" loop as well, not sure if they are fully designed for that but it works perfect. Just check the video to see the different way you need to feed the wire inside the jaws.
At around 25/30€ its not that cheap, but just look at the price of the shanks in fly shops....If you buy more than five packs of shanks in your fly life, then this is a tool well worth having in your tying desk.
If you want to get one just check the left column of the blog ←, there's a direct link to Amazon (thats the cheapest i could find).
Now i will have to use it for the next 6 months, and i will come back with an update to see if they are still working...I have a good feeling about this one.
Over the years of fly fishing for pike my choice of flies as changed a lot. I'm a firm believer that size does matter , and this does not mean only using big flies. The size of the fly goes with the appetite and mood of the pike. Generally i tend to use my big flies early spring and mid to late autumn into winter. Big flies range from 20 to 30 cm
The rest of the time i fish "small" flies (around 10 to 13 cm).
As for the models that are prominent in my boxes, well that's easy: the articulated ones. It usually involve one or many articulations.
If i only use one shank, its placed in front of the hook and not behind. I like that position as it pushes the hook back and balance the streamer very well.And it can result in more positive hook ups.
Mini T-bones are an absolute killer and you can make so many variations.
MiniBone, 40mm shank in front, 6/0 behind, rabbit whiptail
For this type i only use strong shanks, like the big game shanks from Flymen, or homemade shanks ( made from hard stainless steel wire of 1mm)
One type of fly that requires shanks is definitely the game changer.These are time consuming to tie but i absolutely love using them! Variations are endless on a GC, but i use two types:
Large, two hooks GC.
The first is the one with two hooks, and that's the larger model i fish. One large hook at the front, 6/0, four shanks and a small hook at the back 1/0. Only big game shanks should be used for this one as you dont want anything to open up if a large fish is hooked on the back hook.
Big game shanks, 100% secure.
Smaller GC where the lighter shanks are a good choice
If you want to make these yourself i made this short video where you can see how i make mine.
The second type is a smaller version with only one hook at the front. The body and tail is made with lighter shanks, stainless steel of 0.7 up to 0.9 mm. These are the normal shanks with the little eye at the front. Same here you can buy the directly from fly shop, or you can save money and make them yourself.
Normal shanks with a closed eye on one end.These are strong but could open as the eye is not secured with thread.
For this small shanks, you can of course buy them already made, but with the right tools you can make them yourself as well.If like me you can go though 100's of shanks (i do tie a lot for clients that come to my lodge) It's something to consider doing, if you only use a few , many buying them from a shop would be a better option money wise...
So for them u need a lighter wire and one special pair of pliers, the Beadsmith 1 step-looper.This is going to make your life so much easier!
Three different type of looper exist, make sure you get the large 3mm model so your shanks will articulate with ease.
Now for the wire i use, and where i get it!
The wire is stainless steel grade 316 ( medical/marine) solid, and never any rust even in saltwater use.( try them on seabass!Well with it!)
I order all my wires from https://www.wires.co.uk fast postal service and great products.
Now, i know i have been teasing many of you guys to where i get my material to craft my own tails.I have got so many people asking me where do i get my stuff. And because i'm a sound guy, i like to help as many fly tyers out there (wink)
Pike/burbot mutant
We all work on a budget, and lets face it, some materials are just crazy money! So nothing wrong to try to source materials by yourself, and frankly i am so surprised to see so many not making the simple effort to search the various retail sites out there. Ebay is one of my strong favorite! So do yourself a favour and browse stuff on it, buy samples, sometimes its a miss and sometimes you find fantastic materials out there at unbeatable prices!
Freestyling is the best! Design , cut, colours! One of a kind!
The material i use for my tails is called Ultrasuede microfibre, or faux suede/shammy. You find it in many thickness, but for optimum resistance and movement , i use the 0.5mm. One large sheet cost around 35€ for a mighty size of 137cm X 91cm!
If you only tie a few streamers a year this could be too much, but why not sharing with a friend? I tie 100's of predator flies a year, for myself and clients that come for a week at the lodge or for a day guiding, so i have no problem using this much.
But the advantage is not only money, it's the freedom that you have, make the tails the size shape and colours that you want.Ok maybe the finish product might not be as nice as some of the ones sold in fly shop but who cares? Certainly not the fish and that's good enough for me!
The platypus tail.
Golden trout on a forked tail and side fins design.
For the moment i get it from South Korea, click on this magical link and let your creative-self take over! No stoping you now!
LINK→: 0-5MM-ULTRASUEDE-MICROFIBER
If you read this article and the link doesn't work anymore it simply because the seller is gone or the stuff isn't available, just start a new search, you know how its called now!
Invent, create, explore, possibilities are virtually endless now!
Here's a new video up on Youtube, as usual, please like and subscribe or you will never catch a big fish again...
One thing super important when you create your tails is to have a very good pair of scissors. Same thing here, i used for years scissors "made for flytying" and yes there is many great brand out there and good tools, but again the price can be ridiculous! Most value scissors come from the same factories in India,Pakistan or china, just the branding changes and the prices...I use mostly FISKARS now.They have a great hold, and the blades stay sharp for overland they are certainly not more expensive that a mid range pair of scissors bought from your fly shop..
One design that i used for a long time now, side baitfish is awesome!
The simple and classic wiggle tail, just look how i include an anal fin to most of my designs, this act as a splash of colour, and a mini-keel to balance the streamer.
Keep and eye on the blog for more Tips and tricks about buying materials.
Une veille rame, un bout de bois, une scie sauteuse, deux vis et voila un carrousel a flash... Simple et pratique, ca permet d'organiser mon stock de flash.
Et si quelqu'un peux m'identifier ces deux cranes, ce sont les memes, trouvés cote a cote, un grand puis un plus petit...Crane plat et long, le plus grand fait 11cm de long et 6,5cm de large...Vincent?...
