The Tying Sessions, EP:32 The Drowning rodent 2.0

I always liked fishing mice/rat flies. I remember when i was much younger, i was fishing with my father, we were on a river and his float fished roach disappeared in a flash. The fight was poor and short as the water temperatures were very low. Sadly after many efforts that fish decided to stay belly up. We decided not to waste it and  took it home. But when we cleaned it at the river, he had in his stomach three full grown rats, and that pike was not big pushing maybe just 3 kgs!
Since that day i cannot have a fly box without at least a couple of rats!

Tried and tested...Many times over

I like to fish them on a floating line, early spring (end February , March, April ) When most anglers wouldn't dream in using a topwater fly at this time of the year, i usually score some good fish on this pattern early in the year. Rats and mice are in full activity at this time, ready to start breeding after their long winter they often cross rivers and loughs simply because its the shorter route. Later in spring you will have the young ones, a little inexperienced and without any fear of what might lie beneath them when they fall in the water.
Later in the year, summer time , i like using these rats for late evening if it's a bright hot day, and if you have a summer like us here in Ireland (rain and not so hot...) you can be deadly fished over big weed beds. Not just margins and lillypads.
I started using deer hair for the top of the tie to give it buoyancy and Congo hair on the belly to make it sink. I caught many good fish with this tie, but i knew i could improve it's action a lot more.
This is the results, the drowning rodent 2.0! I use two types of fibers now, WATER SILK and CONGO HAIR from FLY TYERS DUNGEON .
The water silk is finer it olds and absorbs more water, the Congo hair is a little stiffer and doesn't hold water much. But water still sheds fast with a couple of false cast making this fly a lot easier to cast then it's original deer version.

 I use the water silk for the bottom of the tie(tail and first section) and introduce the Congo hair on the third shank but only on the top of the shank, belly stays in water silk. Finish the head with the foam, give it a good brush and trim.
You could make this fly with a brush instead of stacking like i do, bit stacking gives you advantages that you can't match with a brush...Using two type of fibers is one and the choice in colours that you have at your disposition.

I hope you enjoy the video, and thanks again for your continued support!

 

The Tying Sessions/Jungle series: The Wurgler

With an upcoming trip to French Guyana next November 2020, i'm starting to create a bunch of flies ready to tackle the legendary Airama!
Loud flies are the main game here, flies that makes a splash when they land, flies that move a lot of water and flies that are strong!
I will upload in the next ten months a whole series of these flies, and some other for different types of jungle fish. From small fish to large ones i will try to fill a few boxes that will cover most situation that we might encounter. A light rod ( 6 or 8 weight) and a heavy set up will be in my suitcase ( ten and twelve weight).
So to start of let's have a look at this topwater/weedless fly: the Wurgler.
I'm still not 100% convinced on my hook choice ( this is the Savage gear one designed for the soft 4play) I like the huge amount of space it offers behind the eye, but not sure about its strength...It feels good in hand but if it opens then it's definitely a no go! So i take this fly as a starting point. It will be fine for pike and bass in smaller size.
If you think you know a good strong hook that meets these requirements please feel free to leave a comment on the blog or on the Youtube video.
The trickiest part is the cutting of the foam, you have to match the foam size and shape to your chosen hook, best is to cut a model out of paper first and adjust it  as you go along.

Fine tuning the fibers under the foam will help the foam to sit at the right height to be perfectly weedless.
As usual, feel free to change colours, sizes (depending on your target fish) and tails.
The teddy bear eyes are very easily got on ebay.
Stay tuned as the next flies are far from being discreet....

Chewbacca 2.0

From this angle, you can understand why it's so hard for a pike to resist!

The rebirth of the awesome fly was long due. I tied this fly for the first time 8/10 years ago, it was my pride, the first fly that i fully designed myself.When i started to fly fish and tie my flies for pike, rabbit was on every flies i was tying. You don't need to be a maestro at fly tying to catch pike, and a simple bunny has caught me sooo many fishes.
Chewbacca was an extension to my bunny army, as i got better with my casting i started throwing bigger and heavier flies with ease.So what's better than a bunny? Well two of them!I didn't invent the concept of having two zonkers as a tail, but i wanted a more buoyant fly. So the mix of deer hair and feathers started.At the time i tied this fly with deer hair on the top of the hook and marabou on the bottom.The pikes liked it so much that they were destroyed in no time, so i replaced the marabou for fibres.

The new version is articulated and has dumbbell eyes to give the fly more action during the pauses.
Yes it's a heavy fly , but it's a fly that i usually don't try to cast far and in open waters. I love casting Chewy in rivers with shorter cast close to ambush points. Logs, drains, weed beds and along high banks are all great spots to throw this fly.I faster water i just let it drift along the bank rod tip a little high and just twitching it with sharp wrist pulls. Keeping my eyes on it at all time, from just under the surface until you can barely see it.The takes are just amazing!
As usual feel free to change colours and  sizes, yellow zonkers and a orange head is an other sure bet for me here.

The BigBoned

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).

Custom tails?

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..?..

The MiniBone

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!

Top 5 pike flies: The Tinsel Tosser.

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.

Articulation Nation: An introductory into the world of shanks

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.

Freestyle tails and where do i get them.

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.

Tech & Ties

Weather is being a bit of a bitch at the moment, heavy rains, heavy snow, strong winds makes it for very difficult fishing. Water levels and temperatures are like a yoyo at the moment, nothing settles for more than 48 hours. I am not the type of fisherman that enjoys sitting in a bivvy for hours on end with little to no action, i like to be active when i fish.

So instead of wasting hours on the water getting cold, i rather put my time to more constructive occupations. Like getting some hours in the air getting new shots with the drone and tying some flies for the spring/summer here and my return to Alaska ( i am very impatient for this trip!)
For the arial footage, for those who are interested in this type of things...I used the active tracking on the Mavic, but i find it not to reliable.The camera has to be at a certain distance to lock on the subject and if you go behind trees or in shadows the camera will loose you every single time. So to help with this i use an external gps like via bluetooth to my tablet. I got myself a little Garmin Glo.This little device is fantastic.
Glo can receive position information from both GPS and GLONASS satellite constellations ( the Russian equivalent to GPS), allowing it to connect top to 24 more satellites than devices that rely on GPS alone.This allows GLO to lock on to satellites approximately 20 percent faster and remain connected even at high speed.What's more, GLO updates its position information at 10 times per seconds! And that's up to 10 times more often than the GPS receivers in many devices.I got mine from Amazon and got it even cheaper than on the Garmin website.

Glo is  about the size of a Zippo lighter.

So now i have no worries of the drone loosing me! Here's a quick edit using just the Active track on the Mavic at sunrise:

Now for a few ties,i am working mainly with Kanekalon hair  at the moment, a few more toads in yellow variations, and a few baitfish.The electric yellow and pink leave me great action before, so i decided to top my box up with a few more of them. Next, a few more ties with a flashy trend.

Yellow toads.

"El Classico" always carry one of this colour combo in your box!

The Coon.

Hot tickets

Update.

March can be a strange month, coming out of the winter into the spring, each year is different here.
And the pikes usually start spawning around mid march if the conditions are right.So the catches can vary a lot.Its all about location and mobility at this time of the year if you want good results.
Don't stay on top of pikes spawning if you see them, one thing, you will not catch much and two let them be in peace, building the future stocks.
I like to move a lot at this time, travel light and fast, often fishing  two, three maybe four different loughs to find the one where they have finished spawning. It's like the lottery...
Guests are averaging 5 to 12 pikes each every day at the moment, nothing big, mostly jacks and a few 90+ girls, some full, some already empty.
We had an easterly front all last week, sunshine, little winds, not the perfect piking weather.But from today we are changing, back from the south bringing rain and wind.Hope next week will improve.
So a little video is due for march, from scouting small mountains streams for some trouts this summer to the beautiful spawning grounds we have in the neighbourhood.Enjoy.



Mars est un mois qui peut être étrange.La jonction entre l'hiver et le printemps. Et ici , chaque année est différente.Les brochets commencent en general a frayer vers la mi mars (suivant les conditions météo). Les captures fluctuent beaucoup, il faut être très mobile et adaptable pour faire de bons scores. Certains lacs, les brochets ont finis de frayer, d'autre ils sont en pleine action, et il y a ceux qui viennent de finir. Il n'est pas rare de pêcher deux, trois voir meme quatre différents lacs dans une journée pour en trouver un qui est en forme.C'est un peu comme la loterie ... Je n'aime pas trop pêcher sur les frayères, premièrement les brocs ne sont pas mordeur, et deuxièmement il est bon de les laisser tranquille pour assurer de bons stocks dans le futur.
Les clients en ce moment prennent entre cinq  a une douzaine de brocs chaque jour / personne. Mais rien de gros, beaucoup de jacks, et peu de femelles.A part quelques 90+ de temps en temps, certaines vides, d'autres encore bien pleines.
Nous avons eu un front a dominance Est la semaine dernière, beau temps et pas de vent, pas les meilleures conditions pour mettre les brochets en appétit.Mais une météo qui a bien aidé pour le frai.
Cela change en ce moment, retour au vent sud, sud/ouest et de la pluie.
La video du mois de mars est là, deux opposés , un tour sur les montagnes au nord du comté pour trouver de nouvelles rivières et ruisseaux pour quelques sorties truite cet été, puis bien sur l'endroit incontournable du moment, les frayères....Et elles sont magnifiques en ce moment

A few of my latest ties, can't wait to get out now..But i am well busy behind the stove cooking for the clients...An other 10 weeks of work then its my time to play! Dates available for summertime guiding, boat or float tubes. Contact me if you fancy a day out: norbertfwa@gmail.com

Rubber band mice

Chewbacca2.0

Chewbacca2.0

Experimentations...

One of the best part of fly fishing is the fly tying. Creating your own flies, your own patterns and catching fish on them. And the best part of fly tying, is that its virtually limitless. Not only you have access to an extraordinary amount of materials in the shops, but there is so much out there that's not ( yet) commercialised. All you have to do is look, be adventurous and inventive.

This is how i started looking into a different breed of materials.We are all used to the naturals, hair and feathers, and of course the synthetics. But i never seen any vegetal fibres used. 

I am not trying to reinvent the wheel here, but to simply broaden my horizon. New fibres are developed constantly for the textile industry. Stronger, lighter and a great choice of colors. The ones that really got my attention were the stronger ones of the bunch: bamboo, hemp and flax. At this stage you are allowed to think that i am crazy and walk away....

White:hemp, Orange:bamboo and yellow:flax.

Bamboo: it looks and feel exactly like polar fibres (made by H2O). Same length and the feel strangely identical. I have made brushes with bamboo and i am very pleased with the results. It moves very well and looks durable. It could be a great replacement for making collars and heads on pike streamers.

I am sure that it can be used too for making small trout streamers as well ( i will make some in the very near future).

Hemp and angel hair.

Bamboo and angel hair.

Hemp brush.

Hemp: one of the toughest fibres out there, used for hundreds of years from textile to ropes on ships.

It feels very soft to the touch and its very user friendly to make brushes with it. It takes on water very well...Maybe too well...As expected it soaks up water and holds on to it giving the effect of  a wet sock. I tied a couple of game changers with it and the final result is pretty slick.Maybe a mix of 50-50 hemp and synthetic fibres could be better...

Flax: it's the longest fibre that i have tried, it feels and act like icelandic sheep. But i have my reservations on how it will last in the long run. 

I have tried banana fibres, but these are very thin and not very good for fly tying ( maybe to make dubbing?)  But i don't thing it will have a long shelf life.

I will keep on experiencing with these fibres, but for the moment, the bamboo looks the best.

Sheep head and 100% hemp body.

Schlappen feather, hemp body and bamboo head.

Hemp bunny.

Game changer 100% hemp fibres.

The drowning rodent.

Since my early beginnings with fly fishing and fly tying i have been attracted to top water patterns. Unfortunately the conditions here in Ireland don't always make the pike go for flies presented on the surface, but if the fly is an inch or two under , for some reasons they will hit it without any problems. I still don't know why they like to attack flies that are just under the surface compared to something sitting on top but that the way it is, so we have to adapt to keep on catching.

I developed The drowning rodent to swim on the surface and to be able  to sink very slowly as well if needed. If you get the ratio of natural hairs and synthetics right, this fly will "struggle" to sink.Giving the perfect imitation of a rodent in distress. And thats the key of the success of this fly. Over the years spent on the water, i was lucky to see many different pike behaviours, and one in particular was pike hitting rodents that were either crossing a river or young ones having their first bath.
There is many different mouse patterns out there, but all of them are made of 100% deer hair compacted to float and swim on top. I tried them with some success, but it wasn't the results i was hoping for. So i decided to sit behind my vice and work on a new type of mice fly. One  that will float and sink a bit as well, giving the impression of a rodent in difficulty, struggling to keep himself afloat.

I am lucky to have access to full pelts of wild deer.

The belly of the fly is made of funky fibres, packed and trimmed to allow to soak up water and act as a keel. The top half is made of deer hair , i don't use belly hair but the hair from the sides or the back of the deer as they are a little less buoyant.These are compacted but not like a diver, just a gentle squeeze while you're adding the layers is enough. Practice with a few ties and you will find the perfect mix. While casting the fly , the funky fibres will shed water fast, allowing for the fly to sit perfectly on top when it will land. A few strips to move some water and give a chance for a nearby pike to locate the fly, and pause, let the water fill the belly and it will feel heavier, strip and it will dive a bit, pause and it will rise very slowly back to the surface. All with a very enticing wiggle from the articulation of the three parts and the wiggle tail. The attacks are always furious, no half measure there. And usually its sorts out the bigger fish (compare to a smaller mice or a Dahlberg diver).

The legs give extra movement as well.I cut these from thin shammy leather. Cut them long as they need to flap a bit on the side of the tie. I add a pair of moustaches made out of coated wire.Tie two downwards so they will act as a simple weed guard as well.

As usual, here's a video of the tie. Please, like and subscribe to my YouTube channel as this support will keep me making more videos in the future.