fly fishing

Charlie Craven’s Basic Fly Tying (hardcover)

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Charlie Craven is one of the best tutors of fly tying I have come across. I first came across his marvellous work in John Barr’s book ‘Barr Flies’ – Charlie did the tutorials in that book backed up by superb step by step photos. I think they set a new standard in fly tying tutoring.

Now Charlie has his own book out , ‘Charlie Craven’s Basic Fly Tying’.

Basic fly tying? I guess it is if you look at the flies he has chosen to present, but on every page are tips and tricks that I guarantee will have you smacking yourself on the forehead, and thinking “why didn’t I think of that.”

Anyone working through this book will have covered most of the ground needed to tie almost any fly. If anything Charlie’s photos and words have exceeded the standard he set in the Barr book.

I have been fly-tying for over 40 years, and I still learned heaps. If you are starting out fly-tying get this book, do not delay – so you do not learn the bad habits we old tyers have picked up. If you have a friend or family member just starting tying, buy it as  a present, they will continue to thank you for it for years to come, every time they sit at the fly-tying desk.

Cannot recommend it highly enough.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing how-to, fly tying

Joan Wulff: Advanced Casting Techniques

Midcurrent has the next video from Joan Wulff video casting series up on their site.

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In this next chapter from "Joan Wulff’s Dynamics of Fly Casting" DVD, Joan demonstrates several casting techniques for dealing with the challenges of positioning and presentation on a trout stream.

These "advanced" lessons — including changing direction, curve casts, and casts for weighted nymphs — are easily absorbed by even novice fly casters, but they’re a great refresher for experts.

If you don’t learn anything from Joan you must be watching with your eyes closed ?

Posted by Tony Bishop in Fishing Videos, fly fishing how-to

New Video: Joan Wulff’s Distance Casting Techniques

Midcurrent has just released the next instalment in Joan Wulff’s casting videos. This one is on distance casting.

“What techniques contribute to better timing and higher line speed? As Joan Wulff shows us this week in "Distance Casting," modifying shoulder and elbow position, shooting line on the back cast, and adding single hauls can easily help further your reach. At the end of the video she also demonstrates a handy trick for creating loops that will not tangle when shooting line while wading.”

You will also learn, as I did, that a ‘single haul’ is not half a ‘double haul’.

Posted by Tony Bishop in Fishing Videos, fly fishing how-to

What About That Hook

A while ago I penned an article posing the question, why don’t fish seem to take any notice of the hook hanging down below a fly? It is not like it is not in plain view.

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So I was intrigued to read this article which postulated…

“Hooks are not part of the trout’s developed searching or matching image. Therefore, in grossly oversimplified form, trout don’t care about the hook.”

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing

The Reach Cast Demonstrated

The Midcurrent site has another of Joan Wulff’s great fly casting videos up. This time on the “Reach Cast”.

From the video – “A dry fly fisherman has to be aware of what we call ‘drag.’ Drag is that motion that makes the fly look as if it is a water-skier instead of a free-floating insect, and it’s caused by the currents that work on the line and leader. So we need affect that by doing what we call a ‘Reach Cast,’ which will put the arm and the upper part of the rod upstream of the fly, so that the fly drifts down first.”

It is as well to remember that the reach cast has a strong place when using nymphs – a drag free drift is just as important in this style of fishing. When nymphing it can be a great help throw in a reach cast, giving you that extra little bit of time to throw in an early up-stream mend which sets up a long drift.

Posted by Tony Bishop in Fishing Videos, fly fishing how-to

The Roll Cast Made Easy, Because it Really Is

The roll cast is an absolute necessity to learn.

I can remember when I first started learning to cast a fly rod, I had all sorts of problems trying to position the line for a cast. Learning the roll cast makes it easy. Now when I am teaching someone new to fly fishing I always start with the roll cast. It is the easiest way to reposition the line for another type of cast. It is the easiest way to lift a sinking line, or weighted nymphs, up and onto the surface to cast. It is the easiest way to cast when there is no room for a back cast.

For a wonderful demonstration and tutorial of the roll cast see this video made by the Grand Dame of casting Joan Wulffe, now up on the excellent MidCurrent site. It is the best explanation and demonstration of the roll cast I have ever seen. As a footnote, if you still think power and strength are effective when casting, watch Joan probably in her mid-sixties, showing just how wrong that notion is.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing how-to

Charley Cravens Fly Tying Goldmine

A little while ago I did a review of John Barr’s book “Barr Flies”, and a damn good book it is too.

A big part of the success of the book is down to the great fly-tying tutorials with excellent photos provided by Charley Craven. So I was rapt to find Charley’s web site.

This site is based around Charley’s great looking shop, but the real bit of excitement for me was the treasure trove of fly patterns, with the same great photos used in John Barr’s book. The flies are shown in full detail through the tying stages. Of course you can also get supplies to build the flies from the shop.

If you tie flies it has to be a go-to site.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly tying

Blobs, Boobies, Bluster, Babble and Banter

And that is quite enough ‘b’s" for one day.

The debate about Blobs and Boobies has generated a good deal of air-time – most of it split fairly distinctly down between those who hold more ‘traditional’ notions of what constitutes good fly-fishing practice, and those who favour catching fish with what works and to hell with tradition.

I suspect part of the communication problem is exacerbated by the fact that when new flies such as the Booby and Blob are pictured, they are depicted in their dry state.

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For instance the photo nearby shows a Booby when dry and wet. I think most will agree the wet Booby is a remarkably good baitfish  approximation. Add to this life-like appearance, the life-like action produced by the foam eyes floating the fly toward the surface after each pull on a sunk fly-line, and the sinuous movement of the marabou tail  and the illusion is complete.

Yes, Booby flies have copped some negative flack, especially about some anglers using the fly on a ‘heave and leave’ basis. That is simply casting out the fly and leaving it until some fish comes along and gobbles it. 

But to ban a fly that is effective for the many who fish it as fly fishermen, for the sake of the very few who fish it as bait fishermen seems to be a bit like using a sledge hammer to drive a tack. Besides I have observed some anglers using a couple of nymphs under a giant indicator or balloon on a heave and leave basis.

Any one who believes Booby flies should be banned because they ‘float’ underwater will, I trust, never use weighted lines or weighted nymphs for the same fractured logic in reverse. To decry a fly because it is effective when fished as a fly seems to strike at the very core of the inventiveness that has characterised the fly-tiers art since it began.

One part of the art of catching trout on the fly is to select a fly that will induce a trout to bite it. The next and perhaps most important part is to place the fly where the fish are feeding. This is perhaps what makes the Booby so effective.

Designing and using a fly that floats just off the bottom is a tactic equally as valid as using a fly or fly-line weighted to fish right on the bottom.

A wet Blob fly may approximate small bait fish as well – the sparkle body and marabou tail look remarkably different wet and in the water. Gone is the blob, in its place a sinuous attractor.

For more information on the Booby Fly, how to fish and tie it, see this.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing

Barr Flies

John Barr, creator of the Copper John nymph and many other flies has put pen to paper, or probably more correctly, keyboard to hard disk, and produced a book. ‘Barr Flies’ is quite simply a wonderful book that should grace the bookshelves of all fly-tyers. barrflies

John outlines clearly and succinctly the process and thinking that lead to the creation of several of his very successful fly patterns, and gives a very clear outline of how he fishes them. This is presented without the flowery, pseudo mysticism that pervades too many American fly-fishing books.

On top of the good clear writing, are truly excellent tutorials on tying John Barr’s flies, written and photographed by Charlie Craven, no slouch as a fly-tyer and fly fisherman himself. In my view these tutorials and photographs have set a new bench-mark in fly-tying instruction. Clear, concise and informative.

The only niggle I have is that the few drawings in the book, presumably drawn by John Barr because they are not attributed, are awful – stick to designing flies John! Fortunately this does not detract too much from the overall impact of this fine book.

If you are into fly-tying get this book.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly tying

Big Rainbow Trout Time In North Island, NZ

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For North Island, New Zealand, fishermen it is coming up to the peak rainbow trout season. From May through to October, our Winter and through to Spring, these beautiful silver fish, rainbows flecked with red, fat with autumn feeding will make their way from the lakes up the rivers and streams to spawn. Top fly-fishing time, top fish, and time to make sure your gear can handle it.

Have a look at this checklist.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing